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Hardware & Services

Computer Systems

The School of Medicine's preferred computing hardware vendor is Dell. ITS has negotiated a series of preconfigured systems at special volume pricing which come preloaded with all School of Medicine standard software. View standard configurations here.

Standard Configurations and Recommended Hardware
Advantages of Standard Configurations
The School of Medicine is a fragmented environment in which it is often difficult to implement standardization, as each person, program, and location has specific needs. For this reason, SOM-ITS has designed several hardware options to fit the needs of most users. Each configuration has a recommended use level in terms of power, optional equipment, and typical function. The advantages of a standard configuration are as follows:

Ease of Administration and Support
With a predefined hardware and software configuration, support technician & IT troubleshooters within the School of Medicine have fewer variables to examine when a problem arises, as each station is identical. Thus, both hardware and software issues can be diagnosed and corrected quickly.

Portability of Expertise
SOM-ITS support personnel (as well as departmental personnel) will undergo consistent training with these configurations and will be familiar with the hardware environment across the School of Medicine, eliminating the need for specialists. Any support technician within the SOM-ITS infrastructure should be able to render the same quality of service as a result.

Preferred Customer and Package Discounts
By pre-defining configurations, SOM-ITS is able to leverage vendor pricing with a commitment to purchase a large quantity of identical units, as well as negotiating out the vendor's cost for extensive customization. Though the University already benefits from volume pricing and educational discounts, by standardizing configurations the School of Medicine is able to lower overall costs further through our close relationship with vendors. The result is a cost 30-40% lower than traditional purchasing methods.

Single Point of Contact for Purchasing
The Emory Computer Store can be utilized for all hardware and software purchases. The store keeps current SOM-ITS configurations on file, and its staff are trained to assist users in the selection of an appropriate configuration. The store may also have a number of models matching SOM-ITS standards to demo before purchase. Purchasing computer hardware through the Emory Computer Store is the same as ordering direct from the vendor through Emory Purchasing, and no retail markup is taken.

Configurations are Pre-Tested, No Surprises

SOM-ITS carefully considers standard configurations based on the following factors:

• Vendor accessibility and customer support quality
• Price to performance ratios
• Viability and life cycle of technology
• Model suitability
  
• School, university, and industry quality standards
  
• Functionality needed in SOM environment
  
• Vendor-sponsored demos, trial use, and roadmapping sessions
  
• Ease of support and technician feedback

A key example of this process is in the decision to standardize on the Dell Optiplex line of desktop computer. Dell offers, by far, the best educationally-targeted sales division of any vendor we have examined. Dell's value-added features include most other vendors' optional equipment as standard and at no additional cost. The average life cycle of the Optiplex product line, despite a volatile and innovative market, is nearly always greater than an equivalent Dell Dimension model or another vendor's enterprise workstation model. Dell products, overall but particularly in the Optiplex, undergo thorough testing and utilize only Dell OEM partner and industry certified components, as opposed to other vendors who sometimes use lower quality components purchased at the lowest bid on the open market to deflate the price of their products at the cost of quality and stability. Dell allows SOM-ITS to demo new products on a trial basis (see R&D below) at no cost, ensuring that decisions are made on actual experience with the product and not on spec sheets alone. Dell's OpenManage application (another value-added service included free with every Dell PC), once implemented across the school, will help to remotely support users and automate the problem reporting and response process. Following the model above and in response to department and user feedback, SOM-ITS will continue to assess changes in the market and in technology to ensure that our standard configurations are always the best available.

SOM-ITS Provides R&D Services
Each unit of the School of Medicine need not maintain its own relationship with vendors, negotiate its own prices, or conduct it's own Research and Development practices regarding IT infrastructure. In growing our enterprise-level relationship with vendors, evaluating and standardizing on products, keeping abreast of the current and projected future trends in technology, and rendering support and consulting services to all areas of the School of Medicine, SOM-ITS is committed to relieving the burden of administering Information Technology Services on a micro level.

Peripherals

A full range of peripheral devices is available from the Emory Computer Store. Whenever possible, ITS recommends the use of external USB peripheral devices, as these typically do not require support technician intervention to install, they are portable among systems and platforms, and they do not alter the standard desktop configuration used to provide support and recovery services. Hard drive, memory, and other upgrades are also available.

Non-standard Hardware Issues

The introduction of non-standard hardware into an environment increases the difficuly of implementing consistent support and asset management strategies. Some hardware may not be supported by ITS; please check with our office before making a major purchase.

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Software

SOM-ITS and University ITD support the following business and academic software packages:

EmoryOnline Suite
Microsoft Office 2000/XP

Software not mentioned here is regarded as special purpose and must be supported by one of the following:

Local dedicated support
Product vendor
Enterprise support by special service level agreement (SLA) only
External support organization by contract

Please see the Document of Understanding for more details.