paper -
75 Where the Students Are…...Delivering Computing Services at the Customer Source
Glenda
Moum, University of Missouri-Columbia
The IAT Services Outpost provides walk-up consulting,
hardware repair, software sales, and training services to the MU campus. We are
located in the student union, adjacent to the library and just two floors above
one of our extended-hours computing labs. This facility combines all the
services previously done at our administrative building with the main
difference being a location close to where the students live and attend
classes. It is also centrally located for faculty and staff users.
Three years ago Information and Access Technology
Services seemed to switch the focus of its main administrative offices. Without
going into all the history, we went from a building with a variety of walk-up
services (computing lab, help desk, repair center, software sales center) to a
more distributed model for providing these services. We learned, however, that
customers want a central location from which to receive services and have spent
the last 18 - 24 months implementing this walk-up consulting center in the
heart of campus.
My presentation will discuss the philosophy and reasons behind the change in direction, the decision to open the Outpost, and discuss the evolution of services offered in the short time it has been in existence. The Outpost combines staff from five different groups (3 administrative units) and offers a unique challenge for management and an excellent opportunity for successful delivery of service. I'll describe the services offered and the management matrix used to keep the operation flowing smoothly.