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Expanding Services, Reducing IT Operating Expenses with Integrated IT Infrastructure
6/29/2004
We started by migrating from Lotus Notes to Oracle Collaboration Suite, converting 2,200 staff and faculty members to our new e-mail system in May 2003. During the two-month migration, we provided workshop sessions and online learning tools to help users transfer their messages to the new system. Feedback on the transition was overwhelmingly positive, with staff members indicating that the process was seamless and relatively painless.We also replaced our Meridian Mail system with Oracle’s voicemail and fax capabilities. The Meridian system was expensive and outdated, and we were outsourcing to Verizon for system maintenance, which incurred additional costs. At the same time, we were building a new campus and made the decision to deploy Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) phones to avoid building a duplicate telephone system at the new facility. We also saved time and money by storing messages in Oracle Voicemail and Fax. Staff and faculty members are ecstatic about receiving their voicemail in an e-mail format, a capability that has improved responsiveness and productivity.
We are leveraging the Oracle Files system, which has shortened by two days each month the process of preparing for Board of Trustees meetings. Participants now receive their meeting materials electronically via an e-mail link well in advance of the monthly meeting. In another area, before we implemented the new file management solution, the 20 people involved in the budgeting process had to send countless e-mails with versioned budget attachments. It was difficult to determine who was making what changes, and someone had to consolidate all the versions. Now, the master document is stored on a secure server, and each person can edit the same version of the document from Web folders.
We have also implemented Web conferencing capabilities and, today, host 50-100 conferences monthly. The conferences, without question, saves time and increase productivity.
Cutting IT Expenses by $600,000
At Lansing, we faced our IT challenges head-on and crafted a solution that enabled us to expand services to students, faculty and staff while significantly cutting our IT management costs. We have reduced IT staff expenditures by $600,000 annually and have emerged with a streamlined, yet scalable, infrastructure that prepares us for a bright future.
Glenn Cerny (cernyg@lcc.edu) is chief information officer at Lansing Community
College.
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