STANDARD
1.0 SUBJECT: Electronic Mail
2.0 DISTRIBUTION: All State Agencies
3.0 FROM: Russell Getter, Director of DISC
4.0 PURPOSE: To establish a standard for electronic mail, on which agencies can be assured of connecting to other existing and future electronic mail systems.
5.0 BACKGROUND: Electronic mail, electronic forms, calendering, and scheduling have become more and more an integral part of the effective operation of state government and educational institutions. With the implementation of the Kansas Data Network (KDN) it is mandatory that an agency's office automation efforts not result in their isolation from other agencies or offices. The sending of documents and messages, as well as scheduling both inter and intra agency meetings is greatly enhanced by ensuring that each user on the statewide network can efficiently communicate with any other user. It is also advisable that the process to accomplish this be transparent to users as they send and receive electronic mail to and from other computer systems. Eventually, it appears as though the International Standards Organization's (ISO) x.400 will be the industry standard; however, that is not the present reality. In the meantime, the vast majority of non(c)IBM vendors have gateways between their products and IBM's Professional Office System (PROFS).
6.0 PROCEDURE: Any electronic mail, calendering, document transfer, and scheduling package which resides on, or is utilized by equipment that resides on, the Kansas Data Network (KDN) supported by the Division of Information Systems and Communications, must provide for communications and document transfer through IBM's Professional Office System (PROFS) Electronic Mail
6.1 Agencies can utilize PROFS directly through the acquisition of PROFS sign ons and connection to the IBM mainframe environment either through 327x compatible terminals, microcomputers emulating 327x terminals, minicomputer emulation of 327x terminals, or asynchronous modem connections dialing into the PROFS system.
6.2 Electronic mail products must be compatible with the Revisable(c)Form Text Document Content Architecture (RFTDCA) utilized by PROFS.
6.2.1 Agencies planning to implement their own electronic mail system on either departmental processors or microcomputer based Local Area Networks, must insure that the chosen system's electronic mail, is compatible with RFTDCA. In addition, agencies must acquire the product(s) required to make the sending or receiving of PROFS documents appear transparent so that users do not have to exit their native mode in order to send or receive PROFS documents. It is the responsibility of the agency to acquire all necessary hardware and software needed to accomplish the document transfer capability both to and from PROFS.
6.2.2 Agencies in the process of acquiring either departmental processors or microcomputer based Local Area Networks must include all of the hardware and software necessary to connect to PROFS in the manner stated above.
7.0 CONTACT PERSON: PROFS Administrator - DISC Information Technology Center
785-296-4999