Migrating to dCal

Considering adopting dCal as the group calendaring service for your department/group?

Why dCal?

dCal, based on Oracle Calendar, provides the following:

Ability to schedule meetings among dCal and non-dCal users
Low (no) cost alternative to maintaining your department's calendaring service
Second-level technical support from OIT
High level of functionality, features, and ease of use
Desktop clients for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Solaris, as well as access via the Web
Synchronization with handheld devices (wired or wireless)
A commitment to standards and interoperability -- Duke and Oracle participate in CalConnect

Consultation with OIT

For departments considering adopting dCal as their calendaring system of choice, the Office of Information Technology (OIT) provides consultation services.

In addition to consultation, OIT offers the following dCal support services:

Online resources such as FAQs and instructional documents
Technical support for your users and IT staff for Oracle Calendar desktop clients, Web client, and Oracle Calendar Sync clients (for handheld devices we support)
Train-the-trainer sessions in which OIT instructors train one or more individuals (IT staff included) from your department and provide you with materials for training others
Assistance in migrating data from your current calendaring tool, if any. OIT provides consultation, documentation and tools; your IT staff is responsible for data migration. If you request a consultation, one of the things we'll discuss is the practicality of moving data from your existing calendaring system and how such a move would be accomplished.

Requesting a consultation

Complete and submit a dCal consultation request. A member of the dCal team will contact you within two business days.
Be prepared to discuss the following:
- Resources.
  - How does your department currently schedule meeting rooms and other resources (for example, a projector)?
  - Who manages these resources?
  - Prepare a list of known resources.
  - You will need to select a resource administrator who will coordinate requests for setup of new resources or changes.
- Operating systems. Are your users running Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Solaris, or a mixture of operating systems?
- Handheld devices. Do your users employ handheld devices, such as PDAs, Blackberries, and the like? If so, what do they use, specifically?
- Technical support. What is your current IT support model?

If you have preliminary questions about adopting dCal or would like a demo, contact us at dcal-questions@duke.edu.