UA News

The UAConnect e-mail and calendaring system will feature instant messaging, more inbox space and more.

Larger inboxes, instant messaging and video chat capabilities are among the features of a new employee e-mail and calendaring system that was previewed during a live demonstration Tuesday.

The new system, called UAConnect, will be piloted in the coming weeks for employees in University Information Technology Services and is expected to be rolled out to employees campuswide in late October or early November.

UAConnect, powered by Microsoft's Business Productivity Online Suite, will replace WebMail and Meeting Maker.

The change comes after UA students migrated from WebMail to CatMail, a Google system, last fall.

David Garcia, an information technology training specialist in the Office of Student Computing Resources, went over some of the basic functions of the UAConnect system in front of a nearly full Gallagher Theater on Tuesday afternoon.

With the new system, employees will see their e-mail inbox quota increase from 250 megabytes to 10 gigabytes, with the ability to save between 122,000 and 150,000 e-mails, Garcia said. Other features include Web conferencing, instant messaging, video chat for those with webcams and a global address list, which shows e-mail addresses for everyone with a University e-mail account, helping reduce the need for frequent visits to the UA's online phonebook, Garcia said. The system also lets users keep multiple calendars, for work and personal scheduling, and lets them grant co-workers permission to access and edit calendars. Employees will be able to export their current e-mails and calendars to the new system. Instructions will be made available when the rollout begins.

UAConnect will be accessible via the Web, like WebMail is now, with full functionality available only to those using Internet Explorer 6 or later. The full version is also available through Outlook or Entourage for Mac users, Garcia said. Firefox and Safari users will only have access to a "light" version of the system, with fewer features, he said.

Garcia said future live demos, of both the full and light versions, will be presented during lunchtime brownbag sessions in the coming weeks. In the meantime, those with specific questions about either version are encouraged to attend one of the UAConnect Guidance Committee meetings to get more information or express their concerns.

Meetings are scheduled for the following dates from 2:30-3:30 p.m. in the Student Union Memorial Center.

• Sept. 14 - Tubac Room
• Sept. 28 - Tubac Room
• Oct. 12 - Ventana Room
• Oct. 26 - Tubac Room
• Nov. 9 - Tubac Room
• Nov. 23 - Tubac Room
• Dec. 7 - Ventana Room
• Dec. 21 - Ventana Room

More information, including a list of frequently asked questions and project updates, is available on the UAConnect project website. 

Mae Smith, an associate professor of special education, rehabilitation and school psychology, who attended the demonstration, said she's excited about the new system, which is the first major change to employee e-mail in about seven years. She said she's specifically looking forward to having more space in her inbox, which she says often nears its capacity, requiring her to get IT help to archive old messages.

"I'm delighted that will be changing," she said.

Shanley Yates, an executive assistant in the Office of Federal Relations, said she attended the demo so she could be prepared for how the new system would impact her office and recommended others do the same. 

"It's important for me to know what this transition is going to look like," she said.

She said she's looking forward to having the ability to view multiple calendars at one time, as well as the ability to search for UA contacts using the global address list as opposed to hunting through old e-mails.