Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline has become one of the first
businesses to standardise on Microsoft's Online Services, launched
earlier today.
The company is planning to replace its Plumtree portal at Lotus
Notes infrastructure with Microsoft Online Services, including
Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Office Communications Online,
and Office Live Meeting.
GSK said the Microsoft software will be used to support
collaboration across the company and improve productivity for its
global community of more than 100,000 users in over 100
countries.
Ingo Elfering, vice-president of ITstrategy at GlaxoSmithKline,
who has run a pilot with the Microsoft software, wrote in a
blog posting, "We are able to reduce our IT operational costs
by roughly 30% of what we are spending now and introduce a variable
cost subscription model for these technologies that allows us to
more rapidly scale or divest our investment as necessary as we
undergo a transformational change in the pharmaceutical
industry."
Microsoft Online Services includes Exchange Online, SharePoint
Online, Office Communications Online, Office Live Meeting and
Deskless Worker Suite, which provides thin client access to
Microsoft Office software.
Microsoft said businesses can subscribe to Exchange Online,
SharePoint Online, Office Communications Online and Office Live
Meeting individually, or together as the Business Productivity
Online Suite, which costs £10.04 pounds per month per user.
Microsoft said businesses save 38% buying the suite, compared with
subscribing separately to the individual services.