Introducing Microsoft Office 365 and Exchange
Introducing Microsoft Office 365 and Exchange
Our computing world is going to look a bit different at WJS Canada – we’re started the process of upgrading our email and business application programs.
The upgrade consists of two parts:
- Replacing Zarafa Email with Microsoft Outlook and updating Microsoft 2010 with Microsoft Office 365 (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint and OneNote). Zarafa, an open source software, is no longer being supported.
- Microsoft Office 365 will be hosted on an external Microsoft Exchange Server. Microsoft Exchange is the software that provides the back end to an integrated system for email, calendaring, messaging, and tasks.
The roll out will happen in two phases.
Phase 1, already underway, consists of a pilot group of 31 people from Human Resources, Accounting, the National Management Team, Regional Service Directors, Administrators, and Organizational Development.
It’s anticipated that Phase 2, which includes all of WJS staff members, will be completed by March 2018. We’ll keep everyone up to date on the key dates via this newsletter and by email.
We’re making these changes to help you work smarter. Microsoft Office 365 has superior functionality in managing email, sharing calendars, assigning work tasks, room bookings, and contact management. As well, the programs are fully integrated with each other; for example, you’ll be able to email documents directly from the program you’re working in. Outlook has spell-check, cut and paste, and live link functions. It’s so much more user friendly.
This project supports WJS’s commitment to continuous improvement in the area of performance of business systems. We’re very excited about the upcoming changes, and we look forward to hearing your feedback.
If you have questions about this update, email Theresa Gebrail. She’ll compile the questions and answers for the next issue of the newsletter.