Penn Webmail may be replaced

The Wharton School and the School of Arts and Sciences have joined forces to end clogged e-mail inboxes forever.

Next fall, administrators say, Wharton and SAS Webmail users will have the option to join a pilot program that will provide University e-mail services through a major outside firm.

The two schools are negotiating with Google, Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp.'s MSN. Over the summer, they plan to choose one of the companies for the pilot, according to SAS Information Technology Executive Director Ira Winston.

The success of the pilot program will determine whether the schools will commit to outsourcing e-mail services indefinitely.

SAS Webmail, which was established almost 15 years ago, has become outdated and overmatched by new, free e-mail services, Winston said.

Frustrated by SAS Webmail's limited inbox quota, service outages and clunky interface, many students choose other e-mail platforms -- such as Google's Gmail and Microsoft's Hotmail -- for their e-mailing. Having Penn e-mail forwarded to these accounts is a popular practice, he added.

Outsourcing e-mail could end the storage dilemma facing many Webmail users. SAS Webmail provides users with 65 megabytes of space, while Wharton offers 50. Gmail offers more than 2.5 gigabytes, an increase of over 30 times.

"We want to make sure it's a service that surpasses what we currently have," Wharton Chief Information Officer Deirdre Woods said, adding Wharton students are most concerned about current quota caps.

Yet storage quota isn't the only factor under consideration, Winston said.

Outside services also offer advanced, practical features such as integrated calendars, address books and spam filtering, he said.

One concern of the potential hosts, however, is that they scan users' messages in order to deliver targeted ads, Winston said.

However, a transition to outsourcing student e-mail would not affect faculty and staff, Winston said, as e-mail for faculty and staff would remain in-house.

Wharton has played a leading role in the outsourcing initiative, Winston said, adding that the size of SAS' student population combined with the reputation of Wharton has made the project more attractive to potential hosts.

Winston and Woods say they've enjoyed working together on the outsourcing project.

"It's one of the first things that we've been able to do collaboratively," Woods said. "We bring together different perspectives, and it's representing Penn in a positive light to the world at large."

If Penn chooses to outsource its e-mail, it won't be the first. The San Jose City College, a community college in California, partnered with Google last fall to host its e-mail for students.

"Not having substantial resources, this is the most cost-effective way of providing e-mail," said Michael Renzi, the school's director of finance and administration. "As of right now, we love Google."

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