Univ. offering cheaper software
August 28, 2007 by ELYSE BEASLEY
Filed under News
Instead of paying nearly $500 for Adobe Acrobat 8.0 Pro at Office Max or Best Buy, students, faculty and staff now can spend $60, thanks to the University’s new eMSD system.
Enterprise Information Technology Services launched Monday eMSD – an extension of Managed Software Distribution which provides reduced-price computer software for the University System of Georgia.
eMSD will allow students, faculty and staff to purchase Adobe and Microsoft computer software at discounted prices from the University Web site www.emsd.uga.edu, according to a news release.
The service includes programs such as After Effects 7.0 Pro, Photoshop Extended CS3 and Windows Vista Business 2007. Many programs are available for both Windows and Macintosh users.
“The savings are considerable,” said Bert DeSimone, EITS Communications Officer.
Most products are available for 50 to 75 percent off retail prices. The discounted software is priced according to negotiations that EITS and the software manufacturers settled, said George Bond, MSD manager.
“We wanted to develop a system so we can serve the student community more with software needs,” Bond said.
Previously, MSD only could offer software to faculty and staff for institutional use due to restrictions in their charter from the Board of Regents.
University Chief Information Officer Barbara White requested software also be available to students, as a part of Compact Planning, a program in which EITS discusses new long term strategies to advance technology on campus.
Following White’s suggestion, EITS began looking for a way to extend their program, Bond said.
eMSD will eventually be offered to other University System of Georgia schools as well. “The plan is to have all of the University of Georgia System to be able to purchase software this way,” DeSimone said, although the online system is only available to students, faculty and staff at the University with a valid MyID at this time.
Bond added although software only can be shipped to buyers now, they hope to extend the services offered by eMSD to programs downloadable from the Web site in the future.
