Midrand Campus, one of South Africa`s largest tertiary educational institutions, has taken the first steps towards assisting both staff and students in becoming computer literate by standardising on Microsoft software across its five campuses. The rollout, which formed part of Educor`s overall IT strategy, will ensure that the staff and students have optimal access to data, information and knowledge, through state-of-the-art computer facilities, Internet and worldwide email linkage. "We have been running a variety of software programs for some time, but realised if we wanted to work effectively we needed a standard IT platform. We selected Microsoft products due to the ease of use, the interoperability of its software and the long-term benefits the solution offers us," says Mark Rohald, director at Educor. The solution provided by Microsoft South Africa has opened up a whole world of information for both staff and students. The institute accommodates 450 workstations, each of which uses Microsoft Windows 95 as the operating system and runs the Microsoft Office 97 suite of programs. The server platform is Microsoft NT Server 4.0 and the addition of a Web server and an Internet Information Server has created a system that will grow as the campus` needs develop. "One of Educor`s objectives is to ensure that all staff and students are computer literate. Standardising on Microsoft Office 97 and offering the relevant training is one of the solutions to computer illiteracy. This product provides complete and comprehensive applications designed to meet the needs of all our users. "Microsoft South Africa is focused on being able to offer products to all users, especially students since they are one of the most computer literate segments of the South African population. Exposing students to technology in the learning environment is an effective way to equip them with confidence and the necessary computer skills before they embark on their careers," comments Leanne Steer, academic programme specialist at Microsoft South Africa.
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