LIFECYCLE SOLUTIONS
SERVICES
Making the Grade How Lee University Handled Their Annual Technology Refresh
First: Choose the Equipment to Refresh Nate Tucker, Director of IT Systems at Lee University wanted to refresh nearly 200 of their 1300 computers. Tucker elaborated about the scope of their annual technology refresh, “The type and number of systems fluctuates from year to year, and that’s because some years we include our labs and some years we don’t. This year, we refreshed a few systems that were in public areas across campus, but for the most part we focused on faculty and staff.”
The task of keeping so many machines at Lee University up to date can be daunting, but Tucker chooses proven technology for the campus every year. He remarked, “One of the things we found is that Lenovo systems have great performance—we are extremely satisfied with the Lenovo computers that we deployed this year. The quality of the Lenovo product is very reliable. Currently we are 100% Lenovo in the PC area—and since we are an educational institution, we also use Mac. So we have a mixture; about 80% of our computer devices are Lenovo.”
Next: Call Upon a Dedicated Technology Partner “One of the things that GovConnection is helping us explore is using all-in-one devices in the classroom. We currently have a workstation with technology equipment there for the teacher. Now we’re going to take a look at all-in-ones because they are easier and cleaner, with less mess and less wires. It provides a good solution for faculty while they’re teaching,” Tucker asserted. He went on to say, “All-in-ones are also a perfect fit for our general public areas. Having a CPU under the desk in a public area results in damage to the machine—people kick them and knock them over, even with the secure devices that we’ve tried. Having an all-in-one in our areas for general public use gives us the ability to secure one device.”
Then: Invest in the Process Tucker detailed what the refresh cycle looks like when Lee University is ready to roll out new computers. “We get the machines after they
56 Solutions and Services Playbook
have been sent through GovConnection’s imaging process. Then we go through a testing process to make sure the machines meet our requirements. We then notify the users that their machines are here on campus and schedule a time and get them deployed to the users’ workstation area or the lab.”
Tucker continued, “The key ingredient for a successful refresh is to get the machines in, turn them on, and have them work out of the box. GovConnection delivers a product that can meet that goal. They do the imaging for us, we turn it on, and it just works. In addition, we went through a certification process that enabled us to service Lenovo computers on-site. Having that relationship with GovConnection is great, and those are two key areas where we have gained the most benefit.”
Last: Evaluate the Outcome Choosing quality technology is only one piece of the technology refresh equation for Lee University; choosing a quality IT partner is equally important. Tucker noted, “One of the things we do annually is select the vendor that we are going to use for the year. Since we have had such great success with Lenovo and GovConnection, we will stick with them next year and simply focus on determining what to budget for the machines.”
After the refresh, Tucker graded the outcome. “The only issues that we had with the technology refresh were on our end, and that was in the identification of where the assets were on campus; in an education setting these assets move around.”
Tucker also mentioned, “We had an offer of assistance from staff at GovConnection that are close to our campus to help roll the machines out if needed. The fact that they offered and wanted to help us meet our deadline let us know that they are a partner that we should keep around.”
INTERNAL USE ONLY #8276 0515
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88