Volume 2. No 3 Information Technology News of the University of California, Davis Spring 1994

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IT Responds to the Spiraling Increase in E-mail Communication

by Brian Hill and Johnson Lai
Information Resources

The Division of Information Technology has effectively responded to the recent increase in electronic mail communication. Factors contributing to the dramatic growth have included:

• an effort by the campus, responding to Phase III cuts, to encourage electronic communication to save money and enhance faculty-student interactions;

• a recent surge of interest in the "Information Highway" nationwide; and

• a substantial increase in subscriptions to electronic mailing lists/discussion forums.

In November 1992, the number of email messages processed on a weekday averaged less than 2,500. During the same month in 1993, nearly 17,000 messages were handled per weekday average. And in the last 6 months, email use rocketed - with nearly 39,000 messages processed daily in February on weekdays!

IT expects e-mail usage to continue to expand at an exponential rate.

IT has begun to examine the technology necessary to handle increasing demands in the future. Implementation of much of this technology will begin this summer and continue as demands on the email system increase. Electronic mail has become an increasingly mission-critical tool for the University of California. IT will continue to provide and ensure reliable, secure, and timely email delivery.