NEWS BRIEF 70
World’s biggest PC supplier to dissolve hardware arm
Internet access critical for student tenants For the first time in the annual National Student Housing Survey (NSHS), students have rated good Internet access above location, when choosing university accom- modation. The NSHS statistics show that Internet
access is the number one priority for stu- dents, with 90 per cent of those surveyed rating it as a ‘very important factor.’ Value for money came second (85 per cent), and location came in third, with only three- quarters of respondents rating it as ‘very important.’ The respondents represent a cross-section
of the student population, including those who own their own apartments; live with their parents; in private rented accommoda- tion; in private halls and in university halls.
Revised paper from SusteIT SusteIT, a JISC-funded project that explores Green ICT, has revised its briefing paper Interest-free funding for Energy Efficient ICT, to incorporate the additional £10m funding for a second stage of the Revolving Green Fund (RGF) that the Higher Education Fund- ing Council for England (HEFCE) pledged in June 2011. The RGF provides interest-free support for capital investment in energy efficient technologies, and can finance many ICT-relevant activities.
Durham moves its sourcing and procurement into the cloud
A
new cloud-based source-to-pay system, that streamlines the electronic purchasing process, has gone live at the
University of Durham. Wax Digital web3, known as ‘acquire’
to the University’s staff, automates the procurement process, allowing employees to search and select goods and services online, collaborate electronically with suppliers for the exchange of orders and invoices while also generating tenders and electronic auctions. Switching to web3 is the University’s lat-
est step in long-term procurement change designed to increase the organisation’s purchasing compliance and cost savings. According to the University’s figures,
Durham spends £90 million annually to maintain the infrastructure and services demanded of its 3,000 staff and under 15,000 students. Alison Holmes, Director of Procurement
at the University stated that “these pro- curement changes are essential to the Uni- versity since, like the rest of the public sec- tor, we face reduced budgets and research
grants in line with the government’s deficit repair plans. “The initial response from users has
been extremely positive. Wax Digital web3 will allow us to automate the paper-based purchasing model we created in phase one of our procurement change, improving compliance and helping us to drive significant process and cost efficiencies.” The web3 P2P system has been linked
to Durham University’s Oracle ERP system which allows automated back office reporting.
U
S technology giant Hewlett-Pack- ard (HP) has confirmed that it will dissolve its personal computer (PC) business.
The move away from the personal
computer market would allow the world’s number one supplier of PCs to focus on the more dynamic and stable enterprise software market. According to the BBC, HP bought the UK soft-
ware company Autonomy for a sum of £
7.bn. HP’s PSG, the department responsible
for personal computers, is to be evalu- ated for strategic alternatives, including the exploration of the separation of its PC
business into a separate company through a spin off or ‘other transaction.’ “The exploration of alternatives for PSG
demonstrates our commitment to share- holder value and sharpening out strategic and financial focus,” said HP president and CEO Léo Apotheker. “In March we outlined a strategy for HP,
built on cloud, solutions and software, to address the changing requirements of our customers, shaped heavily by secular market trends that are redefining how technology is consumed and deployed,” explained Apotheker. “Since then, we have observed the acceleration of these market trends, which has led us to evaluate ad- ditional steps to transform HP to meet emerging opportunities.” According to PSG chief Tom Bradley,
however, it is unlikely that any evaluation would lead to an outright sale. “A stand- alone company could and will do what’s most required to drive value for sharehold- ers and partners.” Speaking to Reuters, Bradley explained that “the numbers don’t support” a sale. “Regardless of what happens, we are
the largest PC company in the world. We need everybody energised, and while this isn’t business as usual, we need people to go out and sell products every day,” added Bradley. HP expects that any evaluation is likely to
be completed within 12-18 months. Since the company’s announcement to
discontinue its hardware products, the HP Touchpads have sold out.
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