State agency soliciting bids from top cloud computing vendors like Google, Microsoft, IBM

Computerworld - Colorado's Statewide Internet Portal Authority is implementing a plan that will let state agencies and local governments move their e-mail and office systems to commercial hosted online systems, similar to the city of Los Angeles' recent decision to move to Google Apps.

The state agency is currently seeking requests for proposals from vendors who can offer hosted e-mail, calendar, collaboration, instant messaging, video conferencing, word processing spreadsheet and other office applications. Bidders must offer products that deliver 99.99% systems availability and the ability to syncronize with smartphone devices like Blackberries, Treos and iPhones.