SoftBank Technology Corp.
point
SoftBank Technology Corp. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, President and CEO: Shinichi Ata, hereinafter referred to as SBT) is a national university corporation, Saga University (location: Saga City, Saga Prefecture, President: Koji Miyazaki, hereinafter referred to as Saga University). We would like to inform you that we have introduced the cloud email system Exchange Online (hereinafter referred to as Office 365), which is part of the Office 365 plan.
Background of Saga University adopting Office 365
Saga University's educational policy is to ``develop individuals who have an international perspective and can be independent in society by making use of their rich education and deep specialized knowledge.'' The university's three missions are ``education, research, and social contribution.'' We aim to build a system for steadily carrying out education, research, and social contribution, and strengthen the "securing and utilizing human resources, improving the campus environment, and establishing a financial base" to support these systems. We are also promoting a change in awareness.
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has stated in the Academic Information Committee's "What the next academic information network (SINET5) should be in the cloud era" that universities, etc. It states that we should proactively work on this, and we are also working on creating an environment for an ``academic cloud'' that allows universities to share data related to research and education between universities. According to the result report of the "Academic Information Infrastructure Survey" published by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in March 2015, 71.2% of all universities are promoting cloud computing, which centralizes, shares, and operates information systems efficiently. More than 50% of universities cite reductions in management and operational costs as an effect of the system.
Against this background, Saga University has adopted the use of the cloud as part of its IT strategy, and in October 2014, Saga University entered into a comprehensive agreement with Microsoft Japan (Enrollment for Education Solutions) that allows faculty and students to use the company's software free of charge. did.
Cloud utilization provides convenience for faculty and students and reduces operating costs for information systems departments
Saga University has been using an on-premises (server-installed) email system, but for users who use email frequently, the email capacity may not be sufficient, or the server is installed during enrollment when the number of email users increases. In order to handle the load, extra server operating costs were incurred even during periods when there were not many users. On the other hand, many students own smartphones, and creating an information system that is optimal for mobile and cloud use was an urgent issue. Against this background, we decided to migrate to Office 365, a cloud-based communication system.
Up until now, email has been available from off-campus devices such as home computers, but it is not compatible with smartphones.With the transition to Office 365, students, faculty and staff can now use Office 365 on smartphones, tablets, etc. Email can now be used on compatible web screens and mobile-only apps such as "Microsoft Outlook" and "OWA for iPhone." Personal email capacity has also increased from 500MB to 50GB per person, which will lead to fewer inquiries about email capacity that used to occur once or twice a week, and is expected to reduce the workload of the Information Technology Center, which provides support. It has been.
SBT provides one-stop support for migrating to a cloud environment and utilizing the cloud.
When migrating the email system, Saga University tackled issues in each phase from migration to operation in order to avoid confusion for faculty and staff, minimize the impact on work, and achieve the migration with fewer human resources. I decided to receive support from SBT, which can accommodate me.
As a result, we adopted a two-step email system migration, and the email system migration for full-time administrative staff and faculty (approximately 2,000 people in total) was completed in September 2015. The migration of email systems for students, including new students, and part-time staff (approximately 7,000 people in total) was completed in late March 2016, with the aim of being ready in time for the acceptance of new students in 2016. By using the menu that allows you to receive support from SBT when needed, we have created a system to effectively utilize cloud services.
Saga University is promoting the development of an academic information environment, and plans to further expand the range of uses for Office 365, including the use of SharePoint Online, which enables information sharing and content management. We hope that SBT will continue to provide information on cloud usage that will be useful to universities.
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https://www.softbanktech.co.jp/case/list/saga-u/
SBT will continue to use the know-how and track record it has cultivated to date to promote the use of cloud and mobile in educational institutions.
