BBVA signs Google Apps' largest business client deal

Employees of Spain's second largest bank, BBVA, will by the end of the year be using Google Apps instead of Microsoft Office, in what is not only a slap in the face for Bill Gates' company but also represents the largest contract Google has yet signed on behalf of its company services branch.

At the outset, 35,000 BBVA employees will make the switch before the software is rolled out to the bank's 110,000 workers in 26 countries. Google's software allows users to access applications through "cloud computing," via the web navigator, eliminating the need to install programs as is the case with Office. Google has four million business clients using Apps but Microsoft continues to dominate the market with 750 million private and business clients worldwide. Furthermore, Microsoft last summer launched its own cloud software, Office 365, to go head-to-head with Google.

"We want to promote a new way of working between our employees, based on cooperation, productivity and the ability to more flexible at the moment of making decisions. For this reason we have made the change," said BBVA director of strategy and innovation, Carmen López.