Email interoperability

[matt40k]

I know there's lot of talk about interoperability for MIS, but what about email? How cool would it be if you could switch between Live@Edu and Google Apps?

 

I suppose you could register live.schoolname.co.uk and gmail.schoolname.co.uk and then forward all the emails from the schoolname.co.uk to them both, but then you'll be doing twice the work (deleting email)

[jamesbmarshall]

How cool would it be if you could switch between Live@Edu and Google Apps?

 

Why would you want to do this?

[matt40k]

Because they both had good points and bad points, Live is lot more shinny and Google is alot better at archiving and searching. Schools should teach various solutions rather then just one (normally Microsoft).

 

For example, you use Live for day-to-day, but when you have to use it on a low bandwidth, you could switch to Google, or if you want to search for an email from the year dot then switch back to Live for shared calander etc. Again, it's all possible, but neither do all of them really well.

 

You've also got backup, so if MS gets hacked, Google's still got a copy

[jamesbmarshall]

Live is lot more shinny and Google is alot better at archiving and searching. Schools should teach various solutions rather then just one (normally Microsoft).

 

Have you had first hand experience of both systems?

 

For example, you use Live for day-to-day, but when you have to use it on a low bandwidth, you could switch to Google

 

Are there any statistics that compare the OWA interface, or the OWA light interface to GMail in terms of bandwidth consumption?

 

You've also got backup, so if MS gets hacked, Google's still got a copy

 

If MS gets hacked? I'm going to assume you mean if one of Microsoft's data centres is compromised? I'd take a look at this: http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/security/documents/SecuringtheMSCloudMay09.pdf

 

I would take a guess that most users don't want lots of copies of their mail all over the place, they want it in one place easily accessible all of the time from anywhere and anything.

 

To suggest that it is good to have a backup is true - but to try and run the entire system in parallel with a different provider, using a different platform with a different address simply to diversify your user experience is, in my opinion, foolhardy.

 

What happens when I delete mail in one of my inboxes, do I have to go and delete it in the other one too? How would you handle contact lists, or distribution groups for mass mail? How would you universally apply protective measures such as bad word filters or closed-campus policies?

Edited November 17, 2010 by jamesbmarshall

[matt40k]

Google Apps is far better over GPRS then OWA light, I know because I use it alot. The search on Google Apps is far better then Edu@Live\Exchange, I know because I use it alot.

 

The point of it this is wouldn't it be nice if it wasn't just MIS packages that are interoperable. For example, you delete\archive an email on the Edu@Live and it does it on Google Apps.

 

The backups, ok Microsoft might have been a poor choice, but it's still possible. After all anything possible, it only takes one security flaw and a person to take advance.