We do not have to purchase software or provide remote access services. Faculty and staff have access to their mail from anywhere where they have a POP client, even if they use an ISP rather than Homenet for Internet access. Faculty attending a conference anywhere in the world can access their University POP mail where as mail kept inside a closed network often can not be accessed without a remote access service. While Homenet certainly has its problems, we have not installed any supplemental remote access services for faculty. FTP access can be arranged for any staff needed to transfer personal files to remote sites.
Technology changes too quick .
We do not like to be wedded so heavily with any technology. Everyday something comes out which is slicker than what came out yesterday. We just do not want to be in a position that we can not change technologies simply because we have too many resources already invested. Our current Web server is also NT-based. We run Netscape Enterprise server software not only because it is available free to educational organizations, but because it can be administered remotely.