|
Division of IT: Software Services
Evaluation of Software and Hardware Recommendations
The Division of Information Technology has put together a list of software and hardware recommendations. These documents strive to delineate the level of support that can be expected for each product and/or machine.
The Division clearly recognizes that departments/colleges on the Columbia campus have a wide range of needs and that these specifications will not meet them all. This should not be construed an attempt on the part of the Division to limit the choices of individual departments or colleges. On the contrary, these documents are intended to provide customers with the information they need to make informed choices while allowing the Division to focus on providing support for a well-defined group of products.
The following process outlines the procedures by which software and/or hardware is submitted to the Division for evaluation to determine an appropriate level of support; changes are made on an annual basis. Suggestions and/or recommendations for the next academic year need to be submitted to DoIT by February 1. We will publish revised documents each June.
Questions or comments on this process can be sent to the Divsion of IT.
Step-by-Step Evaluation Process
Step 1: The end user contacts a departmental IT professional and expresses interest in proposed software and/or hardware. Information provided should include:
- Name of software and/or hardware.
- Vendor or supplier.
- Brief description of intended use and definition of likely end users.
- Where/how software is to be made available.
- Indication as to whether used for a specific course(s), curricular area, course number, and course title.
Step 2: Departmental IT professional conducts initial investigation and provides pertinent data to the departmental IT professionals committee and to requesting faculty member. If possible, include URLs of Web pages for supplier, price, etc. If independent evaluations of software are found, include brief description and where evaluation can be found.
Step 3: Division of IT staff, along with academic liaisons and with the input from the departmental IT professional community, review the following issues:
- Implications for deployment in computing sites.
- Software/hardware procurement and distribution.
- Financing issues, both one-time and ongoing (for upgrades and the like).
- How the software/hardware relates to existing software/hardware already in use on campus.
- Training requirements.
- Resources necessary to support and how those resources will be garnered.
Step 4: The Computer Policy and Strategies Committee (CPSC) and the Campus Computer Policy Committee (CCPC) are provided written results of departmental IT Professional and Division of IT reviews. If favorably reviewed by these committees, the software/hardware selection is opened for public comment period, inviting feedback from other computing committees on campus and applicable school/college/division computer support. The public comment phase should include an open hearing as well as e-mail or written remarks.
Step 5: CPSC and CCPC make final recommendations to the Division of IT. Based on the resource requirements and availability, the software/hardware selection is placed in the appropriate support category or requirements listing.
|
