Customer Solution Case Study
/ / Cambrian College Enhances Campus Communications with Live@edu
Overview
Country or Region: Canada
Industry: Education
Customer Profile
Founded in 1967, Cambrian College of Applied Arts & Technology is the largest postsecondary institution in Northern Ontario.
Business Situation
In order to deliver a stronger level of messaging and collaboration tools across campus, the College wanted to provide a single, cost-effective email service to its students.
Solution
After looking at various third-party communication options Cambrian selected Microsoft Live@edu, a set of hosted communication and collaboration services.
Benefits
n Reliable, cost-effective email
n A more connected student body
n Building an extended school community / “Today’s students live mobile lifestyles, and are accustomed to instant access to online information… We were getting a lot of requests from students for something that was stronger and easier for them to use.”
Michael Alloy, Chief Information Officer, Cambrian College of Applied Arts & Technology
Cambrian College of Applied Arts & Technology is the largest postsecondary institution in Northern Ontario. In order to deliver a stronger level of messaging and collaboration tools across campus, the College wanted to provide a single, cost-effective email service to its students. After looking at various third-party communication options— including technology from Google – Cambrian selected Microsoft® Live@edu, a set of hosted communication and collaboration services. Cambrian is now taking advantage of Microsoft Live@edu to provide hosted communication and collaboration services, avoiding annual costs of up to $20,000 for an in-house solution. The school’s 14,000 students are now benefiting from more reliable campus communications with the same high standard of messaging and collaboration tools that they may someday use in the workplace.
Situation
Since 1967, Cambrian College in Sudbury has earned top marks as one of Northern Ontario’s leading postsecondary institutions. Spread across three campuses, the College has a vibrant community of more than 14,000 students.
As a forward-thinking institution, Cambrian College constantly looks for new ways to keep its students, faculty and alumni connected. According to Michael Alloy, Chief Information Officer, Cambrian College, the school needed an easy-to-use email, communication and collaboration platform. The previous environment at Cambrian was based on legacy messaging technologies, and was often overwhelmed by student email demand.
“The old messaging tools worked, but they were growing outdated with each passing year. Today’s students live mobile lifestyles, and are accustomed to instant access to online information,” says Alloy. “We were getting a lot of requests from students for something that was stronger and easier for them to use.”
Solution
After looking at various third-party communication options— including technology from Google Inc. – Cambrian College chose Microsoft® Live@edu, a hosted communication and collaboration solution.
The service includes Outlook® Live and 10GB of email storage space, accessible via Outlook Web Access. Email addresses are co-branded with the school’s name and logo. Other Live@edu services include Microsoft Windows Live™ SkyDrive™ storage technology, which provides 25 GB of online storage, and Microsoft Office Live Workspace, which students can use to access and share documents online from their PC or mobile device.
“As a Microsoft shop, we’re used to the familiar look and feel that Live@edu provided. Students are already using and learning on our existing Microsoft platform and it made sense to continue working with Microsoft from a cost and integration perspective,” says Alloy.
Transitioning over to the new hosted environment began with a two week test pilot phase in August 2009. Previous email addresses used a student number prefix followed by @email.cambrian.on.ca. The transition process involved notifying students of the new accounts and that they could migrate their content themselves or call upon the IT department for assistance. Students now have access to a new – and more elegant – first initial.last address.
“The entire process was completed in a month, and we only had two users ask for help. That’s how easy the process was for us,” says Alloy.
Benefits
Cambrian College is taking advantage of the Live@edu platform to help create an enhanced communication and collaboration environment for students.
Reliable, cost-effective email
With a hosted solution in place, Cambrian is avoiding annual costs of up to $20,000 needed to maintain email in-house. Across campus, students are now benefiting from a more reliable communications platform that has a familiar and intuitive look and feel.
“We now have one less server that we need to support and maintain, and our email traffic has dropped accordingly. We expect to see cost savings given that we’re no longer provisioning back-end storage, but rather redirecting students to SkyDrive and the use of portable media,” says Alloy.
A more connected student body
For students, Live@edu offers a convenient method to connect and collaborate with friends, family, faculty, and other students across campus. In addition to new email addresses, users can take advantage of the free personal MSN Spaces to post blogs, pictures and favorite links. Students are taking advantage of Windows Live SkyDrive to access their stored work and stay productive anywhere there is an Internet connection.
“The new environment based on Live@edu is intended to benefit students in their studies by enhancing the ability to collaborate and co-ordinate with peers and faculty. So far, it’s been a fantastic tool and it’s helped us enhance the overall campus experience,” says Alloy.
Building an extended school community
The school now has a consistent, reliable way to communicate with its student body, and students and faculty have access to a leading edge communications tool. Plans are in the works to extend the Live@edu service to alumni as well.
“This will enable our alumni to create accounts and begin reintegrating and collaborating with the College community, which helps us to further strengthen Cambrian’s profile. The communication benefits are far-reaching,” says Alloy.
Microsoft Office System
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