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JISC/UCISA press release 


The following press release was issued by JISC on Friday 12 December, announcing the publication of briefing papers and case studies on the subject of outsourcing email and data services.

Learners drive change in email and data services

As learners increasingly adopt free third-party email providers over their institutional email, further and higher education institutions are faced with the question of whether to follow the crowd by outsourcing their email and data services.

JISC, UCISA (the Universities and Colleges Information Systems Association) and Universities UK recognise this challenge and today (12 December 2008) launch two new briefing papers to help institutions understand the implications and opportunities involved in no longer hosting their own email service.

Steve Bailey, Senior Advisor at JISC infoNet said, 'Outsourcing email and data storage facilities is being viewed as an increasingly attractive proposition by many institutions faced with growing user demand for increased storage and functionality. However, it is important that institutions enter into such arrangement with their eyes wide open and fully appreciate that outsourcing these services does not also outsource their management responsibilities, liabilities and obligations.

'These papers highlight the experiences of four institutions, the University of Westminster, the University of Oxford, Leeds Metropolitan University and Glasgow Caledonian University on how they considered outsourcing and what solutions worked for them', added Steve.

The opportunities include:


  • Enhanced and enriched student learner experience
  • Email account with an ac.uk address
  • Retain email account beyond leaving education
  • Storage of emails in GB rather than MB – greater capacity
  • Access calendar and file storage services
  • Information sharing.

    The implications are:

  • Hidden setup costs
  • Legal, contractual and procurement processes
  • Whether to outsource email services for learners, or learners and staff
  • Privacy and confidentiality of data storage
  • Compliance with Freedom of Information and Data Protection Acts
  • Beta status of services, which are constantly changing.

    David Harrison, Chair of UCISA, said, 'There are many aspects an institution should consider before opting to outsource. These papers highlight the issues and encourage institutions to take a holistic view when considering outsourcing.'

    The full briefing papers and case studies are available to download from the JISC website and a library of related resources will be built on the UCISA website.


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