TechTalks Event
Budgeting for IT Infrastructure�
with guest expert H. David Lambert of Georgetown University
February 7, 2002
Audio
• Streaming
MP3
• Download
MP3 (Download
Tips)
"Some IT investments are required just to stay in business. Certainly, a university detached from the Internet would not be in a competitive position." (Peebles, 2000, p. 119) Maintenance and enhancement of the IT infrastructure is every much as important a part of an institution's priorities as the physical campus. How to best plan and budget for that infrastructure was the topic of this forthcoming CREN Tech Talk.
Guest Expert
H.
David Lambert is Vice President for Information Services and
Chief Information Officer (VPIS/CIO) at Georgetown University. His
tenure at GU has seen the merger and reorganization of two previously
decentralized technology units into today's University InformationServices
(UIS), and in addition, major initiatives such as the completion
of the residence hall wiring project, GU's sponsorship of the Greater
Washington Technology Showcase, the launch of GUMail, and the development
of a fundraising program for information technology have occurred
under Lambert's leadership. The VPIS/CIO is assisted on such initiatives
by his staff, also known as the Office of Information Services,
as well as by UIS, the Information Services Management Council,
various advisory groups, and technology providers from across the
University.
Before coming to Georgetown he was Vice President for Information Technologies at Cornell. At Cornell, he led the university's involvement in the development of its national research and educational network and was instrumental in the development of NYNET, a high-speed network corridor connecting major research facilities in New York State. Lambert oversaw implementation of initiatives like Bear Access, Just the Facts, Employee Essentials and the World Wide Web. He also has been involved with Project 2000, Cornell's effort to make its administrative processes more effective and efficient. Prior to his work at Cornell, Lambert was assistant director for network services at Indiana University.
Co-Hosts
Howard Strauss (above, left), Manager of Academic Applications
at Princeton University, is TechTalk's Technology Anchor.
Judith Boettcher is the Executive Director of CREN.
Together, Howard and Judith asked the really tough questions—and relayed the questions you emailed to them at expert@cren.net.
Background & Resources
Previous Tech Talks on related topics are always a good reference. In the area of this Tech Talk's topic, you can listen to or read the transcript of these two events:
- Broadband
Access On Campus: How To Get It And How To Pay For It with
Jeff Kuhns
Ron Hutchins on January 10, 2002 - Analyzing and Costing IT Services with Christopher Peebles on March 2, 2000
Net@EDU's Broadband Pricing Working Group is of interest as broadband becomes more ubiquitous.
Recent articles from EDUCAUSE Quarterly (or EDUCAUSE Review) of interest include:
- Reinvesting the IT Dollar: From IT Firefighting to Quality Strategic Services by Andrea Stern (PDF)
- Higher Education ERP: Lessons Learned by Dave Swartz and Ken Orgill (PDF)
- The Realities of a New Senior-Level IT Position by John Bucher, Barbara Horgan, Thomas Moberg, Robert Paterson, and H. David Todd (PDF; not right on point but of interest)
- Implementing Life-Cycle Funding by Laurie G. Antolovic and Michael A. McRobbie (PDF)
- From Managing Expenditures to Managing Costs: Strategic Management for Information Technology by George Kaludis and Glen Stine (PDF)
- Capital
Planning In Uncertain Times by William A. Daigneau discusses
categorizing "investments" into categories such as "no brainers,"
"no gainers," "no regrets," and "contingent liabilities." It's
an interesting way to think about budgets.
Calculating the Cost of Online Courses by Brian M. Morgan includes a related Web document where you can plug in some numbers and get returned some cost figures.
Technology-Driven Planning: Principles to Practice is a book that belongs on the reference shelf of every forward-looking IT manager. Published by the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP), its team of editors included Judith Boettcher, CREN's Executive Director and Co-Host of this Tech Talk series. Articles like "Mega-Level Strategic Planning: Beyond Conventional Wisdom," "Supporting the Vision: The Campus Digital Plant," and "Life-Cycle Costs: More Than the Cost of Hardware," provide a solid background for understanding the budgeting and planning needs of information technology infrastructure on campus.
Here is a free chapter from Technology-Driven Planning:
- Chapter 9: Planning for IT in Higher Education: It's Not An Oxymoron by John W. McCredie
