All three UW DoIT tech store locations will be permanently closed as they try to adjust to the growing technology retails environment on June 28.
The closing of DoIT Tech Store is a part of the bigger picture – reconfiguration of its business model, according to a DoIT press release from May 7.
Upcoming changes include changes to the DoIT Help Desk, which will no longer provide general support to applications not licensed by UW-Madison on faculty and staff members‘ personally-owned devices, but will continue to support UW-Madison licensed applications and services.
DoIT will also implement changes to its repair service model. It is likely that DoIT will continue its repair service, but technology devices will be repaired offsite, said Communications Director at the Division of Information Technology Marry Evansen.
“We are investigating several options for our repair services, including outsourcing with contract vendors,” Evansen said. “Other Big Ten institutions, such as Michigan State, have recently moved to a similar repair service model.”
Though the general repair service will not be winding down, the future of data recovery service is uncertain.
“We are determining what the ongoing data recovery service options will be,” said Evansen said.
UW-Madison students currently have full access to the DoIT data recovery service which is around $160.
“At least half a dozen graduate and undergraduate students have been using the data recovery service in the past school year and it actually helped a lot of them retrieve their essays including dissertations for PhDs,” said an anonymous DoIT student employee.
According to the anonymous student staff member, if DoIT eliminated this data recovery service due to its business redesign, students would have to pay a market price of $1000 or above for a similar recovery service.
Due to the upcoming changes at the DoIT repair service, student employees who currently work at the DoIT repair service are worrying about losing their jobs as repairing specialists, since machines will be transferred to outsourced technology supporters to repair offsite.
“I am assuming my current job position won’t exist anymore,” the anonymous student employee said. “As a student, to be able to pay the tuition, I have to start looking for a summer job elsewhere.”
However, according to Evansen, student positions will still be kept at DoIT in the future, including students working in the repair service.
“Our walk-in Help Desk service will continue and we have assured our students that they will have a position at DoIT supporting that service,” Evansen said. “Alternatively, they have the option to move into other areas of User Services. ”
Editor's Update: [5/13/19, 2:26 p.m.]: This article previously didn't state the DoIT’s Walk-in Help Desk support will continue but with changes, the data recovery service did not hold a significant portion in DoIT's repair service, as well as current student employees will have jobs in DoIT.
