Novell No More
By Elizabeth Mendez, Associate Reporter
Students across campus received an email Tuesday morning informing students of the switch from GroupWise to Google.
It is very hard to run into someone on campus who doesn't have complaints about the university's GroupWise system. Lecturer Barbara Kelly even warned students in her syllabus for Communiction 141B: "GroupWise is not always your friend."
Santa Clara will be transitioning this year to Google Apps for Education, a package which includes Google's applications for email, calendar, Drive, documents, sites and groups.
"There's no need to panic," Ron Danielson, Vice Provost for Information Services and Chief Information Officer, said. "Email addresses will remain the same."
A task force recommended Google to Santa Clara in April. The licensing negotiations were handled by Danielson this summer and the plan was approved early this month by both the president and provost. Danielson said the agreement ensures that Santa Clara will have secure data and renewal agreements, should the school decide to continue using the package after its first term. Santa Clara is set to use Google for five years, but the university is allowed to pull out at any time.
Although both vendors were capable of meeting Santa Clara's needs, Google had products that had already proven to be reliable, and Microsoft was offering apps that had yet to be released or tested by the public. In addition, Danielson said that Microsoft's package was initially presented with a price tag, whereas Google offered the tools for free.
Professor Terri Griffith is chair of the task force and said that she is excited about the transition. According to Griffith, Google was an easier choice because the group was able to ask for feedback from universities that had already integrated Google communication tools.
The university will not be switching over any time soon. Director of Information Technology Carl Fussell said that a first test group of about 50 people will be transitioned, followed by a second group of around 200. Volunteers selected to test the new tools are expected to serve as guides to help others after the final migration. Fussell added that there will be a period of time after the switch where users will still be able to access GroupWise. The school is now considering maintaining accounts for alumni.
Fussell explained that the university has brought on two companies to help facilitate the massive move from our servers to Google's cloud-based ones.
For those concerned with privacy, it is comforting to know that Google employees will not be allowed to look at Santa Clara user content unless a university administrator gives them the okay. This will only occur when needed for troubleshooting, according to Danielson.
Content cannot be shared without a student's permission and is scanned by an automated process only for the purposes of enhancing search functionality as well as spam filtering and virus protection.
Students' reactions seemed mixed and point out that not all parts of Groupwise were unbearable. Miguel De Los Santos will miss key functions of GroupWise that Gmail doesn't offer. As head desk receptionist for Sobrato Hall, De Los Santos said he relies on GroupWise's sent tracking function to hold his co-workers accountable.
"If I sent out someone's schedule, I could see if they read it, forwarded it, or deleted it," said De Los Santos.
Stephanie Cervi, a web design major minoring in computer engineering, is happy about the new email system. She believes that Google's efficient simplicity, handy functions and reliable service will win over both basic users and techies alike. A crucial function that she hopes Gmail will have is the contact finder GroupWise provides, where anyone can look up an email address with a last or first name. Keep an eye out for a website that will soon be available to inform people of test group sign-ups and the schedule for implementation.
Contact Elizabeth Ambriz-Mendez at EAmbrizMendez@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.