December 20, 2007

REVISION OF DECEMBER 4 LETTER

COUNCIL OF DEANS AND VICE CHANCELLORS

CIO MICHAEL MINEAR
UCDMC

PROFESSOR ZHI DING
Electrical and Computer Engineering

RE: Strategic Approach to Investments in Computing Facilities (Revised)

Dear Colleagues:

As a campus, we face dramatic increases in the costs for facilities and supporting utilities; at the same time, we face serious resource constraints and expectations that we will increase our efforts to reduce energy consumption and promote conservation. I know that many of you are aware, from direct experience in many cases, of the substantial one-time costs to create local computer (server) rooms, although the very significant up-front and on-going costs for associated electrical and cooling systems are frequently less obvious. In addition, there is a growing need to ensure that our data and data services are maintained in secure, reliable, and safe facilities.

As the combination of one-time and on-going costs continue to rise, our highly distributed processes have to date made it very difficult to gather effective information to ensure our investments are efficient as well as strategic. To this point, I have asked Vice Chancellors John Meyer, Barry Klein, and Stan Nosek; Dean Enrique Lavernia; Professor Zhi Ding; CIO Michael Minear and Vice Provost Pete Siegel to draft a sound campus-wide (i.e., Davis and Sacramento) strategy that will guide and inform investments in computing facilities. They will, working with the committees who oversee our facility planning process and others, establish a common, central process to review and coordinate new construction, renovations, and "ad-hoc" requests for increased utility services for space used as computer (server) rooms. As an immediate first-step, I have asked our colleagues listed above to identify sound criteria (such as annual utility cost, an initial investment threshold, specialized design requirements, etc.) around which this coordination can be based.

I am confident that our need to ensure a better understanding to inform much-needed investments in this emerging area can be achieved without hampering innovation or creating counterproductive delays. I appreciate in advance the efforts of this group, as well as your active and continuing support.

This document serves as the charge letter for each member of the newly formed Strategic Approach to Investments in Computing Facilities Committee.

Sincerely,

Barbara A. Horwitz
Interim Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor