REDMOND, Wash. — May 27, 2008 — Microsoft Corp. is adding no-cost Microsoft Exchange Labs e-mail for students and alumni to its Live@edu online communication and collaboration applications tailored for educational institutions. Live@edu with Exchange Labs gives students and alumni access to a reliable and security-enhanced e-mail experience similar to what they may use in the workplace, while university IT administrators can benefit from additional security features and simplified deployment. By bringing proven technologies to current education systems, Microsoft is helping IT administrators build closely connected infrastructures and create exceptional experiences for students and educators.
Microsoft Exchange Labs Benefits IT Administrators, Students and Alumni Alike
Live@edu now offers institutions the option of giving their students and alumni an Exchange Labs inbox. Live@edu offers the following benefits to universities and students:
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Reliable communications. Universities can provide students with hosted e-mail, featuring up to 10 GB inboxes and 20 MB attachments. Students can also access their e-mail, contacts and calendar from Outlook Web Access and Microsoft Office Outlook, as well as from Web-enabled mobile phones, similar to what they may experience in the work force.
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Building blocks for collaboration. Additional Live@edu services that can be used for on-campus collaboration include shared calendars with free/busy lookup between students, student directories with administrative control to create distribution lists, and the ability to add faculty and staff who are using Exchange on-premise to student directories.
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Additional security. Live@edu with Exchange Labs also now allows message tracking to confirm urgent e-mail was delivered, and content filtering, which gives administrators the ability to block e-mail with objectionable content.
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Institution identity. Schools can deepen the relationship with students and alumni through an e-mail inbox with the school’s logo, a custom theme created by the institution and a school-branded e-mail address that students can keep after they graduate.
“Having secure and reliable communications with our students is important to us,” said Russell Wood, IT director at Hinds Community College. “Microsoft Live@edu gives students an e-mail experience similar to what they will use when they graduate and gives the IT administrators more control over message security.”
Worldwide Momentum for Microsoft Live@edu Increases
Microsoft Live@edu, which also includes Windows Live Hotmail, Microsoft Office Live Workspace and Windows Live SkyDrive online storage, helps students manage their studies, share information and photos, collaborate with other students and faculty on projects, and stay connected easily with friends and family on campus and after they graduate.
As Microsoft continues to assist universities in better meeting their technology demands in an increasingly Web-connected world, institutions are signing up for Microsoft Live@edu around the world, from Japan to South Africa to Brazil to the United States. Since the launch of Live@edu in March 2005, thousands of universities, colleges and schools in 86 countries have enrolled in the program, and momentum continues to grow as universities discover the numerous benefits of deploying Live@edu.
“Providing our students with communication services marked by the UNINOVE brand and identity has been a dream and aspiration for us for a long time,” said Jorge Luis Romano, IT infrastructure manager at UNINOVE, a large university in Brazil, where more than 70,000 students now benefit from Microsoft Live@edu. “We considered several options and chose Microsoft’s Live@edu solution because it overachieved all of our expectations at zero cost. We now have the tools to develop a collaborative community with our own identity without having to worry about infrastructure.”
Another advantage universities have found with Live@edu is the ability to keep up with discerning students’ technology needs. Because students are more technologically savvy than ever before, they expect their school environments to have rich, high-quality communications capabilities, like those they use in their social lives. Limited budgets and prolonged deployment cycles, however, have made it difficult and time-consuming for colleges and universities to provide students with innovative communications. With Live@edu’s no-cost, Web-based technology, universities can now easily meet students’ technology expectations and, in turn, focus on providing students with the education and experience they need to learn and grow. Universities’ needs are as diverse as the students they attract, and Live@edu offers everything from basic e-mail to more sophisticated collaborative applications.
“Kagoshima University deployed Live@edu for its 16,000 users because of its operational excellence for managing large scales of e-mail and the value of comprehensive services, including SkyDrive,” said Professor Masato Masuya at Kagoshima University in Japan.
“The way students use technology is constantly evolving. E-mail, social networking, IM and texting are now all part of their digital experience,” said Anna Kinney, group product manager for Microsoft Live@edu. “Universities want to adapt to these changing e-learning dynamics, and Microsoft Live@edu innovations help ensure they are prepared for that challenge.”
Representatives from schools around the world will visit the Microsoft campus June 23–24 for Live@edu World, a gathering for Live@edu customers and technology leaders to discuss how they are utilizing the Web-based applications in the Live@edu suite to connect their students, faculty, staff and alumni for greater communication and collaboration.
“We are excited to partner with educators from around the world who are bringing the power of the Web to their campuses; Live@edu gets better year after year because of their input,” said Bruce Gabrielle, senior product manager for Microsoft Live@edu.
More information about Microsoft Live@edu can be found at http://get.liveatedu.com.
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