FORT GORDON, Ga. (Army News Service, Feb. 3, 2010) -- With the migration to Enterprise e-mail, the economy-sized e-mail boxes many Army users now have are about to become luxury sedans, up to 40 times larger.

The migration to this new capability begins in mid-February 2011 with an initial "fielding" to about 2,000 selected e-mail users, according to Brig. Gen. LaWarren Patterson, commanding general, 7th Signal Command (Theater).

Immediately following successful migration of this first wave of users, Department of the Army staffers at the Pentagon are scheduled to begin migration in March. The rest of the Army will begin migration soon after, with all migrations completed Army-wide by the end of the year, according to Patterson.

After the migration, instead of accessing e-mail through local e-mail servers at each installation, users will reach through the network to access e-mail from centralized servers known as the Department of Defense cloud.

This migration of e-mail services to the Defense Information Systems Agency, or DISA, is part of a larger DoD effort to consolidate information technology services, improve capabilities, and reduce overall costs.

Key advantages of Enterprise e-mail include:

- Access to e-mail anywhere, at any time, from any authorized, CAC-equipped computer

- E-mail accounts remain active during duty station moves and unit relocations

- Individual, organizational, and resource calendars can be shared across the enterprise

- E-mail addresses and contact information of Army and DOD users at other locations can be found world-wide.

- Larger attachments can be sent than currently allowed

- Online storage of 4 gigabytes of e-mail available to standard account holders

- 500 megabyte webmail accounts available for those who don't normally use Army e-mail to perform their duties

In addition, Soldiers moving to a new assignment will be able to turn on their computers and instantly access their e-mail.

"This month's limited fielding of Enterprise e-mail will "allow the Army to refine the migration process and ensure a smooth transition," Patterson said. "It will provide a validation of migration techniques, e-mail functionality, and system management procedures."

As other migration dates draw near, he said affected personnel will be notified with e-mails explaining the steps they need to take before their e-mail accounts are migrated.

"Users will have all of the assistance they need before, during and after the migration," Patterson said.

"7th Signal Command will provide teams to augment our Network Enterprise Centers, or NECs, as they assist users with executing migration tasks. NETCOM will coordinate support with Army commands for migration of e-mail accounts managed by other information technology service providers," he said.

"We are confident that a coordinated effort among all Army organizations will lead to success in this important move toward consolidated Enterprise IT services," Patterson said.

In preparation for migration, all users can perform some simple maintenance tasks that will help the transition go smoothly, according to Herman Wells, Enterprise Services director, 7th Signal Command (Theater).

"Clean up your mailbox as much as possible. The smaller the mailbox, the smoother the migration. Delete messages and calendar items that are no longer necessary to keep. Minimize network-stored PSTs (personal folder files). There's nothing that stops a user from creating a local PST and moving the PST back into the online mailbox after migration," he said.

"During the preparation period prior to migration, NECs and transition teams will provide detailed information on exporting and importing contacts," he added.

Blackberry users should ensure their device is turned on the night prior, and in a spot with a strong signal. If it loses signal and is not communicating with the Blackberry Exchange Server properly, the device will have to be adjusted manually the following day, according to Wells.

"Keeping customers in the loop and happy is important during this transition. We expect some challenges with Blackberry users, since each will require touch labor," Wells said.

Army Signal Corps leaders at Fort Gordon, Ga. -- along with G-6 staffers and NETCOM personnel -- will be among the first to migrate to Enterprise e-mail.

"It was determined that if you are a communications leader, you will come on board first," Wells said. "If the e-mail service is good enough for a general officer, then it is good enough for a private,"

"This is different from the way some information technology upgrades have been done in the past. The high-ranking officers and civilians were last. Everyone else had to put up with inconveniences while software problems were worked out. Not so this time," Wells said.

During this transition, Wells said it is critical that customers participate in the process. He said there has been a concerted effort underway to provide resources and forums so e-mail account holders can ask questions and offer input.

One way to find answers to common questions about Enterprise e-mail is through the 7th Signal Command Enterprise e-mail Frequently Asked Questions website at https://www.us.army.mil/suite/page/646647.

To post your own questions and participate in an interactive discussion, go to the Enterprise e-mail Discussion Forum on MilBook at https://www.kc.army.mil/book/thread/7900.

For more in-depth engineering and project information, visit the Enterprise e-mail ProjectDocuments website at https://www.intelink.gov/wiki/Army_Enterprise_Email

(Siobhan Carlile writes for 7th Signal Command Public Affairs.)