RMIT University's 11,500 staff and faculty along with 90,000 students are transitioning to Office 365 to support the University's strategic plan and digital transformation ambitions.
RMIT is making the move to Microsoft to simplify and streamline the student experience, promote collaboration between faculty and students, and enhance security.
RMIT is a global university with a strong international reputation for excellence in professional and vocational education, as well as applied research and engagement with industry and the community. To succeed it needs to provide tools not only that support and streamline learning, teaching, research and administration, but offer the power of collaboration across cities and countries.
In a message to users about the move to Office 365, RMIT said that it supports its Ready for Life and Work strategic plan; "by providing our students and staff with clearer, smarter, simpler systems and more ways to collaborate."
The University has also committed to use Microsoft security tools available through Microsoft 365 which will allow it to consolidate and streamline its cyber security efforts.
According to RMIT chief information officer Paul Oppenheimer; "A key plank of our strategy through to 2020 is our commitment to innovation to create excellent learning, collaboration and work environments for the whole RMIT community.
"We want our students to have access to a rich and immersive digital experience; one that uses technology to enhance creativity and collaboration, and provides the foundation for simpler, quicker and more reliable operations," Oppenheimer said.
"The transition to Office 365 plays a central role in achieving that ambition while ensuring a cost-effective solution for the University."
Initial discussions with Microsoft focussed on the migration to Office 365 as a way to consolidate and simplify RMIT's email and voice communications. That has now extended to Microsoft 365 encompassing all the Office 365 functionality, Windows 10 and enterprise mobility and security.
Steven Miller, Director of Education, Microsoft Australia said: "This is an important strategic move for RMIT as it allows them to work more collaboratively, streamline operations and at the same time reduce their support costs and annual licensing costs.
"There are also significant security benefits for RMIT through its adoption of Microsoft 365 which helps to rein in the risk of data loss."
RMIT is currently also looking to integrate Teams with its Canvas Learning Management System to boost the communications and collaboration between students and lecturers. This augments blended learning for students by fostering rich collaboration between the student body and faculty - both inside and outside the classroom or lecture hall - enhancing learning outcomes while streamlining interactions.
RMIT completed the transition of staff and faculty users to Office 365 in late 2018, and all student accounts were transitioned during the first week of March.
For Microsoft this represents the largest Microsoft 365 Advanced A5 deployment in Australia to date.
The post RMIT University transitions 100,000+ users to Office 365 appeared first on Microsoft News Centre Australia.
