IT Services

Email, Messaging and Collaboration Services

The electronic messaging and collaboration suite is a hosted private cloud service provided by Microsoft. It consists of the Email Service, OneDrive for Business, Office Online, Office ProPlus, SharePoint Online, Teams and Forms. Email – Exchange Online Email is the official communication channel for the University. Two email systems, namely PolyU and Connect, are provided to staff and students respectively. PolyU Email is an email service for PolyU current staff. In addition to large mailbox quota of 50GB, it also provides features including calendaring, message sharing, and mobile push mail support, etc. If you are planning to travel out of Hong Kong and will continue using the PolyU O365 apps on MS Cloud (e.g., Outlook email, OneDrive for Business and etc.) for communication or collaborative with colleagues, you are required to enable two-factor authentication with Microsoft Authenticator app (PolyU MFA service) BEFORE you start your journey. - Staff who are currently using "Global Protect" VPN service to access campus resources should have already downloaded the Microsoft Authenticator app to your registered mobile phone. No further action is required. - For those who have not used "Global Protect" VPN service before, please refer to the PolyU MFA Service – User Guide to complete the installation of Microsoft Authenticator app and enroll your mobile phone before departure. Connect Email provides email service for students, alumni and retired staff and it also serves as a convenient channel for other communication and collaboration.   Microsoft 365 group is a feature available in O365 products e.g., Outlook for users to setup collaboration with other team members.  There are two types of M365 groups, namely public group and private group. Public group – everyone in PolyU/Connect will have full access (add, edit, and delete) to all posts and files.  Due to lack of access control and policy to manage post and file activities, public group is not recommended for long term use and important file sharing. Private group – only approved members will have access (add, edit, and delete) to all content in the group.  Private group can be used for project and team collaboration. For details, please refer to the user guide under “Training & Resources” for reference.   Web storage - OneDrive for Business OneDrive for Business provides online storage which could be accessed via browser, desktop client, and mobile apps.   Online tool - Office Online Office Online is a web-based version of Microsoft Office productivity suite. It provides web-based versions of MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote which enable users to access their documents using a web browser and an Internet connection but without the needs of installing the software.   Desktop Tool - Office ProPlus Office ProPlus allows licensed users (Full-time permanent staff and current students) to install the latest version of Microsoft Office on up to 5 desktops (PC/ Mac), tablets and mobile devices. The license will be revoked once a licensed user is no longer a full-time permanent staff or student.   Collaboration Tool - SharePoint Online SharePoint Online enables users to create and manage custom-built team-focused and project-focused sites for collaboration. Users can create sites to share documents and information easily with PolyU and external users.   Collaboration Tool – MS Teams Teams is a collaboration tool provides chat, file sharing, and meeting to assigned team members. It is a collection of people, conversation, files, and tools in one place to make collaboration more effective and efficient. Teams could be accessed via browser, desktop client and mobile apps.   Web Meeting - Teams Meeting Meeting could be easily created in Outlook with Teams Meeting. Teams Meeting offers multi-parties video conference with file/screen sharing, raise hand, chat, and session recording.   e-form – MS Forms Forms is a cloud-based form app provides a simple way to create surveys, polls, and quizzes. Collected data could be downloaded in Excel format for further processing.   Video engaging - Stream (on SharePoint) Stream (on SharePoint) is an intelligent video experience that empowers you to record, upload, discover, share, and manage video just as you would any other file.  

IP Telephony and eFAX service

IP (Internet Protocol) telephony and eFax service facilitates departments to run daily operation and achieve office efficiency. IP Telephony IP based telephone service, which is a composite of a wide range of communication services, is provided on campus and at off-campus offices for staff and student use. Features include: Standard call in/out, call forward, call routing, do-not-disturb, caller ID display, group hunting, call pick-up, boss-secretary function, etc. Support IVRS (Interactive Voice Response System) and Call Centre service Voice message forwarding to Staff Email account Softphone installed on mobile device The IP phone models of two brands, Cisco and Snom, are supported by our telephony system. Cisco IP phone models: Cisco 6921, 6945, 7821, 7841, 7911, 7912, 7940, 7945, 7960, 7962 and 7965 Snom IP phone models: Snom D315, D375, D765 and D785 eFax With eFax service, fax documents can be sent or received directly through staff email mailbox. Monthly eFax rental charge, office space, office outgoing like the purchase of fax machine, paper and toner can be minimized.

Mass Mailing and SMS Service

Mass Mailing and SMS Service enables departments to send broad-based emails and SMS through Mailing List Management (MLM) system to staff, students or external recipients. MLM allows users to send large volume of messages, such as mandatory information for students, events and activities promotion message, periodic newsletters or updates to targeted recipients. In addition to supporting authorized users of departments in sending mass messages, MLM also provides a convenient platform for the maintenance of various mailing lists, including the opt-out lists as required by the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Ordinance (UEMO). SMS service is subject to charge based on the number of outgoing messages.  

Video and Web Conferencing Services

As an irresistible trend that more events and activities are held online, a range of video conferencing tools and applications have been introduced for faculty, staff, and administrators to conduct one-to-one and one-to-many audio and video communications such as large scale meetings, conferences over the Internet: Microsoft Teams Meeting (up to 1,000 participants) Microsoft Teams Live Event (up to 10,000 participants) Zoom (up to 300 participants) For support and details, please contact IT HelpCentre.