Sagio case ITU

IT-University of Copenhagen

At the IT University of Copenhagen(ITU), IT research is conducted. IT is developed and utilized to its full potential. In this universe that are technologically leading, the card system from Sagio is installed – for the pleasure of both students and employees.


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FACTS ABOUT THE IT UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN
Location:
The IT-University
Rued Langgaards Vej 7
2300 København S

Web:
www.itu.dk

Number of employees:
approx 160
+ external teachers etc.

Number of students:
approx 1,500

The Sagio solution covers:
Access control
Copy & Print
Picture identification

Number of multi functionality machines connected to the system:
2 Color CLC3200
14 Black/White iR2220i
8 Black/White iR3320i
1 Black/White iR5020i



One card for everything

The IT University of Copenhagen(ITU) is situated at the Ørestad development, right next to the University of Copenhagen and the new headquarters of the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR). It is a very modern building work that is sure to impress you with the huge bright building, which is open all the way up to the fifth floor, and everything is held in brushed steel, raw concrete and glass. It is inspiring architecture made by Henning Larsen's Drafting Room in cooperation with consultant engineering company, Carl Bro, and it was built and inaugurated in 2004.

In this building, Sagio's card system is installed. The employees at the ITU use their ID cards for access control and at the same time, their copy and print use is registered. Equivalently, the students' ID cards work, besides being picture ID's, as access cards and copy and print cards. The students are able to transfer money to their cards themselves and with time, it would be ideal to expand the functions of the card so that it can also be used as a means of payment in the canteen and in coffee and vending machines at the school.

Hanne Munkholm is Chief Clerk in the IT department at the ITU. She is a member of the department's service team, and she is in charge of everything that has to do with servers and networks. She is putting new things to work and making sure it all will take effect. Munkholm has also played a part in installing the card system from Sagio and getting it up and running.

The installation of the card system

The installation of the Sagio system was not problem-free and some time passed before everything was up and running. But as Munkholm says:”No complex systems work out of the box and we couldn't possibly have received an unproblematic solution to such a complex job.”

Poul Kjeldgaard, who is an officer at the ITU, says about the card system:” We are first movers. There aren't many educational institutions that had a card system like ours, when we had it installed. However, a modern IT system matches a new modern IT University well. It's a good thing because a part of the image of this place is to be the first ones to have this kind of advanced system.”

One of the things that Hanne Munkholm valued was the ability of the Sagio system to be adjusted to other systems. ”It is a good thing that the system uses standard protocols. This way the interoperability with other systems isn't ruined,” she explains.

Small printers do not pay

In connection with the implementation of Sagio's copy and print system, the number of printers on the ITU was reduced heavily. Many employees had a small, private desktop printer at their desks. It was for instance employees that had to do with confidential documents. However, a lot of money is spent on ink and maintenance, if many desktop printers are used. It does not pay at all! But how is the expensive solution avoided at the same time as the confidence and safety is kept?

Pull print – keeps the personal prints confidential

The solution was simple. All the small desktop printers were replaced with few larger multi functionality machines – one for each department plus a number for the students. For these network machines, Sagio delivered a pull print system also called secure print. When printing from a pull print system, the print job does not come out of the printer until the user who sent the print job has put his card in the card reader by the machine.
"The idea of having everything in one card is really good, actually. Here, we use the student cards for access control, copying and printing and as a picture ID.
In time, it would be good to expand the functions of the card to also cover vending and payment in the canteen."

Poul Kjeldgaard, Officer
IT-University of Copenhagen
In other words, no print jobs come out unless the user is present.

”The employees weren't exactly exited about the fact that they no longer had their own desktop printer available – because what was then going to happen with their confidential printouts? However, the Sagio system takes this into account. No print jobs are printed until the employee who sent for the job is standing by the machine and putting his card in – this the employees are very happy about, after all. This way the confidentiality is maintained,” Hanne Munkholm says.

Poul Kjeldgaard, who among other things, deals with the maintenance of the new big multi functionality machines says:” If you have a whole group of ink jet printers it will cost dearly just to furnish them with ink and repairs! The small number of machines we put up now just need to be upgraded once in a while – it's much cheaper and so much easier!"

Unnecessary prints are waste of paying

There are other advantages of the print solution from Sagio as well. For example, when standing at the printer, the user has the opportunity to change the settings of the printer, before the print job comes out. There is, furthermore, a possibility of checking out whether it is the correct print and whether it is printed in the right format – and finally, to delete the print job if necessary. Uncollected printouts that are making a mess are avoided. All things considered, these features mean that the number of print errors and the amount of paper waste are reduced considerably.

”We are all eco-friendly raised, and we think that it is a bad idea to throw out tons of papers. Besides, it is not very cool to print out something, if you don't need it anyway, but still have to pay for it – so even the students are happy about the fact that they could check their print job and remove any printing faults on the machine, before the pages just come out,” Hanne Munkholm says.

Credit on the server, money on the card, no revision

At the ITU, the students are given a certain amount of copies at the beginning of a semester. These copies are put on the print server as a kind of credit. If the students need more prints than they were given, they have to pay for it themselves.
"Many people are very impressed with our Sagio system. They are especially impressed by the fact that we have an ID card which has all functions. They haven't seen that in other educational institutions."

Poul Kjeldgaard, Officer
IT-University of Copenhagen
That is why they can transfer money to their cards themselves – either with cash or by a debit card transfer – via one of the card service centers from Sagio that has been set up at the IT University. The money that the students put on the cards does not figure on the server – it is only saved in the chip on the card. This means that the ITU does not have any obligations. The administration is minimal and the educational institution is not responsible if a card is lost.

”The card is a holder's card. If you lose it, the money is lost – just as if you lose your cash. However, if there has been an error in the system and we need to compensate for a print fault, then we will of course put some extra money on the account of the student concerned.” Munkholm explains.

The employees on ITU print free of charge, but their use are tracked, which makes it possible to follow the use of how much every single department uses on copying and printing. This way, overview of the use is gained and it is possible to make a print budget for each department.

”All in all, many daily users are happy about the system,” Munkholm says. ”People think the card system from Sagio is great – it's kind of nice and quick. People think it's cool because the same card can be used for all the systems.”


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