Coming May 23, IVCC will be switching from Zimbra to Microsoft Outlook. This includes the rest of Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus products.

Students will be able to use Zimbra accounts until June 2017, in case messages need to be transferred to new accounts. After May 23, messages will not be received to the old accounts. It is important to update any accounts currently linked to the Zimbra emails once the Outlook emails are set up. The addresses will change from [email protected] to [email protected].

Office 365 ProPlus includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Access, Publisher and Skype. Unfortunately, Access and Publisher are only available on PCs. ProPlus also offers a new app, Sway, that creates web-based reports, presentations, trainings, and more. Through OneDrive’s cloud storage, these programs can be accessed anywhere with or without internet connection. The programs also allow students to share documents with others for ease of studying and group projects. According to a press release from Microsoft, ProPlus is “already used by over 110 million students, faculty and staff worldwide.”

The International Data Corporation collected data on the skill requirements for careers. Oral and written communication skills dominated the list of twenty essential skills. Detail orientation came in second, with Microsoft Office closely following. It’s no surprise that the software is being pushed in high school and now here at IVCC.

Emily Vescogni, the Director of Learning Technology, said that “Microsoft prompted the change. They really wanted to get the tools into the hands of college students so that they go into business and industry with experience.” Microsoft products are already used across campus, so offering free email, cloud storage, and Office products wasn’t a difficult decision to make.

A few students have mixed feelings about the conversion. Kayte Bernardoni, a little weary of the change, said “It took me awhile to get used to Zimbra so I’m not sure I’ll like changing again. I liked Zimbra because it’s pretty easy to use once you get the hang of it.”

Clay Keen, on the other hand, welcomes the change. He said, “Zimbra is nice, but we already do so much work with Microsoft that it makes sense.”