ACTION ITEM: Approval of the W.P. Carey School of Business Online MBA Program Outsourcing Project - ASU

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1 Page 1 of 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ACTION ITEM: Approval of the W.P. Carey School of Business Online MBA Program Outsourcing Project - ASU ISSUE: ASU seeks approval for the $1 million project to outsource the delivery component of the W.P. Carey School of Business Online MBA program. BACKGROUND: The W. P. Carey MBA online academic programs are supported by a complex server and Storage Area Network (SAN) environment, designed to provide stability and security for our customers. The online programs currently serve 500 students per year and they are expected to expand their enrollment to over 1000 students per year within the next two years. The system currently supports fifty concurrent connections and often supports 200 concurrent connections during peak periods of activity. The students participating in the online programs are globally distributed creating a 24/7 (continuous operation) need for system availability. The W. P. Carey School utilizes web-based course content in support of several online graduate programs. The course content also fills an ancillary role in traditional graduate and undergraduate programs within the school. The content is delivered primarily through the Blackboard Learning System and includes audio, video and Flash as well as other delivery methods. Applications utilize Cold Fusion, SQL, Java and other technologies are also supported to enable a maximum degree of flexibility for students and administrative support. DISCUSSION: As noted in the body of this request, the W.P. Carey School of Business is terminating its existing outsourcing contract with Ensynch at the end of the Fall 2003 semester since it was determined that they may not have a valid contract with the state to provide these services. The School of Business needs to have a new outsourcing contract in place to provide support for the Online MBA program beginning with the Spring 2004 semester. It is critical that there not be an interruption in service. RECOMMENDATION: That the Board of Regents approve the Online MBA Outsourcing Project submitted by the W.P. Carey School of Business. Contact: William Lewis, University CIO and Vice Provost Phone: (480) William.lewis@asu.edu

2 University IT Project Justification SUMMARY SHEET Page 2 of 5 Institution Arizona State University W.P. Carey School of Business Information Technology Contact Name and Phone September 8, 2003 Project Overview The W. P. Carey MBA online academic programs are supported by a complex server and Storage Area Network (SAN) environment, designed to provide stability and security for our customers. The online programs currently serve 500 students per year and they are expected to expand their enrollment to over 1000 students per year within the next two years. The system currently supports fifty concurrent connections and often supports 200 concurrent connections during peak periods of activity. The students participating in the online programs are globally distributed creating a 24/7 (continuous operation) need for system availability. The W. P. Carey School utilizes web-based course content in support of several online graduate programs. The course content also fills an ancillary role in traditional graduate and undergraduate programs within the school. The content is delivered primarily through the Blackboard Learning System and includes audio, video and Flash as well as other delivery methods. Applications utilize Cold Fusion, SQL, Java and other technologies are also supported to enable a maximum degree of flexibility for students and administrative support. The W. P. Carey School of Business is soliciting proposals for internet hosting services from vendors for its family of websites and services. The non-traditional demographic and global distribution of the students served by the online programs at the School of Business generates the need for 99.99% system availability. Once it was revealed that the current vendor, Ensynch, may not have a valid contract with the State it was determined that that the School needed to ensure that it was conducting its business relations properly. The situation as it exists today calls for the School of Business to issue a Request for Proposal for data center hosting. It has been decided by the School of Business that a stable environment must be maintained in order to provide 24/7 continuous access for the MBA Online community. The expectations of the Online students continue to be elevated due to the extra fees that are associated with these Online programs. The School of Business is looking for a complete turnkey delivery model with comprehensive services for architecting, designing, integrating, and implementing solutions. This should be with a vendor that provides the facilities, infrastructure, and services to operate and support servers, networks and bandwidth, database, storage, and security through its data center team and is located near Tempe, Arizona.

3 Deliverables Page 3 of 5 The School desires a vendor capable of providing a competitive service level backed in writing that guarantees 99.9% uptime. Service, maintenance and support of the following server environment: Manufacturer Server Type Procs HDD Ram Compaq 1850R 2x550MHz 2x18.2GB 512MB Compaq 1850R 1x550MHz 2x18.2GB 512MB Compaq DL380G2 2x1.4GHz 6x36.4GB 5632MB Compaq DL380G2 2x1.4GHz 6x36.4GB 5632MB Compaq DL380G2 2x1.4GHz 6x36.4GB 3840MB Compaq DL380G2 2x1.4GHz 6x36.4GB 3840MB

4 Page 4 of 5 In addition to the general maintenance and monitoring of the equipment the School of Business will be looking for: 1. Security 2. High availability 3. Scalability 4. Change Control processes 5. Access Procedures 6. 24/7 Staffed Help Desk 7. Managed Backups 8. VPN services Service and Economic Benefits Provision of an off campus portal and course management system allows customization, branding, services, flexibility and fault tolerance needed to support our Online MBA programs. The ASU network and course management systems have had significant technical difficulties and disruptions in services that are not acceptable, especially in situations where the student s entire experience is online. Project Roles and Responsibilities This project is the responsibility of the W. P. Carey School of Business, Information Technology Unit and a vendor outside of ASU. Project Management Timeline RFP September 10 October 3, 2003 System launch December 20, 2003 Opportunities for Collaboration Experiences and service statistics can be shared with other units, colleges or universities. Summary of Proposed Costs (All Funds) Five Year Total ($000) Description FY03 FY 04_ FY05 FY06_ FY07 Total Implementation Cost Operating Cost Total Cost

5 Recommendation Page 5 of 5 Implementation Costs and Marginal Operating Costs in Thousands Development / Operating Costs in thousands ($000) Description FY03 FY04 FY05 FY06 FY07 Total Personnel Number of IT FTE Number of User FTE Personnel Cost IT FTE Salary Cost (Include ERE) User FTE Salary Cost (Include ERE) IT Services 985 (Professional and Outside Consultants ) Hardware Software Communications Facilities Licensing and Maintenance Fees Other TOTAL Notes: This project is supported by existing FTE of Business Information Technology which requires two hours per week beyond the initial startup time. It does not incur any additional costs.