I would consider a bet that this is a risk management exercise. I assume that their current MS systems are all on-premise, otherwise that secret data is already 'in the cloud'. How long before they would be forced to ditch the on-premise MS stuff and move to the cloud based offerings?
Bringing in Google now means they get a head start on any mitigation activities they would be forced to undertake later. This exercise would highlight issues with where their secret data is stored and how to access it, giving them time for a properly developed solution.
Despite many wishes and protestations, Excel is not a proper database, especially in the hands of most office staff. This on it's own probably justifies having a shake up of the organisation.
I don't have a crystal ball, so what software will we be using in two years time? Anyone?
Biting the hand that feeds IT
