After the announcement of the change from SamMail to Exchange mail, many students were left scratching their heads about the new system.
To answer students’ many questions, Computer Services hosted a series of “town hall” style meetings about the migration from SamMail to Microsoft Exchange 2007, which is scheduled to be completed Sept. 22-26. Though feedback on the switch has been slow, the meetings over-flowed with information about the useful features of the new system and attendees were greeted with free gifts, such as mouse pads, cell phone cases, and light up pens.
“[Computer Services hasn’t] had much response [from students], but by far I think the response we have had has been positive,” Jacob Spradlin, technology support coordinator II, said.
The forums showcased the features of the cutting-edge technology and the improvements it will bring to the university’s e-mail offerings. When using Exchange, students will be able to manage their calendar and tasks right from their computer or their mobile device. Exchange will even send e-mail reminders so students can keep track of important meetings and events.
The new system also has the option to be synced wirelessly with mobile smart phones so students can receive and send e-mails from anywhere without the use of a computer.
Using the old SamMail system, students needed to log on to a computer to access basic e-mail services, and calendar and task managers were not available.
Residents of Sam Houston Village, Bearkat Village, or Raven Village have the added benefit of unified messaging, which allows students to check email right from their dorm phone or get missed call and voicemail updates via Exchange. Voicemail can also be accessed an a mobile device at 936-496-2200 and students can even have their
e-mails read over the phone.
For those worried about SamMail information being lost, officials with Computer Services assured students that contacts and old e-mails can be transferred to the new Exchange accounts. Adding to the simplicity of the switch to Exchange, usernames and passwords will remain the same for the new system, as well as forwarding options set up on SamMail accounts.
For more information and video tutorials logon to http://www.shsu.edu/migrate/.