According to Mass High Tech, Worcester State College replaced its Microsoft Exchange based email system for Google Apps for Edu. This is expected to save the College IT department $120,000 the first year and $70,000 each following year.
This is a trend I’m seeing in college IT departments. Very traditional services, like email & database hosting are being outsourced so the IT departments can focus on more innovative services that directly meet the needs of the facility and students.
There are “privacy” issues raised about handing the campus email system over to private company. On the other hand, I can see a mail server at a college getting hacked at lot easier than a Google based server.
Google Apps also includes Google Docs, so I can see more students storing their files “in the cloud” instead of on their local systems. Of course, there will be those, both students and facility, who just don’t back up their files.
Filed under: Internet, IT | Tagged: college, email, Google |
Urbin Technology 
[…] Take a look at Worcester State College for a good example of how outsourcing a basic function like email frees up not just money, but the talent of the IT department to help their clients. […]
[…] More colleges using google for student email systems. Posted on September 10, 2009 by Mark Urbin I reported just over a year ago, that Worcester State College replaced its Microsoft Exchange based …. […]