City of Edmonton saving less than expected on move to Google, auditor finds

The city’s switch to Google email and other office software will save far less money than originally suggested, according to an auditor’s report.

The 2012 move to Gmail, Google calendar and other services was intended to let staff work anywhere on devices such as smartphones and laptops.

The scheme, called Workspace Edmonton, was expected to save $9.2 million in the first five years, says a report by city auditor David Wiun.

But Wiun concluded the actual saving will be only $2.4 million, mainly because software licensing turned out to be more expensive than anticipated.

One factor is that far more Google licences are needed than was thought, with 16,000 required this year rather than the 13,765 outlined in the 2011 business case.

As well, more Microsoft licences than projected are needed to enable broader access to systems not yet integrated with Google, and to access documents, the report says.

“Effectively, the city is licensed for both Google and Microsoft productivity tools on all desktops at this point.”

However, the city administration now feels the project will save $5.6 million over five years because of new licensing agreements and plans to have fewer licences.

Although the cost of desktop productivity software was $11.1 million, twice the original estimate, the program’s total implementation price is still within budget.

The extra money was taken from a planned central software system, which was scaled back when staff determined the cost was greater than the benefits, the report says.

The report will be discussed Monday by council’s audit committee.

Coun. Andrew Knack, a committee member, said Wednesday the method used to justify this program needs improvement.

But he likes the new system and the savings, even if they’re lower than anticipated.

“If we’re never willing to try something new, how are we ever going to be more efficient and effective?” he said.

Keith Chorley, Edmonton’s acting chief information officer, said the scope of the project has changed since the business case was written in 2010.

The program will still produce substantial savings, including improved productivity that’s difficult to measure, he said.

“There’s a lot of our users that have had the technology for quite a while. They see the huge benefit to it and we’re getting that back in surveys,” he said.

“They’re seeing the benefit of being able to access their stuff from anywhere. The tool actually allows a level of collaboration we never had in the past.”