Electronic Support Services

The problem is that this department can be as powerful or as weak as we wish it to be. If it is powerful, then this department will control the information content of other departments, or deanships as it wishes. Consequently we must draw a line.

Internet, Systems and Connectivity

This function concerns buying the computers, printers, etc. and ensuring that they work properly in all the different departments. It also includes the establishment of the network, connecting to the Internet and checking bandwidth use, in addition to allowing or terminating electronic system access. This department is also responsible for the server room status, equipment, safety, backup of the data whether local, or remote.

Software Systems, programs, access rights of programs

These are usually the responsibility of the department that owns the right to that information. For example, registration will be responsible for all student data, programs used, authorities given etc. The libraries electronic system will be the responsibility of the library to select the software used, etc. The Deanships will have specific spaces allocated as software services, space for faculty and students etc. The financial services division is responsible for the systems they use, etc.

Budget

This department therefore is only responsible for providing internet access and provising the electronic systems, etc. It is not concerned with the data that is contained in those servers. Their budget goes into two main avenues; buying hardware to replace old systems, and buying operating systems and security software. All specific software will appear as a result of the budgets allocated to the other departments to do their job.

A general example of a project that was fully studied but was never even proposed gives the following layout of cost;

Building cost	BD140,000
Main Admissions and Registration Modules	BD993,119
*Scheduler Module (limited as part of the whole system not for a large number of students)	BD79,876
Hardware Required to Host the System	BD333,000
Consultation (only tender document preparation and no project management fees)	BD4,000
Total	BD1,549,995

* This is not the best schedular but it is a minimum to have a working system. The schedular mentioned before is stand alone, so it would be cheaper to have it as part of a comprehensive project but it would not be at the price quoted here. The stand alone version schedules classes, labs, rooms, etc and allows all faculty access to be able to book their own test rooms.

Our example, is extremely realistic and shows how mixed services go as part of one project, with the IT department supervising everything from the building to the equipment to the software. This gives one department a great deal of access and causes problems later in accountability. Consequently, the building and the consultation costs could be the sole responsibility of the financial affairs, with the hardware the responsibility of the IT and the software systems the responsibility of registration.

To be continued..