Table of Contents

• May 18, 2012 - EMEMO on Calendar switch to Exchange Calendar
• April 16, 2012 - Article on the Exchange Migration project in the U of M Bulletin
• February 17, 2012 - Campus-wide Exchange Migration announcement
• February 3, 2012 - Advance notice of migration sent to users
• December 19th Email Migration Pilot Launch and New Email Contact
• November 15th Pilot Volunteer Survey open until November 21
• November 15th Communication from Marvin Kocay, Associate CIO, IST
• August 14th Bulletin Article

May 18, 2012

Time to switch your calendar!

Exchange Calendar to become the University of Manitoba’s corporate calendar of record as of June 1, 2012.
Throughout the last several months we have been in contact with all U of M faculty and staff regarding the progress of the ROSE program’s email and calendar initiative. The next major milestone for this initiative happens on Friday, June 1, 2012, when the Outlook Exchange Calendar becomes the corporate calendar of record for the university. What that means for you is that meetings scheduled starting June 1 and going forward should be scheduled through Exchange Calendar.  Any users who have already migrated to Exchange have their new calendar enabled and should begin using it to schedule meetings that fall on or after June 1.

You may also need to set up room resources or other resources within the Exchange calendar.  To add a room resource to Exchange that is not part of the Ad Astra room scheduling system, or non-room resources, please go to:
http://umanitoba.ca/computing/ist/email/exchange/index.html and complete the Exchange Resource Request Form. 
This form will be available Tuesday May 22, 2012.
To help support this transition the following resources are available:

On-line learning resources can be found at:
http://umanitoba.ca/computing/ist/email/exchange/learningresources.html

Users who have general questions should contact the Help & Solutions Centre at 474-8600 or by email at support@umanitoba.ca. Users may also contact their computer representative for their unit. Users belonging to the Shared Services Model should contact the IT Service Desk at 474-8400 or by email at servicedesk@umanitoba.ca

IST has partnered with Learning and Development Services (LDS) to offer sessions that introduce users to the various features within Exchange. Anyone can register for these sessions via the LDS website at: http://www.umanitoba.ca/admin/human_resources/training/reg/
 
The sessions can be found under the ROSE section at the bottom of the page.
 
The Brown Bag Sessions touch base on all aspects of Exchange - email, contacts, tasks, calendar, and more. While each session is unique, based on the needs of attendees, at least 45 minutes is typically spent on the calendar system.
 
Quick reference cards have been distributed to users upon their migration to Exchange, and electronic copies of the cards are available at:
http://umanitoba.ca/computing/ist/email/media/Outlook_Web_Access_Quick_Reference_Card_Online_Version.pdf

Marvin Kocay
Rose Sponsor for Email and Calendar

 April 16, 2012

Click here or on the image to read an article in the University of Manitoba Bulletin on the Exchange Email and Calendar Migration project.

February 17, 2012  

The following message was sent on behalf of Debbie McCallum, Vice-President (Administration):

The University of Manitoba introduces a new campus-wide email and calendar system

On February 21, 2012 the University of Manitoba will begin migrating all U of M faculty and staff to the Microsoft Exchange email and calendar system. Exchange is an integrated system that, along with the eventual addition of Microsoft's Active Directory, will provide a complete solution for file and print sharing, email, calendar and collaborative communication.

A successful pilot rollout was recently completed and after surveying all 280 pilot users, 92.8 per cent of respondents said they were satisfied with their migration experience.

The move to one common system will streamline communications across the university and enable easy online scheduling between all employees, as well as users at other organizations such as the Government of Manitoba and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA).

As part of their migration, users will be assigned an additional email address, which will read as Firstname.Lastname@ad.umanitoba.ca. There are no plans to remove existing U of M email addresses at this time.

A number of users have already begun receiving notification of their upcoming migration. Each person will receive notification three weeks, one week, and one day prior to their migration. More information on the migration experience, along with a wealth of learning resources and other information about Exchange, is located on IST’s Exchange communication web page.

To further assist users post-migration, Learning and Development Services (LDS) will be offering hour-long sessions focused on Outlook Web Access.   To register for these sessions, go to: http://umanitoba.ca/human_resources/lds/sessions   From there, you will be directed to the course list for Learning and Development Services. Scroll to the bottom and click on "ROSE", then "Exchange: Outlook Web Access (OWA) Brown Bag Lunch", for all available sessions to appear.

As part of the migration to Exchange, the Oracle Calendar used by many staff will be retired as of June 1, 2012. This is being announced in advance so that users can begin entering their meetings in Exchange as soon as they receive access. This lead time will also facilitate users in becoming familiar with the many powerful features of the Exchange calendar. It is recommended that users continue using Oracle Calendar until June 1, to minimize confusion when booking meetings.

To find out more information about the Exchange system and the migration process, please head to IST’s Exchange communication web page at: http://umanitoba.ca/computing/ist/email/exchange/

If you have additional questions about Exchange or the migration process, please email: exchange-info@lists.umanitoba.ca

February 3, 2012    

Exchange Migration Notice Letter

Greetings,

You are receiving this email as part of the strategy to prepare users and assist them in their transition to the University of Manitoba’s Exchange Email and Calendar system. You have been identified as one of the users who will be migrated the week of:

Seven days before you are scheduled to migrate, you will receive a 1 week notice reminder email.  The day before you are scheduled to migrate, we will send you a final reminder notice. Sometime between today and the day before you are migrated your departmental Computer Representative will bring you a sealed envelope containing your username and password for exchange, along with a quick reference card for the Webmail system for the Exchange system called Outlook Web Access (OWA).

Once you have migrated, you will receive a new email address: firstname.lastname@ad.umanitoba.ca
All of your current University of Manitoba email addresses will continue to function once you have been migrated.

If you want to learn more about Exchange, and what to expect from the migration please visit our Exchange communication site:

http://umanitoba.ca/computing/ist/email/exchange/index.html

Here is a very brief summary of what to expect during the migration:

* Early on your migration day all your new mail will be forwarded to your new exchange email account. We will make every effort to get your mail application setup for exchange within 24 hours, however to ensure that you experience no email interruption it is recommended that you read your new email via Outlook Web Access . You can connect to it at: https://owa.ad.umanitoba.ca/
 
* It is critical that on the day of your migration, you do not delete, move, or copy any email messages or folders or change your mail filter settings in either the old or new email systems until you are notified that your migration is complete. If you do it will cause your migration to fail. You may read and respond to your mail during this period using OWA.
* Throughout your migration day, all of your existing email on the old mail server will be copied over to your new exchange account. Once that has been completed you will receive an email notification. When you receive this notice you can begin using your email as you normally would.

* Within 24 hours of being migrated, either your Compurep or one of the Mail Migration Assistants will visit you to assist you with configuring your system to be able to access exchange, and assist you in migrating any locally stored mail. If you wish to configure your systems on your own, instructions are located here:
http://umanitoba.ca/computing/ist/email/exchange/learningresources.html

After visiting our Exchange communication site if you have any unanswered questions, you can contact us at:
exchange-info@lists.umanitoba.ca
Alternatively you can contact your Compurep, or the Help and Solutions Center (474-8600) / Shared Services (474-8400) for further information.

December 19th, 2011

Announcement of Email Migration Pilot Launch and New Email Contact

IST is pleased to announce that users who wish to start preparing for the Exchange migration, can now start uploading their locally stored email up to the server. Any user who encounters quota issues while uploading their email back to the server is encouraged to contact either the Help and Solutions Center, or their Departmental Computer Representative.

We will continue communicating the progress of the Exchange migration through our website and social media tools, ensuring that you are adequately informed and prepared.

If you have questions about the upcoming Exchange migration, please email us at exchange-info@lists.umanitoba.ca

Thanks for your support and assistance.

November 15, 2011

Pilot Volunteer Survey Launched

We would like to extend an opportunity for individuals who would like to participate in the 240 user pilot.  We have a selection survey that is open now, and we will be accepting volunteers until Monday November 21, at 8:30 AM. 

*** EDIT *** Survey will not be available until Thursday Nov 24th at noon

You can find the survey at:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DNR8STC

November 15th, 2011

Communication from Marvin Kocay, Associate CIO, IST

As part of the ongoing ROSE initiatives, IST heard from the university community that with our email and calendar there was a desire to see integration and modernization to meet the needs of the university both now and in the future.

The purpose of this communication is to bring you up to date with what is happening, explain how these initiatives will impact you, and provide you with information on how you can get involved.

IST is in the process of migrating to Microsoft Exchange, an integrated system which, along with Microsoft's Active Directory, provides a complete solution for email, calendar, and a platform for future innovation.

To help keep everyone up to date with what is going on with the project, this week we launched our Exchange Communication Site:

http://umanitoba.ca/ist/email/exchange/

We will be making frequent migration progress updates to this site, as well as using it to answer your questions, and providing learning resources to help you be prepared.

Between now and the end of January we expect the following milestones to occur:

December 5, 2011 – First pilot with 20 users begins.
December 12, 2011 – Second pilot with an additional 240 users begins.
January 16, 2011 – User Migration begins.

To ensure that this migration is successful we have partnered with Dell, who has significant experience in Exchange migrations.  We are consulting internally with your Departmental Computer Representatives, and we are consulting externally with a number of universities who have previously gone through a migration to exchange.

In addition to this communication and ongoing updates through our Exchange Communication Site, we plan to contact users via email three weeks prior to their individual migration date.  Additional contacts are planned for one week prior, and then one day prior to each user’s migration.  In all three emails, users will receive further instructions and information regarding what they can expect during this process.

In this phase of the migration we will only be migrating email, and will not be migrating any calendar data.  To provide users with enough time to prepare for the switch to using the exchange calendar, we plan to have the Exchange calendar become our primary calendar taking the place of both Jump and Oracle (Corptime) on June 1, 2012.

Finally, we would like to extend an opportunity for individuals who would like to participate in the 240 user pilot.  We have a selection survey that is open now, and we will be accepting volunteers until Monday November 21, at 8:30 AM.  You can find the survey at:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DNR8STC

We are currently expecting to notify the successful candidates for the pilot by November 26th.

Originally published in The Bulletin - August 11, 2011

New email and calendar system on the way

Streamlining and modernizing are key components of all ROSE initiatives, especially those focused on implementing online tools and systems.  Many of these initiatives, like the employee self-service tool and university-wide email system, will bring the U of M in line with what is happening at other Canadian institutions. Others, like the integrated travel tool, will move the university to the head of the pack. Beginning in September, many of these tools will begin being implemented across campus. One such tool is the new Microsoft Exchange email and calendar system, which will eventually be used by all staff and faculty members.

While not every U of M employee uses their assigned email account, for many it is their prime method of workplace communication. And while all employees are given a cc.umanitoba.ca address, the desktop application they use to access their email varies widely. As part of the information technology (IT) email and calendar initiative, the university is moving to a single email and calendar system across campus. This will streamline communications and enable easy online scheduling between all university employees, as well as users at other organizations like the Government of Manitoba, Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA).

“We decided on the Microsoft Exchange system not only because it is a great email system and a great integrated calendar system, but because it brings us to the doorstep of adding other integrated communication tools like messaging and video conferencing,” says Marvin Kocay, acting CIO and director of computer and network services.

While Kocay is excited about the future possibilities of the new tool, including improved synching of hand-held devices, he recognizes that its implementation will bring big changes for many users. Those employees who don’t currently use Outlook will be moving to a totally new tool, while those currently using Outlook might see a change in design and functionality. Kocay says they will be migrating current email data, including messages and organizational folders, into the new system and that they are investigating options for dealing with calendar data.

Beginning in September, 240 people will take part in an initial training and pilot rollout. Lessons learned from that pilot will be used to adjust the process before migrating over other user groups, which is expected to begin in early October. The plan, says Kocay, is to have all employees transferred over to Microsoft Exchange by the Christmas break. The date for adopting Exchange calendar will depend on the strategy used for the calendar data.