Page 13 - OIT Progress Report: 2023 Edition

Email Migration to the Cloud Modernizes Communication Services
Since email services were introduced to campus in the mid-1990s, a large number of mailboxes have resided on servers within SMU’s data centers. In 2014, student mailboxes were moved to Exchange Online, part of
the Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suite of products.
This transition allowed students to retain their email addresses after graduation, provided additional storage capacity, and a more straightforward configuration for devices. In early 2023, faculty and staff email accounts were also moved to Exchange Online in an intensive multi-month project to prepare, validate, move, and enable accounts as seamlessly as possible.
This process began months before the new year, with analysis and planning of the processes required to accommodate all the specific configurations and workflows of not just OIT staff, but every single staff and faculty member. Those employee accounts that have permissions to multiple mailboxes and calendars had to be thoroughly checked to ensure compatibility and a smooth transition without loss of functionality. ManeFrame II also played a role in this analysis to decide who would be migrated and at what date
and time. Customers were informed multiple times in the lead-up to their migration date with helpful information on what to expect during the process, resulting in fewer calls to the IT Help Desk and a smoother transition for the SMU community.
Now that all email accounts are in Exchange Online, OIT is able to streamline the process for managing the email infrastructure and implement newer advanced technologies for filtering spam, detecting phishing attempts, and more. This migration was also a pre-requisite for the upcoming transition from Skype for Business to Microsoft Teams for unified communication occurring this academic year.
InFRASTRucTuRE: PROvIdInG POWER TO FuEl chAnGE
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