Google to Microsoft 365 Transition
Google Workspace services, including student email, storage, and digital collaboration, will move to Microsoft 365 in 2024, unifying our community on one platform.
Learn more about this decision...
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Timeline
We will phase out Google over the next year. Below are the major milestones for this transition.
July - September 2023
Begin establishing a 15GB storage limit
The new contract with Google requires the University to be under a set data storage limit, and we currently exceed it. To remediate this issue, we will begin imposing a 15GB storage limit on UConn Google accounts in July. Most accounts at UConn are well below 15GB, and their owners will not notice a change. ITS will communicate with those whose accounts are over 15GB this fall and work with them to get under the limit.
Opt-in for new Google account disabled
Faculty and staff were able to set up UConn Google accounts by opting in on email.uconn.edu. This will no longer be an option.
Communicate with alumni about changes
ITS will begin to notify alumni that they need to move their data stored on their UConn Google account to personal storage.
December 2023
All new email accounts will be created on Microsoft 365
All graduate students who join the University after December 2023 will be on Microsoft. Undergraduate students who are spring admits will have their email on Google for that semester.
April 2024
Alumni transition finalized
We will communicate and support alumni through this transition.
Summer 2024
Mail and data will be migrated to Microsoft 365
ITS will move data to Microsoft 365 for our community. Emails from Gmail will be transferred to Outlook, and data on Drive will be moved to OneDrive.
We will begin the process by asking for volunteers among our faculty and staff and then will migrate faculty, staff, and students in batches throughout the summer. Students will start the Fall 2024 semester with their email in Outlook.
Why is UConn Making this Change?
Where we are now: Two communication and collaboration platforms
The University offers both Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 to our community. Google is currently the email and storage environment for students, although faculty and staff can set up an account and use the apps within this suite. Microsoft 365 is the email and storage environment for faculty and staff, although students have accounts and can use all the apps except for email and calendaring.
The capabilities provided by these two cloud-hosted solutions overlap greatly. Google gives everyone storage and office apps, such as Docs, Sheets, and Slides. Through the University’s Microsoft 365 agreement, everyone has access to Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) and the communication, collaboration, and storage apps in Microsoft 365, such as Teams and OneDrive.
A key difference between the two products is that Microsoft meets our security requirements for data storage. All work-related data, including emails, should be stored on this infrastructure. This is why the faculty and staff email and calendar services are hosted on Microsoft 365 and not Google.
What changed: Google updated contract
Until this past year, Google offered free and unlimited storage to educational institutions, and we could extend this benefit to all active students, employees, and alumni. However, Google unilaterally updated their terms and conditions and moved to a fee model, where the cost is determined by the total amount of storage consumed. UConn, like many large universities, stores a substantial amount of data, and this means that the cost to accommodate our storage needs is significant. With this update to the terms, the University is now paying for duplicative services, and our students either partially or fully bear the expense. Plus, what we can offer to our community with the updated contract is now effectively no better than what you get by setting up a personal account.
Cost is not the only issue. Having a community split between two platforms causes problems. Files and technology are not compatible, which impedes file sharing and collaboration. With two different email systems, students and faculty/staff cannot leverage all of the features that facilitate scheduling, file sharing, and online meetings. Many employees have to switch back and forth between the two systems to interact with students.
Where we are heading: Migration to Microsoft 365
After carefully considering cost, security, capabilities, and complexity, we decided to unify our community on one platform. Microsoft 365 is essential for university operations and provides better IT security and more features to our community. Therefore, we are transitioning accounts and data for active students and employees to Microsoft 365 and phasing our Google services at UConn.
Benefits
- It will unify our community on one, feature-rich platform. Everyone at UConn will create, communicate, and collaborate with the apps in Microsoft 365, removing conflicts between the two systems.
- Students will gain experience with the applications they will most likely use after graduation. Businesses and other organizations primarily use Microsoft Office.
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What to do now
Learn about OneDrive. You have access to this cloud-hosted storage now and can use it.
Check out Teams. This collaboration software lets you chat, meet online, and share files with others at UConn. It integrates with your OneDrive account.
Download Microsoft Office from Microsoft 365. All faculty, staff, and students may download the software on up to five personal devices while enrolled or employed by UConn.