Zimbra Collaboration Suite, an integrated calendar and e-mail system, will replace K-State's current e-mail client, WebMail, and calendar system, Oracle K-Calendar, beginning in January 2009.
    Zimbra is essentially a combination of WebMail and Oracle K-Calendar. It will provide users with an easier way to schedule calendar items, organize their e-mail with 6 gigabytes of space, filter unwanted e-mail solicitations and access their files remotely.
    Provost Duane Nellis said the new system will provide better services, functionality and access. For the first time, alumni will be included in the transition to the new system, as well as students and faculty.
    James Lyall, associate vice-provost for information technology services, said data from a survey and needs analysis collected in spring 2008 showed "a clear desire from all K-State constituents for an integrated e-mail and calendaring system."
    "Zimbra was chosen because it will most effectively meet the needs and requests of the campus," he said.
    One very important aspect of the new system will be the superior spam filtering. The needs analysis showed a need for better spam controls. In addition, Zimbra's 6GB of space will replace WebMail's current 20 megabytes of storage space.
    Zimbra also allows students to send and receive large attached files up to 15MB compared to WebMail's 10MB. This means e-mailing large attachments like photos will be easier.
    Only BlackBerry users can synchronize their phones with WebMail. Oracle K-Calendar does not support synchronization. Zimbra will support a much wider range of accessibility with handheld and mobile devices for both calendar and e-mail functions.
    Committees designed to help support this new system and a campuswide collaboration effort are in the works before Zimbra is phased in over the next six to 18 months.