NYU today announced that will replace its in-house email system with Google Apps Education Edition to provide email service for the entire University community. The project, which will involve switching over some 80,000 email accounts, is projected to be completed by July 2012.
University to Move from In-House System to Google Apps Education Edition
NYU today announced that will replace its in-house email system with Google Apps Education Edition to provide email service for the entire University community. The project, which will involve switching over some 80,000 email accounts, is projected to be completed by July 2012. Please see NYU's Google FAQs for more information.
Google Apps Education Edition offers a free set of customizable tools for collaboration and communication among faculty, students, administrators, and staff. It will provide access to the complete features of GmailTM and Google CalendarTM , as well as Web-based collaboration tools such as Google DocsTM, Google SitesTM, and Google ChatTM.
The conversion is projected to save the University some $400,000 per year by eliminating the need to purchase, upgrade, and maintain in-house mail servers and to maintain software licenses. The switch-over is consistent with the findings of NYU’s Information Technology Task Force, which recommended moving from an in-house email system to a third-party vendor.
Marilyn McMillan, NYU’s chief information technology officer, said “This is a win-win: in one stroke, we are able to provide better email services to members of the NYU community, offer a new set of tools for academic collaboration, and achieve savings for the University. I want to thank the members of the NYU’s Information Technology Task Force – which was composed of representatives of deans, faculty, administrators, and students – who early on recognized the positive possibilities of such a move and helped lead us in this direction.
“In selecting this system,” McMillan said, “we are able to provide faculty, students, administrators, and staff with a free, high-quality, modern, easily-accessible email system with greater storage capacity, as well as strong privacy and security protections. In our implementation, Google will not own NYU email and data – these remain NYU’s responsibility. Moreover, there’s likely to be a significant degree of familiarity with these tools – many individuals already have personal Gmail accounts. And while these accounts will remain separate from NYU Gmail accounts, much of the community knows how to use the service.”
The new system will be accessible via the Web or smartphone applications, and members of the NYU community will still be able to use various email programs on their computers to access email as they do currently. Users will sign on to the new system with their current net IDs and passwords through a portal with an NYU look and feel. The new system will retain current NYU email addresses and aliases (e.g.: john.doe@nyu.edu). The NYU Google Apps Education Edition accounts will remain separate from any existing Gmail or Google calendar accounts that members of the NYU community already possess.