Virgin America goes Google - saves a fortune

Virgin America is the latest major company to hand its workforce over to the cloud and switch to Google Apps.

Over the next two weeks, all of the airline’s 1700 US employees will be moving over to Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs and Google Talk.

Google says the migration will cut Virgin America’s email system costs by about half on an annual basis and save the firm over 18 terabytes of storage space as its embraces the cloud.

Virgin America’s CIO Ravi Simhambhatla, explained, “As the only airline based here in Silicon Valley, our goal has always been to use the best in technology and design to reinvent the air travel experience for the better.

“We’re eager to bring the latest and greatest tech innovations not only to our guests—but also to our teammates. The transition to a cloud-based email system allows us to save costs and increase the speed and efficiency of our platforms, so we can focus on what we do best: elevating the flying experience.

“Google answers our data and connectivity needs better than any other system. Google Apps allow us to stay ahead of the competition by remaining flexible and efficient since we can upgrade based on the latest technology, and not be confined by budget or staffing to out-of-date systems. Once you have Google Apps, you always have the most recent version.”