GCC Google Migration Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Why is GCC moving to Google for email and calendar services?

GCC’s Exchange email system is out of vendor support and in need of upgrade. It failed last November and has suffered from a number of issues since then. We have managed to keep it going but it is not feasible to go on this way much longer. We are faced with the choice of either investing considerable staff and financial resources in building a brand new Exchange platform and migrating everyone to it, or moving faculty and staff to Google Mail and Calendar. GCC students migrated to Google a number of years ago, and that platform has worked well for students. Moving faculty and staff to Google as well is free of charge and requires far less staff resources to set up and maintain. 

Thousands of higher education institutions have been using Google Mail and Calendar as their primary email and calendar platform since 2009. We will be in good company and have the assurance that the product line will be well supported and maintained for many years to come. GCC IT will be freed up from maintaining hardware, operating system, applications and backups for email and calendar services. 

Will all my existing email and calendar appointments be moved to Google?

Yes, all email and calendar information currently stored on the GCC Exchange server will be migrated to Google. It will be accessible there and available for you to quickly search, reply or forward.

When will the migration occur?

The migration is currently scheduled for the weekend of May 22, 2021. The process will likely begin on Friday evening May 21 and continue into the day on May 22. We expect to have email and calendar up and available to everyone by Sunday May 23 or earlier.

How will I access my email after the migration?

Google mail is accessible via Google’s web interface. The typical login page is https://mail.google.com and we will link this to our GCC home page Fac/Staff Email link under the blue login button. 

Will I still be able to use Outlook to access my mail after the migration?

After the migration GCC IT will no longer support the use of Outlook to access GCC email. Google Mail is designed to work interactively with other Google Apps such as Calendar, Drive, Chat, Contacts and Forms. While it is technically possible to use Outlook to access Google Mail using the IMAP mail protocol, interactive functionality with other Google Apps is not accessible when using Outlook. While users will not be prevented from using IMAP to access Google Mail using Outlook, GCC IT will not support this method if there are problems, We strongly encourage everyone to make the switch to the web-based Google Mail interface.

Doesn’t Google scan our emails and use the content for marketing purposes?

Though Google formerly scanned its free consumer GMail accounts for content and used the results for marketing purposes and ad targeting, it discontinued this practice several years ago. Regardless, the GCC Google platform is also covered under different licensing terms than consumer GMail. GCC’s Google falls under the Google Workspace for Education product. Google Workspace for Education terms of use specifically prohibit Google from mining any data stored on its Workspace core apps platform for marketing, advertising or other purposes. GCC continues to completely own our own data, while Google owns its Workspace platform. In well over 10 years of serving many thousands of Education customers, Google has never had a single privacy breach incident with the data of education customers. While no platform is completely without risk, Google has proven itself to thus far be a trustworthy and secure platform for Education customers.

Can I still use Microsoft Office for my Word, Excel and Powerpoint files?

Yes. We are not migrating off Microsoft Office products other than Outlook and Exchange. We will continue to provide and support other standard Microsoft Office products for our users, as well as the full suite of Google Workspace apps.

Can I migrate to Google earlier than everyone else?

Though a few people have asked this question and we are glad some people are eager to make the switch, the reality is that this switch must happen all at once for all GCC users at the same time. We cannot transition users over to Google piecemeal so even folks who are ready to move over now will have to wait until the official May 21 cutover date.

What information or training resources will be available to me to learn more about the migration and how to use Google Mail and Calendar?

GCC IT has scheduled a variety of synchronous online trainings and self-study training resources and these are available on the GCC Google Information and Training Resources page.

 


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