September 25, 2007

E-mail bests text messaging; verdict pending on dependability

E-mail reached 59,882 people in six minutes and three seconds. Text took seven minutes. Technical feedback and information from those who self-reported, however, indicate that text messages failed to reach at least 5 percent of the 9,979 who signed up for that portion of the test.

"Our technology tells us that at least 364 of the almost 10,000 people who volunteered did not receive the text messages. Another 50 also self-reported that they had not received texts," said Scott Ksander, Purdue's executive director of information technology networks and security.

"Some people who signed up have a cell phone but have not paid for a texting service. Some may have a cell phone not capable of receiving text messages. We'll check to find out."

Purdue also is still waiting for replies from those who received the messages.

Although 5,741 of those who received text messages replied to let Purdue know the messages arrived, the other 4,238 who subscribed have yet to respond.

Anyone who signed up for the test but did not receive a text message is asked to let Ksander's group know by e-mailing celltest@purdue.edu .

E-mail, on the other hand, did remarkably well, Ksander said.

"As recently as a week ago, it took one to two hours to reach everyone on campus by e-mail, and that was pretty standard for an institution of our size," Ksander said. "Today, thanks to a new technique identified by some talented people in our Office of Information Technology, we reached all 56,882 in just a fraction of that time. We are anxious to share this breakthrough with our many colleagues across the country."

Anyone with a purdue.edu e-mail address who didn't receive an e-mail is asked to report this to securepurdue@purdue.edu .

Full results and a preliminary analysis will take at least a week to assemble, Ksander said. A detailed analysis will take several months.

"From this, however, we’ll be able to identify potential problems and work with the vendors to streamline the system," he said. "We'll also have good data to not only share with other universities, but also to serve as a foundation when we advertise for bids. We will know exactly what we are looking for from vendors and what minimums we want guaranteed."

While the results are analyzed, the campus community is encouraged to sign up to receive future safety alerts. Purdue students, faculty and staff can register online at http://www.purdue.edu/securepurdue . Click on "Change Your Password," enter career account name and password, and then select the "Emergency Contact Information" link.

Other tools in Purdue's emergency notification plan include sirens, the Purdue home page, Facebook, building deputies, a residence hall alert plan and a phone tree for sororities. Details can be found on the Purdue Emergency Planning and Preparedness Web site at http://www.purdue.edu/emergency_preparedness/
warning_system.htm .

Source: Scott Ksander, (765) 496-8289, ksander@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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