UK tax authorities adopting Google Apps, offshore data storage and all
The UK tax body, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), has completed a successful trial of Google Apps and will be rolling out the service to more of its staff throughout the year, reports The Register.
HMRC has 70,000 staff, and as such will be Whitehall’s first mass deployment of Google’s cloud services […]
David Fitton, head of public sector sales for Google UK, wrote on Linkedin: “The acceptance by HMRC that they can store official information offshore in Google data-centres represents a major change and endorsement of Google’s approach to managing sensitive information.”
The move follows in the footsteps of two other UK government departments – the Cabinet Office and Department for Culture, Media and Sport – in switching from Microsoft Office to Google Apps.
“Other solutions (e.g Microsoft 365) also scored highly, but the advanced collaboration and flexible working features of Google Apps were the best fit for our needs,” it said at the time.
HMRC’s endorsement of Google services is notable in a country where large organizations have so far been suspicious of cloud services, concerned about the security of personal data stored in other countries. Google’s celebration of the move recognizes that large, UK-based companies may well take the attitude that if it’s good enough for HMRC, it’s good enough for them.
Google beefed up the security features of Google Drive for Work in April
