Cloud Power or Cloud Compromises: You Choose

We announced
today
that the United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA
) is ready to go live with the premier productivity cloud
solution: Microsoft Online Services.  The
USDA brings us the food pyramid, organic certification, food safety, and the US Forest Service.  Now, we can return the favor by providing
their 120,000 employees with Exchange, SharePoint and Office Communication
Server and modernize their IT systems to make their employees more productive.

The USDA has Cloud Power. . . No Compromises, No Surprises

By betting on Microsoft, the USDA gets Cloud Power.  This means they get a world class
productivity experience backed by an enterprise class services and support
organization that has focused on this business for over 20 years.  There is no compromising and no surprises for
the USDA given that Microsoft Online Services meets and exceeds their
enterprise needs.  The USDA requires
Microsoft to provide offline access
which which we do view as a basic not something vendors can expect somewhere
down the line.
  They get the ability to be big and be nimble, to think big and act fast.  That's Cloud Power!

Productivity Is More Than Cheap Email

The USDA is going live and going live with more than email.  The benefits for the USDA in moving to a
cloud service that offers them more is pretty simple: greater Productivity, easier
IT management, robust collaboration scenarios, fully integrated web conferencing.  While others have been busy issuing press releases, we have been planning this move with the USDA for the last six months so all 120,000
employees
will be able to get the benefits of Exchange,
SharePoint and Office Communications Server. 
This is the first federal agency to move to the cloud, the first of its size, the first to move beyond basic email, and the first to utilize government mandated security such as ITAR compliance.  This deployment is a bellwether for government cloud deployments and
we're humbled to have been selected as the vendor of choice.

 

Next step, organic certification for Microsoft Online
Services. . . just kidding.  Welcome to
the cloud USDA!