Client Services Desktop Computing Services can provide departmental and end user services to most areas served by the Johns Hopkins Institutions. These include: Emergency Support If your department is affiliated with Hopkins in some way, and a computer emergency arises that is more complex than your internal support staff or the help desk can solve, have the problem escalated to the Director or Manager of Desktop Computing Services. In the case of server problems, data loss, or any case where multiple users are affected and the solution is not apparent, we can often bring emergency, one time services to bear. While there is sometimes a cost associated with this service, start here at Hopkins, rather than contacting an outside service. The group is familiar with the network, is aware of data sensitivity issues and has a great range of experience in responding to emergency issues. You can have your call escalated by contacting the Support Center at 516-HELP, or 955-HELP. LAN Services For departments that don't have a Desktop, Network or LAN Support person, or for those interested in finding ways to reduce network support costs, DCS can provide a set of computer services that are designed to ensure response to nearly all operational issues, as well as planning for new automation projects and PC replacement strategies. The group provides PC setup and configuration services as well. This service is intended to provide a simple, low cost method of keeping support costs and issues under control. Each department is assigned a point of contact, and is provided with enough computer expertise to deal with most issues that arise. In addition, senior staff and specialists are available to help guide departments in computer projects that require additional software, development or interaction with vendors. LAN Services rates are based on a per person per month fee of $33. This includes services supplied by DCS, but not equipment or software licensing. DCS has negotiated with Novell & Microsoft to supply key desktop and server access software at a rate of $35 per workstation per year. In addition, the Institution provides Norton Anti-Virus software, with updates to all faculty, staff and students at no charge. Additional software products can be purchased by contacting Support Services. Hosted GroupWise Services For departments who want to take advantage of the standard groupware product at Hopkins, but want to concentrate internal IT staff on projects that are more central to their mission, DCS is able to provide back-end management of existing and new GroupWise systems. This includes server support, upgrades, licenses, all server hardware, backups and account creation, modification and deletion. In addition, we'll work with your administrative staff to manage mailboxes for conference rooms and other resources, as well as departmental mailing lists. A document library is provided so that you can securely store business documents in a general purpose library, virtually eliminating the need for network "home" directories. Hosted GroupWise Services are $70 per mailbox per year. Server Management Today, keeping up to date with all the security patches and upgrades for Windows and other server platforms is no longer an option. DCS will manage, update and backup servers, as well as house them in a secure data center for a low monthly fee. For departments that are considering web or application hosting or are concerned that important departmental servers are not adequately protected, this service offers an economical, in-house alternative to using outside consulting and data center services. A service level agreement provides the basis for these services. Basic server management services are $300 per server per month. Project Management Occasionally, a project requires additional effort, or does not fall under a standard per person fee structure. The group can provide project management efforts based on an estimate of the portion of an FTE that will be required to support the effort over time. This allows a department to predictably budget for a project and get the necessary services from the range of specialists within DCS. |
