The Griffith University environment is not conducive to a rigid Standard Operating Environment (SOE) policy restricting what software can be installed, or “locking down” computers to prevent alteration to system settings. To allow flexibility for academic and research purposes while still maintaining a degree of consistency across the University, Information Services has developed a Standard Software Catalogue (SSC), which contains a list of standard software applications that can be purchased and installed on staff desktop computers on request. These standard software applications have been tested against the SOE configurations and are offered with various levels of support.
The adoption of an SSC/SOE can significantly reduce the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for desktop computer systems as well as providing a framework for the University to quickly implement and effectively support large scale IT services.
Various IT analysts estimate that the initial hardware cost of a desktop computer only represents 15-25% of the TCO of that system. Other costs include operating system and application software support and upgrades, hardware support and upgrades, software licensing and training.
The adoption of an SSC/SOE can reduce the TCO through:
The Document "Policy for Standard Operating Environment for staff Desktop Computers" outlines the SOE Policy (a link to this policy will be available soon).