My colleagues and I have been discussing the direction of email at PSU, i.e., whether we should be using an outsourced model like Google or continue hosting an email application at Plymouth, specifically a vendor based solution like Zimbra. Of course the issues are larger than just the email "killer app." We've been following ASU's efforts to work with Google Apps for Education, with the Google personalized web page, SSO to the start page and other ASU resources. Particularly interesting is that ASU is using uPortal which is the core portal technology behind Luminis portal, which is what we are using at PSU. Here's what Adrian Sannier, CTO at ASU has to say.

So far in our debates, the tally below indicates our current thinking between the two possible alternatives. Our analysis will evolve as we continue with our present "near follower" strategy and engage in further research to develop a better sense of what the best fit for our environment is.

google apps, uportal, luminis, zimbra