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Michigan Tech to Outsource E-mail and Calendar Applications to Merit Network
April 24, 2008
By Walt Milligan, CIO for Michigan Technological University
Michigan Technological University has reached an agreement with Merit Network, Inc. of Ann Arbor, Michigan, to outsource faculty, staff, student, and alumni e-mail and calendaring applications. The new service will be in place before the start of Fall Semester, 2008.
In addition to cost savings, this agreement will result in substantial improvements in the e-mail and calendar functionality for all users. The Merit Mail client is based on the Zimbra Collaboration Suite, which may be explored at zimbra.com. The Suite will replace HuskyMail, MeetingMaker, and the NotifyLink PDA conduits that are currently in use. The integrated calendar tool will be available to all users, including students, and will synchronize easily with personal calendars in 3rd party applications, as well as multiple campus and group calendars. Additionally, the Suite includes a contact manager and a utility for document collaboration and sharing. The web-based interface is far superior to HuskyMail, which will be decommissioned as the web-based mail tool. If users prefer, they may continue to use e-mail applications such as Thunderbird, Outlook, or Mac Mail. There will be no disk quotas.
Merit Network, Inc. is a non-profit organization whose primary mission is to develop and provide advanced networking services to the research and education community. Michigan Tech is one of Merit's governing member institutions, and as such, has a position on the Merit Board of Directors. Merit Mail is already serving approximately 12 institutions, including Central Michigan University. Merit is in active discussions with several major downstate Michigan universities about offering similar services.
Unlike other outsourcing options, Michigan Tech retains ownership and complete control of the data. Absolutely no advertising or data mining will occur.
Go to the Merit Network News Archive.
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