Collaboration and Unified E-Mail

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Collaboration and Unified E-Mail

• Dennis Schmidt, Director, OIS

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Our Mail System Has Issues!

• Our mail architecture is complex
• Multiple mail systems
• Mixed products no integration between them
• Multiple directories causes mail routing
  problems
• We dont have a good solution for portable mail
  devices (Blackberry, Treo, etc.)
• No automated collaboration tools
• Very few third party applications work well with
  our environment

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Current SOM E-Mail Architecture
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Duplication of Effort

• Three e-mail servers with different technologies
• IMAP
• Medicine Exchange
• SOM Exchange (Supporting calendar only)
• Two directory services
• IMAP LDAP
• Microsoft Active Directory

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Other Issues

• Multiple IDs/Passwords
• SOMid
• Windows Domain Account (OISSOMNT)
• ONYEN
• Attachment incompatibility between Outlook and
  IMAP clients
• Lack of mail server redundancy
• Difficulty fitting products into architecture
• e.g., Tumbleweed, BES

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A Proposed Solution

• Primary Directory MS Active Directory
• Primary Mail Server Microsoft Exchange 2007
• Collaboration Software SharePoint 2007
• Hand Held Mail
• Blackberry Enterprise Server
• ActiveSync for non Blackberries
• Redundancy and High Availability Configuration
• Identity Management Software Self service
  password
• Expanded mail space for users
• Integration with ONYEN

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Resulting SOM E-Mail Architecture
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Why This Solution?

• A/D-Exchange is THE dominant force on the market.
• 11 of 17 medical schools on recent survey use
  Exchange as their primary email.
• We are already doing Exchange email for over 1000
  users (Dept of Medicine).
• Third party vendors all write solutions for A/D.
• Best all around solution for portable mail
  devices.
• Full integration between e-mail, calendar, and
  SharePoint.
• SharePoint provides integrated collaboration
  tools.

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SharePoint Products and TechnologiesMicrosoft
Office SharePoint Server 2007
Docs/tasks/calendars, blogs, wikis, e-mail
integration, project management lite, Outlook
integration, offline docs/lists
Server-based Excel spreadsheets and data
visualization, Report Center, BI Web Parts,
KPIs/Dashboards
Business Intelligence
Collaboration
Enterprise Portal template, Site Directory, My
Sites, social networking, privacy control
Rich and Web forms based front-ends, LOB actions,
enterprise SSO
BusinessForms
Portal
Content Management
Search
Integrated document management, records
management, and Web content management with
policies and workflow
Enterprise scalability, contextual relevance,
rich people and business data search
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What Does It Fix?

• Full Integration of e-mail, calendaring and
  collaboration applications
• Fully compatible with Hospital e-mail calendar
• Reduction in number user IDs and passwords
• Self-service password resets
• Scalable handheld e-mail solution
• Addition of SharePoint collaboration tools
• Advanced file sharing (simultaneous editing,
  version control)
• Wikis Blogs

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More Fixes

• Improved Security
• Encrypted message flow from user to server
• Easier to push out security configurations and
  policies
• Ability to wipe lost/stolen portable devices
• Redundancy for hardware failures and patching
• Reduced Load on Help Desk
• Fewer passwords fewer resets
• Simpler account creation process
• Reduction in parallel technologies providing same
  service
• Single email technology instead of two
  technologies

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Pros for Backend Support

• Availability of more third party applications
• Vendors write applications that work with the
  dominant product on the market.
• Works with IMAP e-mail clients as well as Outlook
• Reduction in number of different/parallel
  technologies supporting mail services
• Less complex mail handling architecture
• Fewer incoming mail servers
• Reduction in separate outgoing smtp servers
  (Exchange smtp?)

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Cons for the Users

• Change is Stressful!
• Migration of mail could be challenging
• Possible user ID change to match ONYEN
• May need to learn new application (Outlook)
• Compatibility with non-Windows users
• Much smaller issue than it used to be, but still
  an issue
• Latest version of Exchange has very robust web
  interface
• SharePoint is web focused
• Some may have to overcome anti-Microsoft Bias

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How Does This Affect Macs?

• Can still use Entourage (Outlook client)
• Can use an IMAP client with Exchange
• Outlook and SharePoint web interfaces very robust
• Following will NOT be available without
  IE/Office
• Integration with Office 2007 (direct edit and
  save)
• Mass Upload Tool
• IEs Rich Text Editor

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Cons for Backend Support

• Change is Stressful!
• Migration costs
• New Hardware/Software
• Most e-mail clients must be touched, even those
  that continue to use IMAP clients
• Different skill sets needed for backend support
• Some may have to overcome anti-Microsoft Bias
• Mono-configuration issues
• Compromises of single technology could be
  devastating.

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Steps (6 -12 Months Total)

• User buy in
• Beef up Active Directory structure to Windows
  2008 Alphanumerics hired to help with this.
  Started May 5th.
• Design new architecture and determine costs
• Obtain funding
• Develop user training and migration plan
• Purchase Exchange hardware and software
• Install and configure Exchange servers
• Implement training and migration plan
• Purchase SharePoint Hardware and software
• Install and configure hardware and software
• Begin SharePoint migration and training

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Questions/Comments?

• Does this benefit you?
• Does the impede you?
• Good idea?
• Bad idea?
• Doesnt matter?