Unlimited storage space, increased collaboration and improved access from almost anywhere in the world are just a few reasons why Google Apps for Education was chosen as the new platform for faculty and staff calendars and email.
On Monday, May 25, Google Calendar will launch; Google Email will follow in phases during the summer.
During the past few months, the Information Technology Services (ITS) Department has been moving historical Outlook and Exchange account information to Google Calendar and Email platforms behind the scenes. This pre-migration work will prevent user downtime once the new systems launch.
“We know this change will be challenging for the campus but we believe the migration will position us for even greater success in the future,” said Mike Carlin, UNC Charlotte’s vice chancellor for information technology and chief information officer.
An upgrade of the University’s current calendar and email platforms was needed as the original infrastructure has passed its useful life.
“Features, costs and enhanced disaster recovery options were researched by an ITS engineering team, which included discussions with other comparable universities already using Google and comparing their experiences migrating from Exchange,” explained Carlin. UNC Charlotte will join many other universities that have successfully migrated to Google, including N.C. State University and UNC Greensboro. Appalachian State University will migrate this summer, too.
The Google Calendar and Email user experience is being carefully vetted by hundreds of early adopters, including the entire ITS Department, local campus IT unit volunteers and others. The process has been pivotal in shaping the transition and developing resources for campus faculty and staff.
“ITS is here to help with the transition, including a variety of training and drop-in options, FAQs and a committed staff of professionals both within central ITS and distributed campus IT support units,” said Carlin. The site, googlemigration.uncc.edu, has been created to provide faculty and staff a single source to access project resources.
IT training and project coordinator Jennifer Toth was hesitant at first when receiving news of the change, but now she’s a big fan. “It took a little time to adjust to the new look and terminology, but organizing, searching and getting to what I need, wherever I am, is so much easier.”
Google Calendar training classes are currently being offered and Google Email training will begin in June. To register, click here.
For more information, visit googlemigration.uncc.edu or email the Google Migration Team.