Tales From the Crypt FM IT Perspectives on Migrating to the Cloud Denise L. Passero (denise.passero@fmcc.edu) Systems / Application Technology Specialist
What is the Cloud? The cloud is a network of servers, and each server has a different function. Some servers use computing power to run applications or "deliver a service." Key Characteristics of cloud computing: You cannot see it. You only interact with it. You don t manage it. You only pay for it. The Beginner's Guide to the Cloud http://mashable.com/2013/08/26/what-is-the-cloud/
Examples of Cloud Computing Services Social networking FaceBook Instagram Productivity/storage icloud Google Apps Office 365 Adobe Creative Cloud Teaching in the cloud ANGEL/Blackboard Cisco networking academy Hardware Chrome Book
Benefits Available 24 x 7. No downtime. Reduce hardware purchase costs. Reduce hardware maintenance and upkeep costs. More efficient use of IT staff time. Easier to manage software license compliance. Ability to increase capacity and storage without additional hardware investment. Depending on the service: File storage Web apps Always up to date with latest applications Back up Easy to share information.
Disadvantages Cost of paid-for services can be high. Usually subscription based. Discontinue the service, lose the applications. Internet goes down loss of productivity. Potential increased bandwidth requirements. Security concerns?? May not eliminate the need for on-premesis file storage. Possible paid data encryption services - $$$$. No real standards for use. IEEE Cloud Computing initiative for establishing standards (http://cloudcomputing.ieee.org/) Work/life balance??
We Will Share Our Experience With Google Apps for Education Office 365 icloud Adobe Creative Cloud
Google Apps for Education http://www.google.com/enterprise/apps/education/ Challenges Time to implement Account creation/management Benefits Charges from Google to college none No hardware or client software required. Familiar environment. Can turn features on or off based on your organizational needs. Benefits increase if used as the official email for the organization. Features Docs word processing, spreadsheet, presentation Calendar, sites, drive, Ability for collaborative study
FM Experience Google Apps for Education Just under a week to implement. No previous implementation of student email so no migration issues. Conducted a pilot for one month with staff to review requirements. Implemented single sign-on (SSO Easy - $2500). http://www.ssoeasy.com/googlesso Google Synch for synchronization of AD accounts to the cloud ( free ). https://support.google.com/a/answer/135937?hl=en No external consulting required. Mass mailing challenge. We purchased icontact (http://icontact.com/) for mass mailing to avoid being blacklisted.
Google Apps for Education Pros / Cons Started with Google Apps for Education about 3 years ago. Used mainly for student email. All staff have accounts. Quickly became a go to tool for instruction. When installed locally, Google drive does not always synchronize correctly so you need to log into the site to manage your documents. Cannot install Google Drive in a multi-user environment. Challenges for Citrix environments and roaming profiles. Service is free but soft costs human capital. Can use host video for embedding into ANGEL/BlackBoard. Browser agnostic. Features available depending on SUNY agreement. Google provides back up at no additional cost. Ability to create groups for collaborative study. No real migration issues.
Office 365 for Education http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/academic/ Challenges Setup Requirements Account control management Benefits Cost free depending on level of agreement. Plan comparison - http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/academic/compare-office-365-education-plans-fx103045755.aspx No hardware or client software Can upgrade at a cost to include more features Features Exchange online SharePoint online one public SharePoint site Office web apps word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, OneNote Calendar OneDrive 20 GB file storage. Blogging
FM Experience with Office 365 Using the free A2 subscription. Not a hard sell to users (Google unfamiliar to most). A few hours of external consulting services for assistance. Active Directory Synchronization server required. Only works with one domain. Working with Campus Agreement Vendor a challenge. Staged migration. Moved groups of users mail boxes migrated then configured email client. 4 months to complete migration; 2 additional months for clean up. Smooth transition Minor impact on network bandwidth.
Office 365 for Education What We Found We went with the A2 subscription level. We created two separate instances one for staff and one for students. Challenges getting the instances working correctly with the Campus Agreement vendor has been a nightmare. Working with the vendor for our Campus Agreement has been nothing short of a nightmare. No easy way to get the Office Pro Plus into the agreement. Cannot install OneDrive in a multiuser environment. OneDrive does not sync correctly. User training not always open to change. Time consuming migration of existing mail boxes. Working with Campus Agreement vendor VERY challenging. No need for local client OWA looks like the local client. Access to Office Web Apps Implementation not so bad once you get Dell on board. Students can get Office Pro Plus IF you can get Dell to set this up. SharePoint works great in the cloud. You can log in and work the day in Office 365. Outlook online looks the same as the local outlook. Learning curve is minor.
SharePoint in the Cloud SharePoint works beautifully. Migration from the local instance tedious since one instance cannot talk to the other. Features work as they should. Browser agnostic sort of. Internet Explorer can be a problem. Trusted sites seem to be the issue. For Mac users, Chrome seems to work best. Once it is set up, it really works well. Alleviates our concerns for local network storage and back up. Ability to easily provide public access to documents.
Adobe Creative Cloud http://www.adobe.com/products/creativecloud.html Challenges Cost Monthly subscription model. Benefits Storage for students for their Adobe files. Continually at the most current version of the Creative Suite. Receive notification when updates are available. Features Download and local installation of Creative Suite Products.
Adobe Creative Cloud What We Have Found Nothing. We are still on Master Collection 6 because we do not know the future of this agreement or pricing models. Can still purchase CS6 licenses.
icloud http://www.apple.com/icloud/ Challenges One account one user. Depend on user to back up stuff. Ummmmm,,,, not sure what else. Benefits Used mostly for ipads Can restore user s docs and apps. Easy to move into a new ipad Features Mail. Document storage an back up. All devices connected
icloud What We Have Found Need to keep careful track of accounts. Depend on user to manage back ups. Fairly easy to manage. Everything everywhere. PC or ios device. Free. not a ton of time to manage. Email (using for ipads now).
Overall General Concerns Some of the concerns I have read in various articles that people and businesses have about cloud computing. Security?? Protecting sensitive data?? FERPA regulations?? Privacy?? Who owns the data?? Lack of standards?? Big Brother watching?? What if the cloud goes down?? User buy-in and training???
Working with End Users Provide training and documentation. http://issuu.com/denisepassero2/docs/office_365_for_fmcc Be patient. Some accept change well others not so good. Communicate!! Provide as much advance notification as possible. Working with adjuncts a bit more of a challenge. Listen.
Sources PCMag: What is Cloud Computing - http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2372163,00.asp The Beginner's Guide to the Cloud - http://mashable.com/2013/08/26/what-is-the-cloud Office 365 for Education - http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/academic/ Office 365 for Education Plan Comparison - http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/academic/compare-office-365- education-plans-fx103045755.aspx Google Apps for Education - http://www.google.com/enterprise/apps/education/ Adobe Creative Cloud - http://www.adobe.com/products/creativecloud.html Apple icloud - http://www.apple.com/icloud/ IEEE Cloud Computing initiative for establishing standards - http://cloudcomputing.ieee.org/
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