Computing group plans for future

"As I looked at Rochester and other universities nationwide, it became apparent that the needs for computing resources ebb and flow here and elsewhere," says Phelps. "How to plan for a computing future with such a variety of needs became the question. A University-wide capability seemed necessary to think both globally and specifically about coordinating resources and strategies among the various users." The option of adding a single administrator for this function, a Chief Information Officer or CIO, was considered, Phelps adds. The idea was discarded, however, because it "cut against the decentralization goal," Phelps says, and added a cost burden.

Members of the Strategic Computing Group are Edward Titlebaum, vice provost for computing; Jerry Powell, director of the Medical Center's Information Services Division (ISD); Larry Becker, acting director of Administrative Computing Services (ACS); Steve Zimmer, director of the Data Center; and Fran Versace, acting director of University Computing Services (UCC).

"The members well represent University computing environments, from the administrative to the academic, from desktop PCs to mainframe systems," says Phelps. "The group shares the position of chair by rotation, allowing greater collaboration. The group doesn't 'give orders', but will coordinate all aspects of computing at the University."

Among the items the group has been charged with considering is the Year 2000 problem, Phelps says. Most early computer software was designed to only change the last two digits in the date each year--97 to 98, for example, but not 1997 to 1998. When the year 2000 rolls around, most systems will not be able to accommodate that number, wreaking havoc in software that computes yearly data. Institutions and consultants around the world are developing plans to deal with this change. At the University, ACS and ISD have already been working on ways to modify systems to make the date change. "We want to develop a common University response to this problem," Phelps says.

Other group considerations will be to develop a set of common computer principles for the University community to be "guideposts for future investments," Phelps says. The group will be considering options should the Macintosh platform and software lose viability and vendor support in the future, and will also look at network security issues and University-wide site licenses.