IT Services has a goal of saving $3.7 million by July 1, 2012. Because of the short timeframe of the deadline, the university turned to an outside consulting firm called Accenture for help with the project, according to Debra Allison, vice president of information technology.
"Assistance from consultants is necessary," Allison said via email.
After a study performed by Accenture last spring, the university will undergo an overhaul of the internal operations of IT services, Allison said. Accenture is currently conducting similar projects at Yale University and the University of Michigan.
Accenture was paid $3.1 million to come up with the transformation project, Allison said.
Senior Director of Strategic Communication Cathy McVey said the savings will be repeated every year.
"If we hit our goal, in the first year we will pay off the expense," she said. "Every year after that we will save $3.7 million."
The company has worked at other universities and contributed to similar projects.
"It is very expensive," McVey said. "But we feel it is necessary to get the return we need."
The project is broken into four main initiatives that began implementation in September, according to McVey.
The first is governance, which aims to create one university body in charge of big changes in IT instead of the different departments making these decisions individually.
"Right now with everyone making their own decisions, there is no way to look at the big picture," McVey said.
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The second is data center consolidation, which hopes to identify all data servers that are not located in the main Hoyt Hall center and relocate them. McVey estimated about 200 servers are currently located outside the main center.
The third is application rationalization, which will eliminate excess software use. Accenture surveyed different departments across the university to determine what major software packages are being used and for what, according to McVey.
"The more complex, the more difficult," she said. "We want to figure out places we can be simple."
The last initiative is the IT support organization and process design which will make IT services more efficient but still meet the needs of faculty and students, McVey said.
"Right now the Farmer school has a number of positions that support their faculty and students, while IT in arts and science are supporting way more people," she said. "Should we be more fair in how we portion support?"
Allison said the university reviewed several proposals from outside consultants and Accenture was not the most expensive.
The university put out a request for proposals in the summer, according to Allison. One other company called Bain was much more expensive because of different transformation methods, including more time spent on campus.
The other company was less expensive than Accenture.
"It seemed clear to all of us that they didn't have the expertise to make an engagement like this successful," she said.
The reason this kind of help is so expensive is because the university is paying for all of the Accenture consultants' travel, lodging and meal fees as well as the company's hourly rate while they are on campus, according to Allison.
"Built into [the cost] is the company's intellectual property," Allison said. "The expertise consultants have gained through their experience in having other universities and organizations make these same kinds of changes. We checked with IT colleagues at Yale University and University of Michigan before the final decision was made to select Accenture."
Alan Ferrenberg, associate vice president of business and infrastructure services, said the transformation is a team effort between Miami and Accenture. He thinks the change will be a big advantage for Miami.
"Without a big effort like this and the external assistance, we would not be able to implement these changes," he said. "In the end, it is going to be good savings."
Thirty people in IT services are working alongside the Accenture consultants.
"That involvement will grow as this effort picks up more steam," she said.
Funding for the consulting firm came from a part of the university budget set aside for unexpected problems or opportunities, Ferrenberg said.
"The price tag is high but the savings are high," he said. "All and all it is worth it."
The $3.1 million price of Accenture covers on site assistance and travel costs, but Ferrenberg said the most important part is the expertise.
"If we knew how to go about this we would have already done it," he said. "This is expertise that we don't have."
The other advantage to outside support is that the advice is impartial, according to Ferrenberg.
"It is a lot of money, everyone wishes it was less," he said. "This is what it costs if you are trying to get this kind of expertise and we really do need it."
Ferrenberg said there is talk about getting student input at some point, but most of the changes will be invisible to students and will have a low impact on student life. As far as tuition prices, he is unsure of the effects.
"We can't say that what we are doing will keep tuition from going up, but what we can do is minimize the impact IT has on future tuition increases by lowering cost," he said.
Ferenberg's job for the next year is to make this project as successful as possible.
Senior Ben Richardson thinks the project is a good idea.
"It's a great deal," he said. "From an economic stand point that's a great trade-off because it will start paying off immediately for faculty and students."
Improvements in IT will improve student life, Richardson said.
Accenture will remain on campus through the first wave of implementation and then it will be up to the university to execute the rest, Ferrenberg said.
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