Web development software maker, Serena Software has decided to move from its current Microsoft Exchange setup by favoring Google's Gmail cloud-based infrastructure. With a total of 800 employees, the move is expected to result in savings $750,000 per year when it is completed by the end of 2008. The company was paying $1 million a year to use Exchange once all related software costs such as client access licenses and software assurance fees are factored in. It is not known if this is inclusive of related bandwidth and server co-location services to run Exchange. Ron Brister, senior manager of global IT operations at Serena told eWeek that the company has subscribed to Google's GAPE, or Google Apps Premier Edition service, which costs $50 per user, per year.
While this may only be a trickle, in terms of the worldwide base of Exchange users, it does appear to validate Microsoft's shift toward a cloud-based infrastructure in the form of its Windows Azure as well as the upcoming Web-based versions of its Microsoft Office suite. Indeed, software giant EMC also unveiled its own cloud offering earlier this week.
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