The University of Liverpool goes green with HP & DTP

The University of Liverpool goes green with HP & DTP

About the University of Liverpool

The University of Liverpool is one of the UK’s leading research-based universities, with 18,000 students and 5,000 staff working across 54 subject areas. Its main campus in the centre of Liverpool includes nearly 200 non-residential buildings.

The University found it was taking too much time to manage the computers from its previous supplier. “We had no problems with the equipment itself, but it was time-consuming to administer the contract and to sort out issues such as deliveries, spares and repairs,” says Steve Aldridge, head of infrastructure services at the University of Liverpool.

“We chose DTP & HP because it scored best overall in the tender process. HP did very well on value for money, and extremely well on environmental impact – which is becoming increasingly important for us.”

Objective: Move to a new PC vendor to improve procurement processes, save administration time and

reduce energy consumption.

Approach: Invited suppliers on the NDNA to tender for contract and selected provider based on an overall 

scorecard.

IT Improvements: Simplified precurement and service management save IT team atleast two days 

per month.

Business Benefits: Reduce Co2 emissions by an estimated 240 tonnes a year. Reduce power consumption by

nearly two-thirds.

Simplified Management

Most of the computers supplied are HP Compaq 6000 Pro Small Form Factor desktop PCs, which provide a cost-effective balance of performance and expandability. Around 15 per cent of the PCs purchased are HP EliteBook Notebook PCs, and the University has also bought a small number of HP Z600 Workstations for demanding highperformance applications.

"We buy two versions of desktop machines, with and without graphics cards and have put together a specification that means the PCs will last: Windows 7, dual core processors, 22 inch monitors and 4GB of RAM," says Steve Aldridge. "We invited the companies bidding for the contract – everybody on the NDNA list – to amend that specification with better value of money options if they wish, and come back with a price."

The new computers have been well-received by staff, as Steve Aldridge says: "The HP machines have been excellent, and have performed well – I have had no complaints at all from users.

"HP partner, DTP, handles aspects such as repairs and deliveries and with its own fleet of vehicles and drivers, DTP can ensure everything goes to the right building and right floor," says Steve Aldridge. "We used to waste at least two or three days a month dealing with procurement issues, and that time is now freed up for other tasks."

Managing packaging and waste has also improved. "We used to have two enormous skips – one for polystyrene and one for cardboard – permanently on our car park," says Steve Aldridge. "As a result of the HP contract, we’ve got rid of both of these, as DTP collects and recycles all the packaging. This has saved us around £2000 a year – but it’s not so much the cost, it’s avoiding the inconvenience that’s a major benefit."

Green Savings

The University of Liverpool has shown a strong commitment to environmental issues, and recently it won the Green ICT category at the Green Gown awards, which recognise the UK’s most sustainable universities and colleges. The University is working to reduce its carbon footprint, with a target of a 30 per cent reduction in emissions by 2016/17 (from a baseline of its 2006/07 level).

"We were looking for equipment that would produce significantly lower CO2 emissions," says Steve Aldridge." While most manufacturers are improving, HP went that little bit further – there are more stringent standards that are built into the HP machines by default, not as options."

"From our calculations of typical usage, the new HP computers are only using around 36 per cent of the power of the PCs they have replaced, with an overall saving we put at around 450MWh each year," says Steve Aldridge. Based on UK-wide averages for electricity supply from the grid, this level of energy saving would be equivalent to a yearly saving of around 240 tonnes of CO2 released into the atmosphere.