The Wake Forest Google Pilot

Rick Matthews

This page is my ongoing assessment of the reasons for the Google pilot, its status, and what we have learned to date. I intend for this page to complement but not replace the Google Pilot FAQ. As a decision point is reached, Information Systems will provide a more formal report and recommendation to the Committee on Information Technology and the IT Executive Committee.

Suggestions or corrections for this page? Please e-mail me at matthews@wfu.edu.

Why look at Google for Mail and Calendar?

The current e-mail and calendar infrastructure is due for an upgrade that will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
IS has received many requests from faculty and staff to move to Google Mail and Calendar. The principle reasons they give are:
- an excellent web interface accessible from anywhere.
- access to the powerful collaborative tools in Google Docs.
- better integration with smart phones such as the iPhone, Blackberries, and Android.
- More storage.

Please note that what we are considering is the Google Apps for Education program. This enterprise version of Google's offerings is distinct from the free personal accounts, with contractual guarantees regarding uptime, security, privacy, and data retrieval.

What is the pilot timeline, and what are the key criteria that will guide the decision to adopt?

Here is the report from the Committee on Information Technology with the timeline, decision points, and the current list of questions that will guide the decision. Our best answers to these questions are below. Additional questions raised at the CIT-sponsored forums are addressed in the accompanying document, Questions from Google Forums. (Update 2/9/2011: Department of Chemistry, Department of Theatre, Office of the Provost, and Office of Dean of the College joined the pilot phase 3 in early January.)
In March or April, the IT Executive Committee will recommend a move to Google or a termination of the pilot and back-migration of pilot participants to POP/Exchange.

How do Google Mail and Calendar compare to Outlook/Exchange?

Pros Things most frequently cited that people like better in Google.	Cons Things most frequently cited that people like better in Outlook/Exchange.
More than 7 times the disk storage. Larger attachment sizes. (Total size = 25 Mb, compared to less than 10 Mb with current system.) Much quicker access to new mail when starting. Much faster search of mail. Flexible calendars. Anyone can create a calendar for any purpose at any time.One example cited: a department creates a one-time calendar for each visiting speaker for department members to schedule appointments. Better integration with smart phones. Don't have a smart phone? Google calendar can send meeting alerts as text messages to regular cell phones! Full functionality from any web browser anywhere. Better spam filtering with Postini. Many but not all users love the Priority Inbox that flags e-mail that Google thinks you want to see first. Many but not all users love the Conversations view. Both of these are options that can be turned off if you do not like them. Will save lots of money up front and ongoing.	In Outlook/Exchange, one can schedule e-mails to be sent at a time in the future. Some external plug ins are designed only for Outlook (OK, since one can still use Outlook with Google) or Exchange (one would have to find an alternative or do without).

Pros

Things most frequently cited that people like better in Google.

Cons

Things most frequently cited that people like better in Outlook/Exchange.

More than 7 times the disk storage.
Larger attachment sizes. (Total size = 25 Mb, compared to less than 10 Mb with current system.)
Much quicker access to new mail when starting.
Much faster search of mail.
Flexible calendars. Anyone can create a calendar for any purpose at any time.One example cited: a department creates a one-time calendar for each visiting speaker for department members to schedule appointments.
Better integration with smart phones. Don't have a smart phone? Google calendar can send meeting alerts as text messages to regular cell phones!
Full functionality from any web browser anywhere.
Better spam filtering with Postini.
Many but not all users love the Priority Inbox that flags e-mail that Google thinks you want to see first. Many but not all users love the Conversations view. Both of these are options that can be turned off if you do not like them.
Will save lots of money up front and ongoing.

In Outlook/Exchange, one can schedule e-mails to be sent at a time in the future.
Some external plug ins are designed only for Outlook (OK, since one can still use Outlook with Google) or Exchange (one would have to find an alternative or do without).

How do Google Mail and Calendar compare to Thunderbird/POP?

Pros Things most frequently cited that people like better in Google.	Cons Things most frequently cited that people like better in Thunderbird/POP.
Many times more disk storage. Larger attachment sizes. (Total size = 25 Mb, compared to less than 10 Mb with current system.) Much quicker access to new mail when starting. Much faster search of mail. Flexible calendars. Anyone can create a calendar for any purpose at any time.One example cited: a department creates a one-time calendar for each visiting speaker for department members to schedule appointments. Better integration with smart phones. Full functionality from any web browser anywhere. Many but not all users love the Priority Inbox that flags e-mail that Google thinks you want to see first. This can be turned off if you do not want it. Will save lots of money up front and ongoing.	Junk mail filtering is not as good as in Thunderbird. The Postini service with Google has very good success in catching spam, but Thunderbird's very low rate of false positives is difficult to match except by building a good white list.

Pros

Things most frequently cited that people like better in Google.

Cons

Things most frequently cited that people like better in Thunderbird/POP.

Many times more disk storage.
Larger attachment sizes. (Total size = 25 Mb, compared to less than 10 Mb with current system.)
Much quicker access to new mail when starting.
Much faster search of mail.
Flexible calendars. Anyone can create a calendar for any purpose at any time.One example cited: a department creates a one-time calendar for each visiting speaker for department members to schedule appointments.
Better integration with smart phones.
Full functionality from any web browser anywhere.
Many but not all users love the Priority Inbox that flags e-mail that Google thinks you want to see first. This can be turned off if you do not want it.
Will save lots of money up front and ongoing.

Junk mail filtering is not as good as in Thunderbird. The Postini service with Google has very good success in catching spam, but Thunderbird's very low rate of false positives is difficult to match except by building a good white list.

What is the status of the key questions mentioned in the CIT report?

Here is my assessment of these issues.

How secure is the system?

I see this as two questions:

How does the security of Google Mail and Calendar compare to our current environment?

How secure is e-mail in general.

On the first, Google encrypts all communication between its servers and between our users and its servers. Each file and e-mail stored on its servers is encrypted and fragmented across a minimum of five servers. For more detail see the Google Security and Privacy page and their Security White Paper. I have no confidence that we can provide better e-mail security via servers within our own data center.

On the second question, I encourage people not to use e-mail to transfer protected information without end-to-end encryption. There are options for this both for our current e-mail systems and for GMail. These include S/MIME (an annual $20 fee per user) and using encrypted zip files. Protected information should not reside on laptops unless it is strongly encrypted. I will be happy to discuss these.

Does Google mine our data?

No. Google mines data e-mail on personal accounts to present targeted advertisements. It contractually commits not to mine our messages. The only scanning it does is for spam/virus control and for indexing the messages for your own search.

Is the system convenient to use?

My take after living in Google for two weeks: yes, and more convenient than Thunderbird or Outlook/Exchange. Many things are different. I find most differences are for the better. One big plus: when I open my e-mail,all the messages are there, ready to be dealt with -- no waiting to connect and download.

Although there are differences of opinion on the Conversations view, I have come to love it. In Conversations view, all messages of a thread are conveniently grouped together and can be dealt with as a group. For those who do not like this view, they can turn it off.

The "Priority Inbox" feature seems to work surprisingly well in highlighting my most important mail, and gets better the more I use it.

Can one still use Outlook/Thunderbird/iPhone/Android/Blackberry/Windows Mobile if we switch to Google Mail and Calendar?

Yes. However, we recommend trying the Google web interface for two weeks before going back to Thunderbird or Outlook. Other universities that have made the transition report that few users want to go back after they get used to the web interface. Some of the new functionality in Google is only available via the web interface.

Can one view free/busy calendar availability?

Yes. As with Exchange, others at the university participating in Google Mail and Calendar can see free/busy availability, if you so choose. Exchange users cannot view such availability of Google users, and vice-versa.

Can one share calendars?

Yes, and with anyone with a Google account.

Added advantage: one can give public visibility to any Google calendar by embedding a link in a web page. Handy for departmental calendars, etc.

Can one issue calendar invitations in a manner similar to Outlook/Exchange?

Yes.

Can one send broadcast e-mails without using a listserv?

Yes. You can maintain your own mailing lists with Google Groups.

Is there the capability to work on e-mail and calendar without internet connectivity?

Yes. Download Google Gears and you can use the same web interface even when offline. You can also use Thunderbird or Outlook clients offline, of course.

Can one designate e-mail and calendar proxies?