Road to Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365 Project Update
Updated April 22, 2025 @ 9:15 am
The Ïã½¶Ö±²¥ IT Division has been working with the TTU IT Division, Microsoft and other consultants on a project to execute the Ïã½¶Ö±²¥ migration to the Microsoft 365 environment. This multi-phase project will provide significant improvements to work flows and collaboration for both TTU and Ïã½¶Ö±²¥.
Stages of Microsoft 365
Deactivated Ïã½¶Ö±²¥ Office.com download site
COMPLETE
Global Address List Separation
COMPLETE
Migrate to Exchange Online
FALL 2025 - OFFICAL DATE TBD
Deployment of other M365 Services
FUTURE DATES TBD
ACTION REQUIRED
Migration to Microsoft Exchange Online
Mandatory Upgrade to Office 2021: This is required for Exchange Online compatibility. Older Office versions will only be able to access email via webmail.
Automatic Upgrade Starting April 21st: Ïã½¶Ö±²¥ IT will automatically upgrade devices to Office 2021 nightly (10 PM - 6 AM, Mon-Fri).
Avoid Disruptions: Keep devices powered on and connected to the network (or internet off-campus) to receive the upgrade. Devices not upgraded by April 28th will be updated upon their next connection, potentially causing daytime interruptions.
The email migration delivers significant enhancements:
- a substantial mailbox size increase,
- future integration with Office 365 services like OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams,
- and robust reliability and security.
Global Address List (GAL) Split
COMPLETED - MARCH 10, 2025
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In order to migrate Ïã½¶Ö±²¥ to Exchange Online, Ïã½¶Ö±²¥ and TTU we were required to separate our current combined Global Address List (GAL) into separate address books.
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TTU users can no longer see Ïã½¶Ö±²¥ users in the TTU address book, and Ïã½¶Ö±²¥ users can no longer see TTU users in the Ïã½¶Ö±²¥ address book. Both TTU and Ïã½¶Ö±²¥ addresses can be found
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Additionally, email distribution lists that contain both TTU users and Ïã½¶Ö±²¥ users were modified to contain only users belonging to the email system that owns the distribution list (ttu.edu or ttuhsc.edu).
- Distribution list owners were contacted and provided instructions to initiate the Lyris conversion. -
For example, a distribution list named Senators@ttu.edu with members John.Smith@ttu.edu, Jane.Doe@ttu.edu, and Jack.Flash@ttuhsc.edu were modified to only have members John.Smith@ttu.edu and Jane.Doe@ttu.edu. The Ïã½¶Ö±²¥ member, Jack.Flash@ttuhsc.edu was removed from the Senators@ttu.edu distribution list.
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Understand the Global Address List separation, will it affect you?
The Global Address List (GAL) was split, separating Texas Tech University (TTU) and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (Ïã½¶Ö±²¥) users. A cross-domain user is simply someone who belongs to one university (either TTU or Ïã½¶Ö±²¥) but is a member of a distribution group (DG) at the other university. Therefore, distribution groups (DGs) and how you communicate with users across domains will be affected.
- Clear autocomplete and manually add addresses you frequently communicate with.
- New messages using autocomplete names and replies to emails from cross-domain users might bounce.
- Update local Outlook contacts for cross-domain users you created.
- Existing meetings with cross-domain attendees may require removing and re-adding them.
- Messages from cross-domain users will display the “CAUTION: This email originated from outside of Ïã½¶Ö±²¥. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.â€
- GAL will no longer show both TTU and HSC users, you will only see the addresses to the university you are associated with.
- You can still send emails to TTU and Ïã½¶Ö±²¥ users directly.
(See section on 'Emailing cross-domain users' to see if you need to take extra steps to send your email.) - Cross-domain Outlook calendar free/busy information will continue to work.
Thank you for your patience during the execution of this exciting project!
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