Magazine Article | March 25, 2008

Distribution Of 5,000 Notebook PCs Streamlines IT Operations

Source: Field Technologies Magazine

The IWU IT team standardized Fujitsu LifeBook S Series notebooks for 5,000 students and faculty.

 


Integrated Solutions, April 2008
Written by: Erin Harris
Save Time In IT Problem Resolution

The Southern Nazarene University (SNU) IT team is often stretched to its limits to keep its systems up and running. They have extended their help desk hours, putting more demand on the team to work longer hours. In 2005, the IT team installed the BlackBerry Enterprise Server for Novell GroupWise with the BlackBerry Mobile Data System. Doing this opened up the possibility of deploying a wireless application on the staff's smartphones to assist with remote IT management.

SNU network engineer Geoffrey Freelander understood his options for offering wireless IT management from remote locations. He chose the Rove Mobile Admin application. Rove serves a global customer base of more than 1,000 corporations with mobile IT management solutions. Rove's products allow IT administrators to manage their networks with their BlackBerry smartphones. Before Freelander used Mobile Admin, it could take up to 30 minutes to fix a problem, and it would often mean driving into the office or being at a computer. Now the staff can troubleshoot a problem in under a minute.

TEND TO AN IT ISSUE AT ANY TIME OF DAY
When SNU extended its help desk hours to 9 p.m., one of Freelander's team members had to sit in the office to field calls and fix problems. Now, since help desk calls are forwarded to their BlackBerry smartphones, the IT staff can work from home in the evening. This flexibility to work from any location means that when a problem occurs outside of help desk hours, it will be solved.

Freelander's team is now saving as much as 30 minutes in problem resolution, depending on the issue. Knowing about problems before customers do helps a small IT team offer superior customer service. SNU is now supporting extended help desk hours without having to increase IT resources. Freelander expects to create a browser-based application that allows administrators to wirelessly access a portal for inputting student data at recruitment events. "Before I began this process, I didn't know what could be done with a BlackBerry," says Freelander. "I understood the e-mail side, but I've learned so much about the software and the possibilities to deploy more applications."                                                                       

Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) is one of the fastest-growing universities in the United States with enrollment growing more than 400% since 1990. A large portion of IWU's growth can be attributed to the University's College of Adult and Professional Studies (CAPS), which delivers courses online and in 80 classroom locations across three states and boasts one of the highest graduation rates in the country.

To provide students with the skills they need to further their educational and professional goals, the University implemented a computer notebook distribution program over 17 years ago. In the last nine years, IWU has purchased more than 5,000 Fujitsu LifeBook S Series notebooks. The notebooks were required to last three to four years and were used by students with various levels of computer experience. "When you're sending out thousands of notebooks each year to students who rely on those devices for their education, you simply cannot have a high failure rate," says John Jones, vice president of information technology at IWU. Students and faculty use the Fujitsu notebooks both inside and outside the classroom. Faculty members use their notebooks for classroom presentations and exercises and to prepare lectures. Students use their notebooks to complete assignments, take notes, conduct research, prepare presentations, and stay connected with instructors and other class members. All required software is preloaded, which brings an element of consistency to the curriculum. The use of notebooks in the classroom has enhanced the learning environment for both teachers and students and has provided CAPS students the valuable computer skills they need for the workplace.

After nine years and many generations of notebooks, the Fujitsu LifeBook S Series notebook continues to make the grade. Because of IWU's confidence in Fujitsu notebooks, the University can standardize on one notebook, making it easier for the IT team to get notebooks ready for new students and to service notebooks. The stability and durability of the Fujitsu notebooks has helped increase overall revenue for the school because the LifeBooks, on average, are lasting longer and need fewer repairs than notebooks from other vendors.