A contract between Iowa State and Google was signed last week, setting in motion a switch from the campus’ current e-mail system to a new one.

The new system will be called CyMail.

The Government of the Student Body voted in December to recommend the contract for a new provider be given to Google. Aug. 4 will mark the day the system will be used to create accounts for new students. Current students will have the chance to switch as close to the beginning of the fall semester as possible, said Kent Ziebell, information technology senior systems analyst.

The switch will be very simple, and students need only change their passwords and follow the prompts, Ziebell said.

IT Services officials have been considering which company to go with for this switch for just over a year and chose Google by after GSB’s recommendation.

Google was chosen for its array of amenities it offers, including collaborative document sharing, calendars, spreadsheets and a larger mailbox , Ziebell said. Google will give students seven gigabytes, considerably more than the one gigabyte that Webmail offers, according to a press release.

IT Services has determined that several thousand ISU students currently forward their Webmail e-mail to a Gmail account, Ziebell said.

“We were looking for something to provide functionality for students, and with so many students already forwarding their Webmail to Gmail, it makes it easy,” he said.

The switch will ultimately save the university money, too, Ziebell said. Webmail is powered by on-campus servers, which would need to be replaced if they continue to be used, and the switch to Google will eradicate their need.

Current e-mail addresses will remain the same with the new system. For instance, [email protected] will remain [email protected], but the e-mail service will look and feel like Google’s Gmail, with all of the services Gmail provides.

Faculty and staff won’t switch to CyMail for technical reasons, according to a press release, but will continue with their existing providers.