ITSS Support & Procurement Guidelines

What Support Does ITSS Provide?

IT Services & Support (ITSS) provides comprehensive technology support to the Butte College community. We are comprised of four primary groups for student, faculty, and staff support; smart classrooms, labs, and media services.

All requests for campus technology assistance and procurement is to start at the User Support Services Service Desk. This includes smart classroom issues, labs support, media services requests, procurement, campus systems (Colleague, Web Advisor, ImageNow, etc), web, voicemail, networking, accounts, hardware, and software support. Send an email to usersupportservices@xzzhubao.com, a call to 2888, or in person in LRC 120.

User Support Services (USS) Service Desk

Contacts to the Service Desk are free for all departments, retirees, and guests; however phone and walk-in support are limited in scope and duration. The Service Desk provides a wide range of services including account and password issues; IT procurement, systems access troubleshooting; light technical assistance for phones, networking, and voicemail; support for major campus IT projects; IT training, and much more.

Desktop Management

Desktop (DNS) technicians provide a range of services including: receiving new computing equipment; imaging computers with campus supported software images; assisting in the transfer of data between desktops; providing diagnostic troubleshooting; assisting with desktop security management and incidents; department consultation; management of the Computer Lifecycle Replacement (CLR) Program; assistance on enterprise projects; central labs management, and much more.

Smart Classrooms

Smart Classroom technicians provide a range of services including: receiving new computing equipment; imaging computers with smart classroom supported software images; incident dispatch and troubleshooting, department consultation; and annual smart classroom refresh planning and implementation.

Media Services

Media Services technicians provide a range of services including: video and audio capturing services, event media support, on site media setup, assisting departments in acquiring captioning grants, management of the campus multi-media server, and much more.

What is "supported" hardware and software?

These are the products that IT Services & Support service desk and desktop technicians have training and experience in supporting. In general these products have proven reliability, parts availability, and superior vendor technical support. We receive volume discounts for supported hardware and software, and these products have also been determined to be reliable enterprise-wide computing solutions for the college.

Procurement Process

Departments are required to procure and/or upgrade to hardware and software that IT Services & Support supports, so that we can provide optimal service, and you have assurance that your configuration will be compatible with our complicated networked environment. View supported hardware.

Email User Support Services at usersupportservices@xzzhubao.com to request a procurement consultation.

If you would like to determine cost estimates for standard computing purchases or for unit planning purposes, visit our Purchase Options page for assistance.

Why are you making the college purchase more expensive computers, monitors, and printers?

By purchasing IT Services & Support vetted computers and technology equipment, you are purchasing tested and reliable systems that our technicians have been trained to support. We have strong working relationships with Dell and Apple, and receive excellent support from them. The up front cost might be a little more, but there are long-term savings to the institution.

Purchasing fewer models in volume allows Butte College to leverage our significant buying power. Our commitment to standardization has allowed us to negotiate excellent pricing for high quality Butte customized Dell computers and monitors. We are receiving a 50% discount on the Butte custom Optiplex desktop computer, and we were able to secure 5-year warranties for all Dell equipment, saving the district in repair costs and business productivity during the life of the equipment.

We are building efficient processes and have procured tools that will allow for the ability to uniformly and quickly set-up and configure secure systems for use all across campus. These processes and tools, combined with standard equipment, allow us to make maximum use of shrinking resources, and effectively minimize support costs incurred by the college. With regular purchases and the Computer Lifecycle Replacement (CLR) program, we will image 250-300 new computers for the college this year, and "re-image" another 250 or so. We will only have to create a few images based upon the standard campus models selected, saving several hundred hours of work.

Butte College has progressed to a point that technology standardization has become necessary to function in a secure, efficient, and fiscally sound manner. Continuing to purchase non-standard computers creates non-uniform installations, which are more difficult to support, maintain, and secure. Providing a secure and usable technology experience for all college users is our goal!

What if the Butte custom Dell systems won't meet my needs?

Our Butte College custom configured Dell systems are designed to meet the computing needs of our college faculty and staff. The desktop computer is just one step away from a high-end gaming, CAD, and video production level system.

We recognize there will be occasional instances where a user needs a different configuration than that which we have specified as a campus standard. If you require different specs, please submit a request to usersupportservices@xzzhubao.com and request a procurement consultation. A technician will perform a requirements analysis, and, if a non-standard machine is deemed justified, the request will be sent to the district IT Manager for review. Upon approval, the department can proceed as normal.

Why do I have to have a Butte decal on my equipment?

IT Services & Support will provide support and assistance on college procured hardware (desktop/laptop/laser) with Butte College decals only. IT Services & Support will not provide support for personal equipment other than basic systems and wireless network access issues.

If you have a Butte College purchased technology item and the decal is missing, we will not service it until it has a decal. Please contact Jose Llamas at LlamasJo@xzzhubao.com to have a Butte decal placed on your equipment as appropriate.