Otis College of Art and Design

3
Case study | Otis College of Art and Design
HP recommends Windows.
“We knew HP could provide both the level
of computing we needed, along with
s e r v i c e  a n d  s u p p o r t .  T h a t  l e d  u s  t o  m o v e  t o 
HP Z Workstations in classrooms and labs.”
Theschoolhasstandardizedonthe
HPZWorkstations,rsttheZ800Workstation
and more recently the Z820 Workstation.
“Where we’re able to standardize on a
singlemodel,wedo.Itaddstooureciency
insupport,”hesays.Theschoolrecently
purchased 40 HP Z820 Workstations to equip
two classrooms, and developed a standard
software image for them.
“We chose the Z820 for the build quality
and the processing power—with as many
cores as possible in most cases—the choice
ofprocessingcards,videocardstot3D
imaging, animation and video editing needs,”
Gutierrezsays.TheHPZ820Workstationcan
beconguredwithupto512GBofmemory
anddualIntel®Xeon®Processorswithupto24
processing cores.
ThequalityofHPWorkstationsmakesthem
easytoworkonandsupport,whileoering
alongusefullife.Congurationexibility
ensuresHPWorkstationscanbeconguredto
runallpopulardesignsoftware.“There’snever
beenaquestionthatI’llbeabletocongure
anHPWorkstationtotourneeds,”Gutierrez
says.
“ We chose the Z820 for the
build quality and the
processing power—with as
many cores as possible in
most cases—the choice of
processing cards, video cards
tot3Dimaging,animation
and video editing needs.”
– Felipe Gutierrez, director of Academic Computing
Services, Otis College of Art and Design
Thecompanyroutinelyrefreshesabout25%of
its student computers and workstations each
year. Older workstations are repurposed to
serve administrative users or less demanding
academicpurposes.ToextendthelifeofHP
Workstations beyond the standard warranty
period, the school purchases HP Care Packs for
sameday,on-site9-to-5support.
Providing the right digital
tools
It’simportantforOtisCollegeofArtandDesign
to provide students with the right digital tools,
including workstations that are more powerful
than most college students would bring to
campus, because students depend on the
school for high-end technology.
“Theeconomicbaseofmanyofourstudents
is lower than at most private schools. So
students come here with the expectation that
they will be able to get the technology they
need here on campus,” Gutierrez explains. “We
made a commitment to meeting that need.”
Academic Computing Services at Otis currently
supports some 460 student computers and
workstations on campus. Some are in labs
dedicatedtosupportingparticularmajors
and academic programs. Some are in smart
classroomsequippedwithdigitalprojection,
multimedia support and more.
“Students have 24-hour access to all the
computerpowertheyneed.Theyhaveaccess
to all the software all the time,” Gutierrez
explains. “So while many students want to
have their own workstation-quality computer,
it’s not actually a requirement here. We provide
them with the most important technology
tools they need.”
Mobile computing, BYOD
may transform student
computing
While Otis is committed to providing the digital
toolsstudentsneedoncampus,howitfullls
that commitment in the future remains an
open-endedquestion.Theproliferationof
mobile devices, demand for mobile computing
access, and the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)
trend, all are powerful forces.
“Ifstudentshavetheirownnotebookor
tablet, how can they use those devices in their
education?” Gutierrez asks rhetorically. “We
want to pursue a device-agnostic stance; we
want to be able to support any kind of mobile,
wireless device going forward.”
Mobile computing is not expected to change
the need for high-end, workstation-class
computinganytimesoon.“Ithinktherewill