Software Contract Renewed

After a nearly nine-month delay, Harvard has renewed its software maintenance agreement with Sun Microsystems Inc., said Williams s. Toth, chair of the University's sun working group.

The deal, scheduled to be signed in July 1, was finally closed March 29. The delay had stalled attempts by computer users in several places around the University to upgrade their systems and software.

"It's a great relief that we have done this much," said Toth, a member of the Association for Better Computer Discounts (ABCD) committee. "It's something that should occur at least once every year."

Members of the University community using Sun software include research groups, faculty members, graduate students, members of the Division of Applied Sciences and concentrators in earth and planetary sciences, according to Toth.

Toth said the University's agreement with Sun increases the effiency and lowers the costs of departments around Harvard. He said the University has a cost-sharing plan which allows departments to defray some costs--including those related to computers, Toth said.

"A lot of the success we can claim is due to the fact that we can guarantee the benefits of economies of scale," he said.

Students outside of the sciences should also benefit indirectly from the renewal because the savings to departments may allow them to spend more on undergraduates.

Taso Markatos, a member of the ABCD Committee, said the agreement "will indirectly benefit students by providing lower cost availability to departments."

The renewal has a base cost of $45,000, but, with various adjustments, the final price is likely to fall anywhere between $50,000 and $100,000.

Although Sun's equipment is primarily used for research, it has also proved successful in libraries and in administrative settings, according to Toth.

The eight-month delay was caused by problems stemming from the reorganization of Sun Microsystems Inc., Toth said. He said the delivery of important products such as operating systems and compliers had been delayed, Toth said.

"The companies are going through major internal reorganization which causes inefficiencies," Toth said of Sun and other computer vendors. "[They] are not the only party that has to suffer the consequences. We, the customers, do too."

With the agreement in place and the formal order for Sun equipment signed, Toth expects that backorders of compliers and other software will be filled soon.

"We've done our part and we await the first round of fulfillment of backorders," he said. "We expect that any day."