The University of Pennsylvania Electronic Mail Task Force's Working Group on Office Systems was created and charged by the Vice Provost for Information Systems and Computing with charting the course of a new generation of Office Systems. The overarching goal is to combine the responsiveness and flexibility of personal computers with networked systems to support personal and workgroup productivity in a secure, manageable, and reliable fashion. The Penn Office Systems document addresses the needs of faculty, staff, and students, many of whose needs have not been addressed by historical Office Automation systems. This document provides a discussion of important findings, detailed outlines of all of the functional and environmental requirements, and a technical discussion of standards and protocols. Daily work Over the past several years electronic communication has become a natural part of our daily work experience.
Many people frequently exchange electronic messages with friends and colleagues.
Some use electronic calendars to maintain both personal and office-wide schedules that are accessible to others. Many people also need the ability to communicate from home and while on the road. Penn's Office Systems are currently fragmented, lack important functions, and fail to address the needs of large segments of the Penn community. Widespread participation All members of the Penn community, including faculty, staff, and students, must be able to participate. Adherence to standards Adherence to common, underlying technical standards and protocols is prerequisite for campus and world-wide communications.