Finance and Administration Staff,
The (technical) transition to Office 365 is complete, but we’ve only just begun! A few key points of information about where we are now.
If you only take away one thing from this update, make it this:
Although we now have the capability to use OneDrive and other cloud-based storage, the Chief Information Security Officer at Carolina has asked that all divisions hold off on using these platforms for storing sensitive information until division IT support staff and users have all the information and skills needed to use the new platforms.
Before you make any major shifts — especially in the area of file sharing and storage of mission critical or sensitive information — we ask for your patience and that you wait for official recommendations. We plan to provide you with information and guidance on this as soon as it is developed and reviewed by security personnel.
Thank You
We thank you for your patience and flexibility as we transitioned Finance and Administration’s 2,000 staff members to Office 365. Most staff successfully migrated without much inconvenience. Our technical support staff worked with other support staff to resolve any issues that resulted from this change.
If you are still experiencing any issues with your email or calendar, please let us know by submitting a service request (select Office 365 as the “department or service you need assistance with”). The ITS Service Desk staff have been working and troubleshooting in this environment for a year, so they’ve built up a lot of expertise. However, if they cannot resolve the issue, they will create a ticket for our F&A IT staff to investigate.
Next Steps
As we said last month, implementing Office 365 will be more of an “evolution” versus a “revolution.” We will grow into the use of these new capabilities over time – it’s not like flipping a switch! We are working with ITS and our staff development department to develop strategic guidance on topics such as file storage recommendations, applications that will strengthen our focus on collaboration and continuous improvement, and training opportunities.
In the meantime, we encourage you to use this time to learn about many of the new features and capabilities of Office 365.
Resources
We now have a F&A IT Projects webpage. We will be updating this page with Office 365 FAQs, user guides and other info, so check it out.
Other resources
- Office 365 application matrix that explains all of the different applications and includes some resource links
- Office 365 resources for faculty/staff with videos, general info, and a sign up for an Office 365 Tips and Tricks newsletter
- Office 365 Frequently Asked Questions
- OneDrive Frequently Asked Questions