University targets IT budget for cost savings - JENNIFER CALFAS, Michigan Daily

The University’s Information Technology Council — a group of professors, administrators and staff members that develop IT policy for the University — is striving to enhance its reputation through a two-year-old initiative called NextGen Michigan, which plans to reduce the costs of IT services for the University while simultaneously improving its overall service. ITC is working to consolidate many services, such as servers, data, e-mailing and storage, to cut costs, avoid redundancy and provide a better service for everyone, according to Laura Patterson, the University’s Chief Information Officer. “We’re building a shared service where many people can come together and provide a service to everyone on campus,” Patterson said. “In doing that, you are able to both drive down the cost efficiently and improve the service overall that’s being provided to everyone.” http://www.michigandaily.com/news/nextgen-consolidate-it-save-money-improve-quality