UF/GARTNER Group Alliance Brings Technology Resources

Elizabeth D. Capaldi, Provost

UF has signed a three-year agreement to purchase information technology training, research, and consulting services from the Gartner Group. Gartner Group is an independent advisor of research and analysis to professionals making information technology decisions. They are also a leading developer and publisher providing technology-based software education products and services. This alliance will provide UF with additional resources to help meet the demands of technology growth for the new millennium.

The program makes several services available to UF faculty, students, and staff. The most visible of these services are online training and research. More than 400 training courses on computing topics will be available online and in multimedia or video format. These range from introductory courses (such as basic Computer Literacy, Getting Started on Windows 95, and Introduction to the Internet) to advanced topics for technical personnel, programmers, and system administrators (such as client/server, Microsoft, and Novell administration). Also available will be courses on productivity tools such as Microsoft Office and Lotus Notes.

Online research will be available through Gartner’s Advisory and DataQuest 11:27 AM 12/19/97databases which house research on thousands of information technology topics.

Both the learning and online research will be web-based, accessible at no cost to UF users from offices, dorm rooms, and residences using UF Gatorlink computer ids and passwords. This should go a long way toward helping UF students successfully use the computing resources to which they will be expected to have access beginning with the Summer B 98 term.

An additional important part of the alliance is university- and college-level access to Gartner Group consulting and custom research services which can be used in making decisions about information technology procurements and management strategies.

A day-long series of information sessions is being scheduled on campus when the UF/Gartner Alliance debuts on February 5, 1998. Attendees will be given demonstrations and details on what services will be available and how to access them. Additional details and access information will be made available campus-wide as implementation of the services progresses. For more information on this program, contact Marie Dence at the Northeast Regional Data Center, 392-2061, email: mdence@ufl.edu.