As we begin the fall semester IT services is working to create efficiencies in essential services by increasing capacity and improving user experience for our students, faculty and staff. 

Investing in current projects and using our size to our advantage will also continue to create savings for our campus. Through the Achieve  IT initiative, we are implementing projects such as the pre-production pilot for managed print services. This project will help eliminate waste in our current printing environment and provide efficiencies that are expected to generate a 7-figure savings.

This past year, we began exploring how to harness our size for the best price for software, equipment and services. Throughout campus, we have discovered there are more than 2,700 unique customer IDs with one vendor. There are cases where a product is being sold to one department for $1,700 and to another department for $700. By joining together we can maximize savings. In just one year, we've already saved more than $8 million for fiscal year 2019.  These are real numbers that add up to real impact for our campus.  By identifying duplicate purchases and negotiating better contracts we can leverage the U of A's purchasing power. 

Through Achieve IT, we've checked the box on getting this effort underway but it is only the beginning. We look forward to working with each of you in the weeks and months ahead to make the University of Arkansas a national model for excellence. If you have additional questions about current IT initiatives contact paige@uark.edu.