Bring On The Data Center

What types of hurdles might you face if you try to integrate with your data center? Find out from two managers in the midst of the process.

Integrating your in-plant with your organization's data center/information systems department can not only save big money for your organization, but it can bring more equipment and support to your in-plant.

In-Plant Graphics recently spoke with two university in-plant managers about the hurdles and benefits of merging with the data center.

• Linda Grilz, director of printing services at Pittsburg State University, in Pittsburg, Kan., integrated with her university's data center a year ago.

• Susann Ferguson, director of print services at George Mason University, in Fairfax, Va., is actively trying to sell the idea to her administration.

Their differing experiences led to an interesting dialog.

—Bob Neubauer

IPG: Has George Mason University considered integrating the in-plant with information systems printing?

Ferguson: We have talked about it with small groups. We have not discussed it with the administration or the VP of Technology. It's been kind of a subcommittee that is just trying to find out the feasibility and what all would it entail. It would have to go up to the administration.

Since I'm an auxiliary, I have to pay for all of our services. The university does not want to have to charge the students. Presently they have free printing and if I blended in with them, I would have to have fee-based printing. The University, at this point in time, is not willing to charge the students for their printing.

IPG: What benefits would you get from merging?

Ferguson: I would like to increase my volume on the DocuTech and also get into the digital area by supplying the labs with the digital copier/scanner from either Océ or Xerox. [Also,] provide a service for the student labs while recapturing the volume.

Grilz: When you said they have free printing for students, what kind of printing are you discussing? Like green bar reports of some nature or are we talking about high-speed copies of reports?

Ferguson: It's 8-1⁄2x11˝ HP 5s, and this is just for a student report and any type of document they may be creating. They have free access to all the printers in the lab.

IPG: Linda, it's been a year since Pittsburg State has merged the in-plant with information systems. What benefits have you gotten?

Grilz: Long term, we're going to have a huge benefit for the campus because we're not going to have duplication of efforts, we're going to consolidate and utilize staffing more economically. In doing so, we'll be able to provide a better, faster service for our campus.

The benefit to the campus is you've got all information or communication falling under one director. Long term, you're better able to serve the needs and not have all the waste because everything is going to one person and they know what's going on.

We need to think of ourselves as a communicator and not just a printer. I need to think about how information leaves Pittsburg State University, whether it be digital, on a Web page, on a CD, in a brochure, whatever. We need to have &019;some input into that.

IPG: Susann, you had mentioned the roadblock of free services vs. paid services and I'm wondering, Linda, how do you plan to surmount this?

Grilz: At this point in time, no campus office pays for any kind of green bar report. Although, it's available in hard copy and also, with some limitations, on the network, they are going to make some modifications in the programming so that the reports available online contain as much information as the hard copy ones. At that point, that's when they will tell them that the reports online are no charge but if you want a hard copy, they will charge you.

Ferguson: How are they going to meter the charges for chargeback?

Grilz: They're going to run it through me. I'm probably going to end up with a high-speed printer in my location and we'll be doing it.

Ferguson: How will you know what account to charge?

Grilz: They will have to provide me with an account number. We'll have an online accountability. And they really do anticipate the need for the hard copy to decline in the future because basically there's no need to have it now. It's available online, it's archived, [the customer] can go back and get it anytime it's needed—but it's breaking that old habit of, 'I like to have something in my hand.'

IPG: Susann, if you were to provide printing for Information Systems, what equipment would you use?

Ferguson: Right now I'm using Océ and Kodak as an example, because I've looked at both of their equipment, and they both have very nice technology in the digital realm. If the administration would like to charge a technology fee to the students, part of that fee would be split off to cover my costs for the equipment.

Grilz: When you're talking about using an Océ or Xerox, this is for use in the labs?

Ferguson: Use in the labs and also the copy centers.

Grilz: Are you talking about one copy of a report or multiple copies of a report?

Ferguson: One copy.

Grilz: So why would you want an Océ or a Xerox to do that?

Ferguson: Because they can handle the monthly volume that the labs create. It would also replace about 15 printers so it would be cost effective for the university.

Grilz: So there would be no printers in these labs, it would all go to this one central location where they would all pick up their work?

Ferguson: Correct. It would be consolidated by buildings. We have several labs in several buildings.

IPG: Linda, what other print work that was traditionally done by Information Systems do you plan to take over?

Grilz: We're going to supply an ink-jet printer. We're going to do ink-jet on all of the mail that goes out. [Information Systems] will charge for labels or you can come and get an ink jet from us for no charge.

IPG: So Information Systems currently prints labels?

Grilz: For free. But, once we start doing ink-jet they will start charging. All we're trying to do is encourage our customers to let us do the ink-jet.

Ferguson: Do you print directly on the envelopes?

Grilz: We will. I don't have the equipment at this point in time but we're planning to have it this fall.

IPG: Why wouldn't you charge for the ink-jet work you'll be doing?

Grilz: We will be charging them for the printing that we do, and we will charge them for the copying that we do for those jobs that we will eventually mail.

IPG: So, the free ink-jetting is an enticement to get them to bring their print work to the in-plant?

Grilz: Yes, and the work stays on campus—and if it can't be done on campus I broker it.

IPG:When you were trying to integrate the two departments did you have any cultural clashes?

Grilz: One of the hurdles is trying to blend two completely different types of people together. Jeff Russell—who's my new boss—and I had talked about this merger for some time. I've been fortunate in that Jeff has a printing background, and he's the director of Information Services.

Ferguson: You're very lucky.

Grilz: I'm very lucky. He's worked in printing in the past, he's familiar with the kind of work that we're doing, and he and I have been headed in the same direction from day one. We decided a long time ago that...we wanted to be in the front of the pack.

Ferguson: Have the biggest problems been in the staffing shift and the cultural clash?

Grilz: I think we still sometimes refer to them [Information Systems] as them instead of all of us as us. It's like having two families with stepchildren; we've been taken in by someone else. What Jeff has done to try and ease that is, during the regular semester, we have regular meetings that involve everyone. All the staffing.

Ferguson: How many staff?

Grilz: I have nine over here and he probably has maybe 18 full-time people. So, we have these meetings regularly which have helped us to recognize each other. Some of the things that they discuss we don't have the foggiest idea about, like laying cable. But some of their staff don't understand our terminology either, so I think that as time passes all of us will be better off for this merger.

IPG: What else is discussed at these meetings?

Grilz: We discuss, from every point of view, how to make this a better service to the campus. We have a lot more graphic needs, they have a lot more data needs. We bring it all out on the table and problems are addressed early before they become big issues.

I do feel that this is the direction it's going to be headed in, and we need to be a part in planning it, as opposed to having someone tell us what we're going to be doing.

IPG: What's the in-plant/data center employee ratio at George Mason?

Ferguson: I have a staff of maybe 13 to 15 full-time people compared to IT who would probably have between 100 to 200 people. We have 28,000 students.

IPG: What would be your next step to integrate with such a large IT group?

Ferguson: I'm starting off by telling the administration, through a presentation that I've been giving for the last couple of months, that their costs in the labs are anywhere between seven to 10 cents, depending on the text. No one's consolidating the supplies or the printers, or watching the expense on the per copy charge.

Grilz: That's where you can really get their attention: in the pocketbook. I think you're approaching it in the right direction, because there's a lot of costs that they're absorbing that they don't have the foggiest idea about.

Ferguson: I've also been bringing in the Océ and Xerox digital printers and doing them in test sites, offices and in labs, and making sure that the right administration are there to observe.

Grilz: That's a real good approach to take.

Ferguson: Otherwise, if you go door-to-door you're going to be ignored.

Grilz: Get their attention with the money and show them what capabilities are out there.

IPG: Linda, how has this integration made your operation stronger?

Grilz: Well, we have more digital support than we've ever had. We were needing some on the graphics end and on the image prep end for boosting our computer power and our network abilities. We now have top-of-the-line service from those people because they're all a part of our operation.

IPG: Susann, what reservations do you have about merging these two operations?

Ferguson: Outnumbered, for one. But I'd have a lot of support from the university with that many people from the IT segment.

IPG: Most of those IT people aren't involved in printing, is that correct? They're just in the computing end?

Ferguson: Right. They lack in any experience in the printing background. They're complete IT technicians or administrators and I'm not sure that they see, since everything is free that there's a problem. When you're being supported by the state and the school there's really no need to worry about what printing is actually costing you.

Grilz: People that operate on a budget never recognize what costs are. They think of it as free, but it's not.

Ferguson: Exactly. It's my mission to go out and present to them exactly what...the charge is per copy. Because a lot of the printing that the students do, since it is "free," is garbage, and they don't even bother to pick it up.

IPG: Do you have a plan for getting around this issue of the free vs. paid?

Ferguson: Like I said, I put together a presentation, and I've given it several times to the administration. They were impressed with the first presentation and want to tell more people about it. So, yes, the word is getting around, but it's really not up to me to make those decisions. I can give them the information, and then they'll have to act upon it. But I'm a willing participant.

Grilz: I think that's the beginning of the battle right there, changing the mindsets of people.

Ferguson: My goal is to put the idea out there, and it will soon come back as their idea.

Quick Look

Linda Grilz

Pittsburg State University

Pittsburg, Kansas

• In-plant employees: nine

• Information Systems staff: 18

• Number of students: 6,900

Susann Ferguson

George Mason University

Fairfax, Virginia

• In-plant employees: 15

• Information Systems staff: 150

• Number of students: 28,000