Standard Workstations

Support for this service includes providing standard workstation offerings.

IST manages the standards for end-user hardware on behalf of the University. These devices include desktops, laptops, tablets, cell phones, etc.

We conduct regular reviews of university needs, marketplace offerings, industry innovation, and support costs. IST actively seeks out and incorporates feedback from the university community on how well the standards meet community requirements. The standards aim to satisfy a significant portion of the University community’s needs. If broadly adopted, these standards will enable the university to reach cost-effective agreements with our suppliers due to volume discounts.

While we encourage and strongly recommend using standard devices, we recognize that the University community is diverse and has unique needs. However, the implications of adopting non-standard equipment can include longer response times for solutions to problems and longer delivery times when ordering new equipment. There is also the possibility of incompatibility with standard University software and classroom presentation capabilities. In all cases, non-standard platforms must be capable of running University-standard cybersecurity software, including disk encryption, VPN, anti-malware, multifactor authentication, endpoint protection, etc.

In the case of devices for research, IST’s Advanced Research Computing group is available for consultation on configuration and purchasing options. They are also available to advise on the technology sections of grant applications (e.g., JELF, Innovation Fund) and the annual Digital Research Alliance of Canada national resource allocation competition for high-performance computing, storage and cloud computing for research.

Devices should be purchased from the standard list unless there is a compelling business need for a different configuration. For staff purchases, supervisors must ensure exceptions are justified: the purchase of non-standard equipment increases the overall cost of IT support and decreases the overall quality of support. In this context, “staff” means anyone who is not a faculty member, a postdoctoral fellow, or a graduate student.

View List of Workstation Equipment

What is not included?
Non-Standard Computers are defined as those:

• Outside of the 5 year lifecycle (Out of Warranty)
• Any computers that do not follow IST’s standard configuration, with negotiated exceptions.
• Personal computers and devices (Bring Your Own Devices) are not supported.

Workstation Standardization will not include customizations to the standard hardware model. If hardware is not supplied by the preferred vendor, it will not be accepted or supported.