UWindsor students are enjoying a better user experience with the new UWinGmail service, commending the accessibility and storage capabilities of their new e-mail accounts.

“I was excited to change over to Gmail,” says Roxanne Adekunle-Wright, a third-year communication studies major. “It is more advanced and I have better accessibility on my iPhone.”

The move to this Internet service, referred to as cloud computing, means cost savings in a number of areas, including hardware to offer the service, licensing costs for the application and virus protection, and deferred costs for disk space.

“Merging with Gmail has allowed us to expand and offer more efficient services at a lower cost,” says Emily John, student employee at the IT Client Support HelpDesk. “Students gain access to more storage and services such as calendaring, Google talk and Google Drive.”

The migration to UWinGmail, which began this July, involves a three-step process. Students receive and respond to an “Invitation to Migrate” in their UWindsor inbox. IT Services then activates the account, helping with phone configuration as data migration is in progress. Once the migration is complete, students are notified to ensure that all files are intact. The old account is removed 21 days after the process is completed.

The deadline for student account migration is October 5. To learn more about the migration process, visit its page on the IT Services Web site.

— article and photo by Chantelle Myers