Information Technology Services (ITS) will begin rolling out a new cloud-based email and calendaring system – Microsoft Office 365 – in September 2015.  By moving to a cloud-based system, UCOP will reduce the cost of email support and storage. Office 365 includes email, calendaring and encryption on demand.

A small group of users will participate in a pilot of the new system in August. The full rollout, to be done department by department, will begin on Sept. 12 and run through Oct. 17.

The current email system will be available to users up to the moment they switch to Office 365.  Users won’t experience any down time, and all their current email, along with email in the online archive, will automatically be moved to the new system. If you have locally stored emails (pst’s), you will need to move them to the on-line archive prior to the migration. Find instructions here.

Users will have to perform one additional step when logging in to the new system for the first time. ITS will provide instructions as well as directions for configuring your mobile devices to point to the new Office 365 service.

For employees working offsite, a new version of Outlook Web App (OWA) will be available with a new feature — Skype for Business — which will offer instant messaging (i.e., online chat).

ITS is developing training materials for OWA and encryption on demand. Office 365 as accessed from your desktop will look and feel just like the Outlook product you use today, with the added attraction of on-demand encryption.

Watch for an announcement soon from Chief Operating Officer Rachael Nava with more details on the project.

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