Email/Calendar & Network Replacement Projects - Mar 19, 2012
Hello everyone,
I am pleased to announce the implementation of two new technology projects.
The first project will replace our current email and calendaring functions with a
new unified communication system. After much research and testing, we have made a
decision to convert to Microsoft's Exchange (also known as Outlook by some). This
decision was arrived at through a thorough analysis of available email-calendaring
systems incorporating user and technical testing in our research. Our go-live date
is scheduled for July 1st for Phase 1 functionality. Phase 1 functionality will provide
user accessibility to the web client of Exchange for both calendar and email functions.
The implementation of Phase 2 functionality will begin on July 1st and continue through
the 2012-2013 academic year. In Phase 2, Exchange calendar and email functions will
be enabled on workstation clients (replacing Thunderbird, Eudora, etc.) I invite you
to read the two-page project summary (attached) for more details and we will provide
more information as plans are developed. This new system will bring modern email-calendar
functionality and accessibility to staff and faculty enhancing our communication services.
Let us know if you have any questions about the project.
Project leader: Chien Shih
Supported by: Sharon Luciw's team
Also, last night the Board of Trustees approved our procurement of systems and services
allowing us to start our network replacement project. This is a large Measure C project
that will design and deploy a modern network across our campuses and centers providing
enhanced speeds, reduced response times, better security, and improved communications
reliability for many of our information technology systems and workstations that depend
on network access. Preparation for this project was actually initated two years ago
with the development of network specifications and standards and the implementation
of a procurement strategy (for systems and services). This project will unfold over
the next one to two years as the network is designed and components are replaced.
It is great to be able to bring this project to its final implementation phase.
Project leader: Sharon Luciw
Both projects are being brought to you by the professionals in Educational Technology
Services (ETS) with the assistance of many departments across the district and colleges.
Regards,
Fred