26-02-2019, 05:34 AM
I received this from Aidan Mountford on behalf of the WIA President (I had emailed the Prez directly on this matter):
Colin,
I apologise if there has been any miscommunication - I will review this communication with the IT group.
With respect to the email redirection service, this is not being discontinued. All existing redirections will continue
to work. The key thing that is changing is that for those who elect to participate, GSuite will be available (and will
be the default on a go forward basis for new members)
With respect to the security and privacy of data from gMail, we initially shared your concerns and we agree that the
standard "gmail" service that is "free" has terms and conditions that are less than attractive.
The service being deployed by the WIA is not the standard gmail service - It is googles business grade product that
is used by corporations and governments globally. The terms and conditions relating to the use of this product are
well documented, but, in summary the matters that make the "free" gmail service unsuitable are not matters of
concern in the corporate product.
If this is not the "free" product, it must cost money - which might then lead you to ask "how is this being funded".
Over the past 12 months the team has put significant effort into starting to attract sponsorship for the WIA to relieve pressure
on members funds. Google has come forward with a very generous series of donations - this is one facet of that
agreement.
If you would like to understand the broader terms under which this is provided please review the link below:
https://gsuite.google.com.au/intl/en_au/...ta-centers
Kind regards,
It was in response to this:
Dear Justin,
I am writing to you to express my disappointment at the imminent removal of the WIA email redirection service.
I have been advised by your "IT Team" that as of mid-March that as I am unwilling to accept the Google Suite option that the redirection service will be discontinued.
To be honest, I am appalled at this turn of events and even more astonished that technical people would even countenance allowing Google access to the institutes data and to process member's emails.
I don't wish to sound condescending, but I still need to ask - You do realise that Google's primary income streams are from on selling data they harvest via their various systems?
The value proposition for retaining my membership with the WIA is very finely balanced. The magazine is awful, customer service is poor and the internal ructions which have consumed the organisation are very much negatives. Your advocacy and representation to government and international boards is important.
The provision of the email redirection service is what has tipped me over the line to renew my membership each year. Without that I struggle to see a real value.
The bundling of Google Suite, I assume is intended as a value add, does not go into the positive column, it is a very definite negative.
I respectfully ask that the board reflect on the decision to bundle the Google Suite and the decision to force members to have their emails handled by Google.
It seems the WIA are on a special deal for Google Suite.
Colin,
I apologise if there has been any miscommunication - I will review this communication with the IT group.
With respect to the email redirection service, this is not being discontinued. All existing redirections will continue
to work. The key thing that is changing is that for those who elect to participate, GSuite will be available (and will
be the default on a go forward basis for new members)
With respect to the security and privacy of data from gMail, we initially shared your concerns and we agree that the
standard "gmail" service that is "free" has terms and conditions that are less than attractive.
The service being deployed by the WIA is not the standard gmail service - It is googles business grade product that
is used by corporations and governments globally. The terms and conditions relating to the use of this product are
well documented, but, in summary the matters that make the "free" gmail service unsuitable are not matters of
concern in the corporate product.
If this is not the "free" product, it must cost money - which might then lead you to ask "how is this being funded".
Over the past 12 months the team has put significant effort into starting to attract sponsorship for the WIA to relieve pressure
on members funds. Google has come forward with a very generous series of donations - this is one facet of that
agreement.
If you would like to understand the broader terms under which this is provided please review the link below:
https://gsuite.google.com.au/intl/en_au/...ta-centers
Kind regards,
It was in response to this:
Dear Justin,
I am writing to you to express my disappointment at the imminent removal of the WIA email redirection service.
I have been advised by your "IT Team" that as of mid-March that as I am unwilling to accept the Google Suite option that the redirection service will be discontinued.
To be honest, I am appalled at this turn of events and even more astonished that technical people would even countenance allowing Google access to the institutes data and to process member's emails.
I don't wish to sound condescending, but I still need to ask - You do realise that Google's primary income streams are from on selling data they harvest via their various systems?
The value proposition for retaining my membership with the WIA is very finely balanced. The magazine is awful, customer service is poor and the internal ructions which have consumed the organisation are very much negatives. Your advocacy and representation to government and international boards is important.
The provision of the email redirection service is what has tipped me over the line to renew my membership each year. Without that I struggle to see a real value.
The bundling of Google Suite, I assume is intended as a value add, does not go into the positive column, it is a very definite negative.
I respectfully ask that the board reflect on the decision to bundle the Google Suite and the decision to force members to have their emails handled by Google.
It seems the WIA are on a special deal for Google Suite.