Change is Good

The Dean’s Office has been looking forward to today and I should add that I am among the happiest that it has arrived.

Today, we’re saying goodbye to Lotus Notes and making the leap to Outlook and Office 365. Those on campus are familiar with this change, but for those reading from elsewhere, here’s a quick explanation. This is a university system-wide migration that has been a long time coming. Our big move to the cloud-based system even made it into the headlines both in local media as well as popping up around the country as other university systems contemplate similar moves. So this is a big deal.

The Advising Center was the first in the College to make the switch. Initially there were a few details to work out in terms of calendaring and tying into their specialized software, but now a few weeks in, I’m hearing very good things.

I’ve been waiting for this day since I got here almost five years ago. I had used Outlook at Iowa. I liked it and was used to it. I remember my first impressions of Lotus Notes (well, last impressions, too, to some degree) as it being arcane and not intuitive. It almost felt like I was on a mainframe computer because it was such an ancient program.

With this change, we’re stepping into a cutting-edge solution when it comes to email and calendaring. As a dean who gets over 100 emails a day and has a very complex calendar, I’m looking forward to modern conveniences that will make my job and that of our staff easier.

We thought about having a party in the office to celebrate our special occasion today, or maybe a wake for an appropriate send off to Lotus Notes.

Our tech office is doing a great job. They’ve been practicing and thinking this through and trying to anticipate everything. I’m confident that it will go very smoothly.