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Collaboration Suites

Collaboration Suites. ITEC Meeting January 30, 2006 3:00-4:30 PM 201 Administration. How We Got Here. Charge to Calendar Committee May, 2005 Recommend reduced set of solutions for campus electronic calendaring Committee findings & recommendations:

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Collaboration Suites

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  1. Collaboration Suites ITEC Meeting January 30, 2006 3:00-4:30 PM 201 Administration

  2. How We Got Here • Charge to Calendar Committee May, 2005 • Recommend reduced set of solutions for campus electronic calendaring • Committee findings & recommendations: • “Can’t solve just the calendar issue, it’s a suite problem” • Recommendation for Students: The Portal suite • Recommendation for Faculty & Staff: MS Exchange suite • 13-3 vote in favor at the October IAC meeting Att. B - Collaboration

  3. Today’s Agenda • Collaboration Suites, definitions & features • The 3 questions from the last ITEC meeting • Is a single solution right for CSU? • If yes, which one? • If yes, what are the implications for those who don’t wish to convert? • What other schools are doing • Recommendation Att. B - Collaboration

  4. Collaboration Suite Definition & Features • Email • Calendar • Individual • Groups • Resources (e.g. conference rooms, equipment) • Chat, Instant and Text Messaging (significant use by students) • On-line self service • Typically also includes: contacts, tasks, mobile connectivity components Att. B - Collaboration

  5. Rich Media Conferencing - An Extension to a Collaboration Suite • Web, audio (telephone), video, Instant Messaging (chat) • Registration • Invitations via Instant Messaging, cellular telephone, land line, internet video • Will ‘find’ conference attendees using active devices (e.g. Morrison in London) • Controls • Invite, mute/unmute, roll call, out dial for group conferencing, record a meeting (video, audio, content), record a message, record an agenda, breakout sessions, end meeting • Content • Slides (PowerPoint, PDF), attachments, white boards, etc. • Directory-enabled services • Audio and video individual and group conferences • Webinars (producer and consumer) • Distance education, self-paced instruction, and public safety Att. B - Collaboration

  6. 1. Single Collaboration Suite for CSU - Pros • Reduces complexity • For Users – a big “win” • For Application Supporters – a modest “win” • For IT Support Staff – a small “win” • Automatic interoperability – another big “win” • Resolves the current calendar conundrum • Streamlines communication on campus • Provides a foundation for additional functionality, e.g. rich media • A single system provides • Lower Costs • Improved functionality & synergies • Improved security • Ability to enhance a single system, rather than just to operate multiple systems Att. B - Collaboration

  7. Single Collaboration Suite for CSU – Cons • Are the benefits of change worth the cost of change? • Are the risks associated with a single vendor, a “monolithic” environment, acceptable? • Can the single system be secured? Att. B - Collaboration

  8. The “Bottom Line” • The IT environment is getting far too: • Complex, • Difficult to use, and • Difficult and expensive to operate, secure & maintain • A single collaboration suite would: • Enhance productivity via reduced complexity • Enable better communication • Allow IT staff to focus on delivery, support and enhancement of a single application • Significant effort of cross platform operations and integration could be devoted to enhancement of a single system, as opposed to operations of multiple systems Att. B - Collaboration

  9. 2. Which Single Suite? – Evaluation Factors • Functionality • Cost • Integration into current environment • Impact on Users • Impact on Support Staff • Needed enhancements to current environment • Hardware redundancy • Increased capacity/quotas Att. B - Collaboration

  10. Options • Summarily ruled out • “Build” – due to complexity and performance issues • Freeware – due to integration and support • Oracle • Unix or Windows backend infrastructure • Portal-like web interface with hooks to MS Outlook as a ‘fat’ client • Communigate • Unix backend primarily, can run on Windows • Access via standard browsers and MS Outlook • MS Exchange • Windows backend • Access via browsers and ‘fat’ clients Att. B - Collaboration

  11. Functionality • Oracle Collaboration suite • Good (on paper), however its new functionality is relatively untested and evolving rapidly • Oracle themselves not using the full suite in production (yet) • Communigate • Good, however, it is focused primarily on VoIP/PBX space, and not now on rich collaboration • MS Exchange • Robust, including mobile access “out of the box” • Proven and currently available at CSU Att. B - Collaboration

  12. Cost • Server side costs for unix and Windows systems are essentially identical • Differences are within the range of costs from different assumptions • Cost differences lie mostly at the application (software, maintenance and licenses (e.g. CALs)) • Oracle • Up-front $130K, recurring $56K • Communigate • Up-front $70K, recurring $9K • Exchange • Up-front $19K, recurring $0 (for 2 years) • ‘Flash’ migration from Oracle product possible, ~$30K Att. B - Collaboration

  13. Integration into Current Environment- The Landscape • Oracle calendar users: ~2,000 • Exchange users: ~2,000 • Spread across 10 servers • All use email, many use calendar • Central email: • 7,700 faculty/staff accounts on Lamar • Quotas: 80/160Mb Inbox, 30/60Mb file storage • Average use: 45Mb in Inbox, 50Mb in Imap folder • 1,000 faculty/staff accounts on Exchange • Quotas: 100Mb (includes Inbox, Imap folders, calendar, contacts, etc.) • Average use: 60Mb Att. B - Collaboration

  14. Integration into current environment- Impact to End users • In any case, a transition & migration period • Assist users who wish to transition during this period • Keep unix email “up” ad infinitum • Lamar retained for grad students in any case • In an Oracle world: • Change required for all non-Outlook users • Given ‘new delivery method, change for most everyone • In a Communigate world: • Calendar: Oracle users move to Outlook or web interface • Email: Some adjustment for Unix-based mailers (pine, elm, etc.) • Does not address the proliferation of Exchange servers • In an Exchange world: • Calendar: Oracle users move to new fat client or web interface • Email: Little change, some adjustment for Unix-based mailers (pine, elm, etc.) Att. B - Collaboration

  15. Integration into Current Environment- Support Staff • Oracle • Need to expand current deployment to include features beyond calendaring • Next revision will be full-on Oracle DB backend requiring additional expertise (IS) • Effectively, a new product • Transition effort: high • Communigate • New deployment for CSU • A major initiative • Transition effort: high • Exchange • Currently supported, just need to scale up • Integrates with other Exchange systems at CSU • A central system may provide incentive for consolidation of distributed Exchange servers • Pending requests to implement additional Exchange servers • Transition effort: relative to other options, low Att. B - Collaboration

  16. Which Collaboration Suite? • Based on: • Features & Functionality • Deliverable and proven product • Cost • Less transition & integration angst • Microsoft Exchange Att. B - Collaboration

  17. 3. What About Non-Microsoft shops? • Use the web interface • Almost equivalent to a “fat client” • Avoids issues of client “churn” or upgrade • A horrible problem • Web interface provides a “huge” simplification • Available on all devices with the same look and feel • Desktops: PC’s, Mac, Linux • Laptop • A simplified interface (small screen) exists for • Palmtop, PDA, and Cellular devices • “Push” happens automatically – • Equivalent to BlackBerry service • Big simplification on “back end” over the BlackBerry environment Att. B - Collaboration

  18. Local “Fat” Clients Att. B - Collaboration

  19. Using Web Browsers Att. B - Collaboration

  20. What Other Institutions are Doing - Westnet Large Schools • On Exchange – seeing a potential trend • Arizona State University (faculty/staff) • BYU (all) • Denver University (all) • UCDHSC (faculty/staff) • University of Utah (all in February 2006) • Selected after a very detailed investigation • Even their unix system administrators liked the interface • University of Wyoming (all) • Faculty/staff for a long time • Students (13,000) transitioned (at their request) overnight in August 2005, very easy transition • They developed migration tools they are willing to share Att. B - Collaboration

  21. Recommendation • ITEC endorse Exchange as the central collaboration suite for faculty and staff • ACNS work with units to plan and effect the transition • Begin the transition, purchase and install hardware (using ACNS’ budget) • Define a “sunset” date for Oracle calendar • Keep unix email going, but as a secondary solution Att. B - Collaboration

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