Communications for companies and individuals across the world have vastly improved because of Email.  Electronic Mail (Email) has revolutionized communications and created a new market for businesses.  Numerous software packages, and service providers exist giving users many options to choose from.  Companies, and educational institutions sometimes transition into new systems, in hopes of streamlining and simplifying usage.  George Mason University is a example of a large institution that is using multiple software packages, and is currently in the process of moving to one universal email system.

George Mason University (GMU) provides numerous offerings for its different audiences.  Many of the email applications, which they offer require user accounts on various servers.  Servers are computers installed with Network Operating System (NOS) software, such as UNIX, VAX, NOVELL, and Microsoft NT.  This software allows for large numbers of user accounts to be created and stored on the system, as well software applications, and files.  Servers also have the ability to be accessed by many users at one time, from desktop computers.  Students are offered user accounts on a VAX, as well as a UNIX system.  These servers offer email applications such as:  mail, elm, and pine.  Faculty and staff of the University also have access to accounts on these two systems, but they also may have accounts on NOVELL or Microsoft NT.  These servers only offer propriety email packages; specific software which only runs on the specific server NOS.  NOVELL offers GroupWise as their email package, and Exchange is run on Microsoft NT.  GMU not only supports user accounts on the NOS servers, and the email software that runs on them, but desktop email software applications.  Eudora is an email application, which requires the individuals to install the software on their own computer.  It provides the user with the ability to connect to a single account, or many accounts on servers to collect and send their mail.  There are still other email applications in use, because individuals have other email access preferences (e.g. hotmail, yahoo, etc).

The use of multiple email clients creates many concerns.   Some of the technical concerns are:  accessibility by users; storage of files; and the communication between the various systems (translations or protocols).  The budget has to allow for the maintenance of hardware, upgrades of the many software packages and their licensing.  The collaboration between the different Information Technology (IT) professionals is integral for the successful operation of the system.  Field technicians are responsible for addressing hardware and software problems on campus computers.  Server administrators maintain the servers operational, and the software on them current.  Email administrators are responsible for the account creations and maintenance of the email systems.  The support staff spends a great deal of time directly with clients troubleshooting the problems they experience on the various systems.  Without the proper communications the quality of support can become an issue.  This would affect the quality of the training groups like Learning Resources Office (LRO), Student Technology Assistance & Resource Center (STAR), and Instructional Resource Center (IRC) would be able to provide for the students, faculty, and staff.  The users have the task of obtaining accounts on the various system(s), and then the process of learning the email applications on the system(s).
There is a lot of money involved in such a large-scale offering.

GMU created a task force to assess the needs of the university, and test out numerous email packages.  The task force assembled included some of the IT professionals which would have to create and maintain the system, as well as staff and faculty volunteers throughout the University.  This group looked at the needs of the academic environment.  They also consulted with local Universities to discover what issues their current systems had, and what solutions they were looking at.  With the needs assessment created between the task force with input from the other Universities they decided on five email packages for preliminary testing.  Individuals on the task force along with persons they recruited spent a few weeks playing with: GroupWise, Exchange, Pine, Netscape, and a fifth package.  The packages were rated on user friendliness (simplicity), and features.  University Computing Information Systems (UCIS) then identified the hardware requirements, licensing, and cost for a feasibility analysis.  From the recommendations of the test group, and the analysis they determined which email software package GMU would transition to.

Netscape was selected as the package that GMU would transition to.  Georgetown University and Marymount College also choose Netscape as their email packages.  One of the reasons Netscape was chosen, because it offers web connectivity.  This grants the users the ability to access their email from any system, which connects to the World Wide Web (WWW). In addition Netscape Messenger can also be setup to connect to the mail server.  By connecting to the mail server the computer copies down the account information, and email.  Netscape also offers a Calendar option that requires a separate installation.  The calendar is stored on the mail server.  It allows the user the ability to make their calendar viewable to all other persons on the system, and grant them the ability to schedule appointments with each other.

GMU named the new mail system Mason Enterprise Messaging Online (MEMO).
 
 
 

With the decision on the package made, UCIS would then work with Netscape representatives on purchasing equipment and getting installed.  As George Mason University (GMU) was not the only University transitioning in the area, networking between GMU, Georgetown, and Marymount began taking place.  They worked separately and together with Netscape to troubleshoot problems, and assess the actual web package which was provided.  They would discover the shortcomings and develop methods of overcoming them, and share the information.  New needs assessments would be made, and those would be directed to Netscape.

As Georgetown went first into the transition they were able to provide steps and guidance to the GMU.  They would also give them feedback on the student populations responses.  GMU was able to then alter their plan, and make changes before the actual implementation.  They would also be able to prepare for complaints from students on the web package, such as, the inability to create groups in the addressbook.  Limitations like this and the fact that the web version does not provide the News feature which students could setup in the old PINE package, would mean having to offer alternative means.

A new MEMO (Mason Messanging Enterprise Online) Task Force would meet to discuss testing, concerns, rollout, and timelines.  This would go on while the technitions would be setting up the system, and creating preliminary accounts for volunteer testers.  Documentation was written and rewritten, as well as announcements to the community that this new system was coming.  Meetings were held with technical coordinators from each department.  In these meetings the schedules for departmental rollovers were discussed.  They would setup a one year calendar with the listing of Support services, Administrative services, and the individuals colleges/school.  The coordinators would be given training and information on what changes faculty and staff members would have to make to their accounts.  The steps for migration had been outlined, and as problems arose documentation would be rewritten to include information about those.  Faculty and staff on groupwise would have steps outlined on the changes they needed to make to their folders of stored mail before they would be migrated.  They had to clean up the information stored, and then setup their folders of mail prior to migration o that the information would not be lost in the transfer to the new system.  The complication with groupwise arose with those people who used the calendar software.  There was difficulty experienced in having this be migrated over without lose of information, or incorrect formating.

The UCIS LRO would also be developing trainings programs to outline both the web access, and the Netscape messanger (using IMAP) choice provided to Faculty and staff.   The preliminary training sessions would be offered to those people who helped with the initial testing of the software package, and technical coordinators.  This would give them the feedback they needed from people who already had experienced the system and encountered problems.  They then redeveloped and began to offer the training to the general faculty and staff which had been migrated.

Faculty are given the choice of using the web access to the new MEMO system, just as students, but they also have the option of using Netscape messenger on their office desktop system.  The messanger client is setup as with IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol), which means that the desktop makes copies of all the email in their account on the server.  The original messages still on the server, therefore can be accessed later through the web in case a person is away from their computer and needs to refer back to a message they received.  Students are not advised to use the Netscape Messanger Client because this would leave copies of their personal email on any desktop system which they setup to download their email.  It potentially would give other people access to their account.  Students are encouraged to use the messanger client on their dorm room system, or personal home computer.  The advantages of using the client are all the additional features the client has, including full access to the GMU directory.  This feature allows people to look up the email address of a GMU person, or to look up the name of an GMU address.  The client addressbook doe allow for group addressbook settings, which the client does not.

It is important for the user to understand that if they are going use to Messanger client that they use IMAP and not POP.  The reason IMAP is encouraged is for a number of reasons.  IMAP allows you to access a number of servers, so if you have an account on MEMO, as well as one on hotmail you can copy down and access both of those accounts.  It is a more secure option because it uses real authentication.  The other nice feature is that whether you are online or offline you can still do work on the account.  Even though POP does work, it downloads the email in an unsecure fashion, and does not leave it on the server.  Everything is now only accessible on the local system.

The transition has begun for faculty and staff, only new students have been placed on the new MEMO system at GMU.  The rest of the student population will be migrated over once the faculty, staff, and administration has been moved over.  They are schedule to begin in the fall of 2001.  Students will be given the ability to migrate themselves over to the new system prior to their scheduled date.  This means that their account will be created, but moving their PINE email and folder to MEMO can be done with the instruction provided on the web (http://mason.gmu.edu/migrate/netmain.html).  The instruction walk you through set by step.  The UCIS Support Center has staff which can also help walk students through from home, and troubleshoot problem which they may encounter.  If students don't migrate themselves, they eventually are migrated by the email system administrators.

The complete migration of the full university will take close to two years.  Solutions have been found to existing problems, but new problems will be discovered as the transition continues.  Some of them will be solved when an upgrade is done to the current web client in teh future.  Training will help resolve a lot of the questions, as well as the continually updated documentation.  Just as the transition will take a long time, so will the adjustment to the students, faculty, staff, and administration to the new offerings, and limitations of the new email package.  The problems of multiple software applications and email servers to support has been cut down.  The unfriendly email package PINE has been replaced with a GUI (Graphica User Interface) package which cuts down on the time students take to learn the software.  Finally everyone will be on the same page, and there shouldn't be any more confusion about learning different email packages, or how to FTP an attachment, or why the email looks so different from one system to another.  The University will be standardized.