From: Bob Callaway (callaway@socrates.berkeley.edu)
Date: Fri May 30 2003 - 15:22:52 PDT
BITS FORUM
DESCRIPTION
The Berkeley Campus has a new online community that enables
departments to learn about and discuss how their needs for
information technology (IT) products and services are being met, or
could be met, by means of University agreements, coordinated
purchases, and other procurement methods. The new community is
called the BITS Forum.
The topics discussed in the BITS Forum are expected to include:
* Types of products and services for which UC agreements are needed.
* Existing volume purchase or site license agreements.
* Detailed proposals for new volume purchase or site license agreements.
* Procedures for taking advantage of UC agreements.
* Transition processes for expiring agreements.
* Ad hoc volume purchases.
Ideas and preferences gathered through the BITS Forum list will
contribute to the strategic IT procurement efforts made by the
Berkeley Campus and UC's Office of the President.
The initial method of communication for the BITS Forum is a mailing
list. Over time it is hoped that a message archive, a repository of
helpful documents, and a search function can be added to the online
resources. It is also likely that occasional meetings and
presentations will be held.
The BITS Forum mailing list is intended to replace the scattered
discussions about IT agreements and processes that now occur on
various campus mailing lists. It will provide a channel through
which all campus departments can raise issues, make comments, and
express preferences. Because membership in the BITS Forum is
restricted to campus staff and faculty, it is hoped that the
discussions can be more open and immediate than has been possible
through unrestricted channels.
All Berkeley staff and faculty members who have responsibilities for
acquiring information technologies for their departments are
encouraged to join the BITS Forum mailing list. Enrollment is an
easy online process that can be done now. Active discussions will
begin on the list on or about 6/4/03.
The acronym for the forum derives from its full name, the Berkeley
Information Technology Sourcing Forum. "Sourcing" is a term used by
procurement professionals to mean an organization's efforts to find
the best sources for products and services.
ELIGIBILITY
Only staff and faculty employed by UC Berkeley are permitted to join
this forum. Also, only people in these two categories are authorized
to receive copies of material shared in this forum, except as may
otherwise be authorized by IST. Anyone who signs up for the list is
obligated to prevent unauthorized circulation of information received
via this channel. Care should be taken not to forward the list's
contents to any open mailing lists, to any lists that have an open
archive, or to any representatives of technology vendors.
MAILING LIST
The mailing list for the BITS Forum is currently supported as a
Majordomo list on UCLink. The address of the BITS Forum mailing list
is bits-forum@listlink.berkeley.edu.
SIGNING UP
Any member of Berkeley's staff or faculty who is listed as an
employee in the CalNet Directory, and who has an email address in
that directory, may sign up for the list. Enrollments (and
deletions) for the list are handled through a web interface located
at:
Any problems with the above site should be reported to Steven Hansen,
runner@uclink4.berkely.edu, or 642-8517.
Note that the email address that will be enrolled (or removed) will
be the one listed in the CalNet Directory. That address can be
verified or modified by accessing the Employee Profile in the Calnet
Directory. Accessing an individual's profile requires a login on
the following web page:
https://directory.berkeley.edu/update/
CREDITS
The forum is sponsored by Information Systems and Technology (IST).
The forum was organized by Bob Callaway, IST-AVCO.
The enrollment interface for the BITS Forum, which greatly simplifies
the process of enrolling and removing members, was developed by
Steven Hansen, Software Distribution, Workstation Support Services.
-- - ___________________________________ Bob Callaway Manager, Strategic Vendor Relations Information Systems and Technology 295 Evans Hall University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA 94720-3812 Voice: (510) 643-8262 Fax: (510) 643-5385 Email: callaway@socrates.berkeley.edu ___________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The following was automatically added to this message by the list server: Webnet information is available at <URL:http://webnet.berkeley.edu/>.
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