To serve or not to serve

ABSTRACT

As microcomputers proliferate on campuses, changes will have to be made in user services to accommodate the “Apple in every dorm room” and “PC in every office.” Brown University is being forced to examine these issues now, due to several important events:

•Brown's broadband network that links most office buildings is being extended to dormitories.

•Special agreements allow members of the Brown community to buy microcomputer hardware at discounts of up to 45 percent; software site licenses are currently under negotiation.

•A $50 million research project includes a gift to Brown of 150 micros. Traditional services cannot be mapped directly into microcomputer support for the following reasons:

•The variety of hardware and software is so large that staff cannot maintain expertise in all these areas.

•Staff size has not usually grown in proportion to usage, so there is no extra staff to move into these areas.

•Centralized support services will become less effective as users become more distributed.

Other factors affect the extension of service to micros:

•An increasing number of incoming freshmen have some computer “literacy.”

•File transfer standards are only beginning to evolve.

•Increasing numbers of administrative users are requesting these services.

•The role of mainframe computing will change toward file and print servers.

•Microcomputer vendors are supply better user-oriented documentation including on-line tutorials.

Brown has recognized a number of directions that these services are likely to take:

•With distributed users, there will be an increase in phone and interactive consulting.

•More of the responsibility for traditional user services will be assumed by the users (human network).

•Solutions for user problems will include hardware as well as software.

•A limited number of packages that are implemented on several common types of machines will be identified for support.

•Staff will develop and support interconnections between existing software and the local environment.

Index Terms

• Social and professional topics

  • Professional topics

    • Management of computing and information systems