Bryant saves money, conserves energy with new data center

New system could reduce energy usage for data storage by 35 percent.

Bryant announced last month that it partnered with IBM and West Kingston-based APC-MGE to implement a new "green" data center to consolidate server sites and install new equipment aimed at reducing energy use.

The IBM Scalable Modular Data Center, coupled with APC-MGE’s InfraStruXure data center architecture, will allow Bryant to consolidate four server sites into one and reduce its energy usage for storage by 35 percent, saving as much as $20,000 a year.

Under Arthur Gloster, vice president for information services, Bryant has reduced the number of servers required for e-mail, registration systems, and student alumni records to 40 from the 75 needed in 2002. The new data center is 500 square feet - 50 percent smaller than the space needed in the past.

"In the past 10 years, Bryant University has added 144,000 square feet of new facilities and experienced a 300 percent rise in applications," explained Gloster. "The IBM Scalable Modular Data Center solution allows us to concentrate on continuing to provide the student body, faculty, and staff with the tools necessary to succeed."

Also earlier this year, Bryant announced it had received a five-year, $1 million CampusEAI Oracle Portal Grant to help integrate technology to better serve the campus community. The intranet portal combines online learning, administrative computing, and student services systems to enhance the web experience of the Bryant community.

The grant will fund the hardware and software for the portal, along with project management, installation, and training costs to install the system.

The new technology will allow visitors to sign on to a new Bryant intranet for a personalized experience. A faculty member who signs on to the site would see different information from a student who might see his or her class schedule appear on a personalized page.

The portal system also allows students to create customized learning portals for building online communities. Users can interact with course-related materials, communicate with one another, and have access to customized information services. The portal will be compatible with Banner and will be integrated into the University’s existing systems.

Grants are awarded based on an institution’s academic reputation commitment to technology initiatives, and ability to implement the portal successfully and effectively.

The CampusEAI Consortium is a non-profit organization created to help education institutions with software development and digital content distribution.