While perhaps everyone except Microsoft itself
sees the irony in this, the company is continuing its public assault on Google
and its practices in a new blog post this week.
In
a Microsoft on the Issues blog
post titled "Google’s
misleading security claims to the government raise serious questions", Corporate
Vice President & Deputy General Counsel David Howard basically calls Google
a liar for touting certification under the Federal Information Security
Management Act (FISMA) for its Google Apps for Government. Howard claims that
unsealed court documents now prove that the certification was for a different
software suite, Google Apps Premier.
"Open
competition should involve accurate competition. It’s time for Google to stop
telling governments something that is not true," Howard concludes.
Why does
Microsoft really care about certification for a software suite for government
employees? Well, because Google stepped in when it looked like Microsoft was
going to be selected to provide a cloud-based email system to the Department of
Interior. Google
sued the government, claiming favoritism towards Microsoft by the DoI.
Google then tried to sell its Google Apps for Government suite, citing its
FISMA certification, which "creates a process for federal agencies to
accredit and certify the security of information management systems like
e-mail," Howard writes. "FISMA-certification suggests that a
particular solution has proven that it has met an adequate level of security
for a specific need."
When
documents of the legal proceedings were unsealed last week, the Department of
Justice brief read: “On December 16, 2010, counsel for the Government learned
that, notwithstanding Google’s representations to the public at large, its
counsel, the GAO and this Court, it appears that Google’s Google Apps for
Government does not have FISMA certification.”
Rather, the
General Services Administration (GSA) under FISMA had certified Google Apps
Premier for its own use. Meanwhile, Google Apps for Government was still in the
process of certification.
"To
put it charitably, because of Google’s unwillingness to provide answers, the
facts have remained opaque," Howard writes. "As a result of the
lawsuit, it looks like we finally are beginning to get some answers.
Comments
on Howard's blog post take a generally mocking tone, as someone identified as
Kevin sums up: "Is it 'open competition' if only Microsoft products are
available for government contracts?"
Another
commenter, identified as Chuck, had this to say: "Microsoft is afraid of
Google -- very afraid."
Perhaps
fear can also help explain why a company the size of Microsoft, once the
principal of a very public antitrust lawsuit in the 1990s, has filed an
antitrust complaint against Google in Europe.
Microsoft's
lengthy list of complaints against Google in Europe are all summed up in
another blog post, which takes note of the irony:
