From Server to the Cloud
On Thursday, July 23, at 11:00 p.m., until Sunday, July 26 at 8:00 p.m., Fordham University will be migrating its core management platforms (Banner, DegreeWorks, Workflow, ODS and more) to the cloud. This move will allow the applications used on a daily basis by students, faculty and staff to operate with greater reliability and efficiency.
Most of the work to make this move possible has been carried out for the past two years, and now we are ready to shift everything to the cloud.
During a brief read-only period, Friday, July 24, from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., some applications will be available. However, during the migration, you will not be able to you cannot change your password, see your schedule, pay bills, or update with any information. You will be able to access Gmail, Google Apps, Blackboard, and other external applications.
The work schedule is also posted and updated on the Fordham IT calendar.
A New Interface for My.Fordham
In conjunction with the move to the cloud, the University Portal will receive a substantial upgrade to both its appearance and its underlying technology. The upgrade will be released on or about July 17.
Most of the tabs and channels will be in their familiar places, but the Portal interface will be easier to navigate. Like the Fordham website, the interface is fully responsive, which means it will gracefully render on all devices, from desktops, tablets, to smartphones. This interface expands upon our My.Mobile user experience, which is already accessible in the Portal via an icon on the upper right.
You’ll also find some significant improvements in application integration. For example, you’ll now be able to access your Google calendar from the Portal.
Of course, any major upgrade in technology presents some challenges: Channels that you added to your layout in the current Portal will have to be rebuilt. Personal tabs will no longer be available and can be rebuilt as a community.
Active Portal groups (now called communities) will not be migrated during the initial July launch. They will be rebuilt and migrated, as communities, beginning shortly after the launch.
Finally, one technical note: Whenever you change your AccessIT ID password, you will be prompted to enter your new password the first time you attempt to go from the Portal to external applications, such as Blackboard and FordhamConnect.
Many hands have worked very hard, for many hours, to improve technology at Fordham. We will continue to add more functionality to provide you with the best access to services.