University of Arizona likes Microsoft’s online suite
The University of Arizona has chosen Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite for use by their faculty and staff. The suite is a cloud computing method of connecting faculty and staff and encouraging collaboration. It will also move communications at the University into the 21st century.
Microsoft’s online suite will update the Universities antiquated email system and will provide 10 GB mail boxes. The suite will also provide instant messaging features as well as a means to hold online meetings including sharing desktop, audio or video. One of the features of this software is the ability to coordinate meetings campus wide since everyone will be on the calendar system. The system will also allow changes made on your phone to show up on the school calendar and vice versa.
This is a major move by the University. Many departments had purchased their own email and calendaring software to meet their needs. Now that software will be phased out so that the entire campus is on Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite by Fall. Hopefully this one suite of tools will be able to replace all of the features of the previous programs.
The move was in part necessitated by the need to meet federal and HIPPA requirements. Microsoft’s online suite will help the University accomplish this goal. While allowing “full two-way synchronization for e-mail, calendaring, contacts, notes and tasks across handheld devices, the Web and desktop”, the suite will also provide “better security and privacy features, including encryption and processes and controls for International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and HIPAA compliance.” Administrative assistants will still be able to carry out calendaring and coordination across campus for their respective professors, department chairs and administrators so complete chaos will not ensue.
“We’re pretty excited. We’re now at a point where we’re able to move some of our basic tools into the 21st century,” said Michele Norin, the UA’s chief information officer and executive director of UITS.
For a University, entering the 21st century ten years after the fact is actually pretty good especially in the non technical areas. Knowing older business individuals who have their secretaries print out their email for them to read, moving older professors and administrators in to the world of instant messaging will be both challenging and amusing. I leave it up to you to determine if “older” means over 20 or 50 or any age in between.
As with all changes, some parts of the move to Microsoft’s online suite will go smoothly and others will turn up glitches. That doesn’t even get into the grumbling that always accompanies massive change whether on a campus, in a corporation or even just at home.
Good luck University of Arizona! May the switch go smoothly.
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