CardMail gets deleted, Zimbra to replace it

February 25, 2008 —

Things are looking up for students frustrated with SVSU's e-mail system, CardMail, as it will soon be replaced by a new e-mail system.

SVSU has used CardMail since the fall of 2000. CardMail was purchased by SVSU from NetMail, which was owned by Novell at the time. Current problems with the system are due to that the system is not up to today's standards and difficult to maintain.

Many students are unhappy with CardMail's inconsistency.

"As a student and organization leader on campus, it has been very difficult to communicate efficiently," said senior Jandrew Gonzales.

The new e-mailing service is a product known as Zimbra, but for SVSU's purposes it is known as V-Mail."System Administrator Dennis Hughes said that V-Mail is the "latest and greatest" in e-mailing and web technology, and that many other colleges have signed up with Zimbra. V-Mail will run on five servers, as opposed to the single one on which CardMail operates. This will allow for fewer "system-down" periods and make inter-campus communication far more efficient and consistent.

V-Mail boasts many new interface features. The features include spell-check, auto-complete address, grouped messages, and a built-in chat option. Executive Director of Information Technology Services Ken Schindler drew a comparison between CardMail and V-mail as "a Model-T to a Corvette."

Over twenty SVSU students have tested V-mail and the feedback was exceedingly positive.

"I do really like it. Its easy to use interface is a step up from the old CardMail, and utilizes many tools offered previously only to faculty and staff," said tester and junior Derek Rudel. "I have not run into many troubles with the new system, except minor bugs that can only be fixed when the system is launched to the remaining users."

Other testers answered in a formal survey that they would rank V-Mail as a 4.7 out of 5 in positive comparison to CardMail, and another 4.7 out of 5 in regards to ease of conversion.

IT Services is hoping to have students start the process as a whole after they return from spring break. Students will have to merely type in the URL that will be sent to them, and all of their CardMail information will transfer over to their V-mail account, including their mail, address book, and username. Those students who are not comfortable with this change are not required to do so right away, but will be converted automatically at the end of the school year.