In November we will be kicking off a new pilot in IT Services. The pilot will introduce a number of new integrated Office 365 services that will let you chat, collaborate, and share content with the teams you work with.
What is Office 365?
Microsoft Office 365 is a cloud based platform that offers a range of different integrated services. The University already subscribes to Office 365 to deliver some undergraduate and alumni services such as email and classic Office applications like Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
The pilot will release some of the other services offered by Office 365 as part of a larger, phased programme of work. It will enable access to an exciting range of communication and collaboration tools that can transform the way we work. This will include:
Teams – an integrated platform for collaboration and communication
OneDrive – online cloud-based storage
Forms – an online tool that lets you create custom surveys, polls, and questionnaires
Flow – an automation tool
We will also be releasing StaffHub to the IT Service Desk team. StaffHub is a rota tool that can be used for scheduling shifts to cover services within departments.
The aims of the pilot
By releasing the above Office 365 services to a small group of users we aim to provide some initial answers to a number of key questions around how we should best use the services, what limits we might place on them and whether Office 365 duplicates any existing tools or applications already in use. Answering these questions will allow us to determine the best way to release the services to the wider University in the future.
The success of the pilot will very much depend on how much staff engage with the services. Therefore, we strongly encourage you to use and explore the services as much as possible, to think about how you use them and how best they can help you and your team and to feedback any questions, issues or opinions that you have about the services.
Who is included in the pilot
Office 365 will be released to all staff in IT Services plus a small number of users within the wider University. It is important to be aware that during the pilot phase you will not be able to share or communicate via Office 365 with anyone who is not included in the pilot.
More information regarding the pilot and the Office 365 services will be available soon.