Microsoft web email deployed at second Australian University

Peter Dinham
Monday, 30 March 2009 18:31

Business IT - Technology

The Australian Catholic University (ACU) has deployed Microsoft’s web-hosted email platform, Live@edu, the second Australian university to do so in recent weeks.

Two weeks ago the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) announced - http://www.itwire.com/content/view/23880/1154/1/0/ - it had also deployed Microsoft's email system for use by its 40,000 students.

ACU, which has campuses in Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Ballarat, says it will move its students across to the system this semester after a survey of students who trialled the system showed that 90% or more had found it easy to compose and send an email with Live@edu and 90% said they trusted Microsoft with confidential information.

According to the ACU, none (0%) of the surveyed students using Microsoft’s solution received spam during testing and 90% of students had a positive opinion of Microsoft as an email provider.

Information provided by Microsoft’s PR company points out that the ACU survey was conducted with students who compared the use of Microsoft’s email system and “another web mail offering” being considered by the university.

While Microsoft’s PR representatives didn’t name the alternate company considered by the ACU, a quick look on the ACU’s own website shows, however, that the other web email offering was Gmail from Google. To view the full results of ACU’s webmail pilot survey follow the link http://my.acu.edu.au/student/study_resources/student_email/webmail_survey_results/.