Google gets nod from University of Michigan IT group considering single campus-wide provider
University of Michigan officials said this fall that they were looking at both Google and Microsoft for a campus-wide initiative to adopt one provider for collaborative digital tools.
The winner: Google, which The Michigan Daily is reporting will get the endorsement from U-M's Information Technology Council.
From an AnnArbor.com report last fall:
Those tools would at least partly replace more than 40 e-mail and calendaring systems the university currently uses -- which amounts to a complex network of information technology systems in an era where fast digital collaboration and communication is critical.
"It’s very confusing," said Ed Adams, chief technology officer and director of computing services for U-M's Ross School of Business, and a member of the committee that will recommend either Google or Microsoft.
Switching systems to a single provider could reduce impact an effort to reduce IT costs by $7 million in 2012, according to the Daily.
Read the full story here.
Comments
Wguru
Tue, Dec 14, 2010 : 11:32 a.m.
The cost savings is good but the real benefit will be the cross fertilization of ideas among departments and the A2 community as worthy events will be easier to find and be better attended. This also should make the maintenance of the U-M events calendar (http://uuis.umich.edu/events/) much easier. A2geeks.org has an aggregated Google calendar (http://a2geeks.org/display/geek/Calendar) for numerous tech and business groups in the area. It also has links to the U-M Events Calendar and other general calendars for Ann Arbor. With so many events going on, using the Google Calendar search options really help find which ones are of interest.
Humdinger
Mon, Dec 13, 2010 : 9:21 p.m.
I think this is great for Ann Arbor.
Insightman
Mon, Dec 13, 2010 : 9:13 p.m.
Good enough, Google? Now make Ann Arbor your fibertown!