IT Purchasing Advice for Staff

Supplier and Specifications

To comply with Trinity procurement policy, Trinity-funded PC laptops must be purchased from the official Trinity PC supplier, Dell.

Dell contact details (Trinity Procurement website)

PC specification

The desktop specification available from Dell has been selected to match the requirements for teaching and learning, research, and administration activities. This desktop range is from the business range of computers (not the home computer range) and therefore comes with a good warranty program ensuring the hardware support arrangements in place include next business day Engineer Support on-site if a repair is necessary.

These computers are provided by the supplier at a special discounted price, and are pre-registered with Trinity's endpoint management system, Microsoft Intune.

Dell Technical support (with the service tag/express code from your system): 0818 274 270.

When purchasing Dell equipment IT Services recommends that staff purchase the 'Pro' support warranty for their Dell desktops and laptops. There are several warranty levels but if you read the pdf linked to below you will see particulars of the 'Pro' support option. Normally this comes as standard, but staff should make sure it included on their quote before placing the order.

ProSupport_for_IT (PDF)

Supplier and Specifications

To Trinity procurement policy, Trinity-funded PC laptops must be purchased from the official Trinity PC supplier, Dell.

Dell contact details (Trinity Procurement website)

Laptop specification

The range of laptops includes a mainstream, fully-featured, powerful laptop with a large widescreen display which is ideal for use in the office and at home and other models such as a lightweight laptop which is ideal for travelling and fieldwork and also for use back in the office.

This range of laptops and their specifications have been selected to match the requirements for teaching and learning, research, and administration activities. This laptop range is from the business range of computers, not the home computer range, and therefore comes with a good warranty program ensuring the hardware support arrangements in place include next business day on-site engineer support if a repair is necessary.

These computers are provided by the supplier at a special discounted price, and are pre-registered with Trinity's endpoint management system, Microsoft Intune.

Dell Technical support (with the service tag/express code from your system): 0818 274 270.

When purchasing Dell equipment IT Services recommends that staff purchase the 'Pro' support warranty for their Dell desktops and laptops. There are several warranty levels but if you read the pdf linked to below you will see particulars of the 'Pro' support option. Normally this comes as standard, but staff should make sure it included on their quote before placing the order.

ProSupport_for_IT (PDF)

Lightweight and slimline laptops

For most staff using lightweight or slimline laptops, Wi-Fi only access will be sufficient in getting connected to the network. Some lightweight or slimline laptops such as the MacBook Air and Dell Ultrabook are designed for wireless networks and do not have inbuilt wired network cards. If you wish to connect a Wi-Fi only laptop to the Trinity ‘wired’ network, you will need to purchase a USB-to-Ethernet adapter.

Staff should ensure computers that they are purchasing are the recommended corporate models, where available, to enjoy full support by the IT Service Desk. If you have any queries please contact the IT Service Desk for further advice.

Warranty and Contact

Dell Technical support (with the service tag/express code from your system): 0818 274 270.

When purchasing Dell equipment IT Services recommends that staff purchase the 'Pro' support warranty for their Dell desktops and laptops. There are several warranty levels but if you read the pdf linked to below you will see particulars of the 'Pro' support option. Normally this comes as standard, but staff should make sure it included on their quote before placing the order.

ProSupport_for_IT (PDF)

Dell support info

All Dell PC Hardware, within the scope of the agreement outlined below, is supported by IT Services directly. Users do not have to contact Dell themselves as the IT Service Desk functions as the first and sole point of contact on all software and hardware faults.

IT Services personnel will diagnose and resolve all matters, and any required interactions with Dell for the issuing and/or installation of replacement hardware will take place between Dell and IT Services personnel. Users are entitled to next day on-site visit the same as they would get from Dell. Only home users will have to contact Dell for on-site visits.

To facilitate the provision of this service two IT Services IT Service Desk team members have recently been certified as Dell Diagnostic Engineers.

The scope of this agreement includes the following Dell PC Hardware:

• Trinity owned desktops and laptops with Business Support
• Trinity Computer Room PC’s
• Users with college-owned PC’s at home, who will have the option to bring the PC to the IT Service Desk or contact Dell directly for an on-site visit.

The scope of this agreement will NOT include:

• Trinity Owned Desktops and Laptops without Business Support
• Dell PC's purchased under Dell Student Schemes
• Servers

For more information contact the IT Service Desk.

Supplier, Specifications and Warranty

To comply with Trinity procurement policy, Trinity-funded Apple Mac computers should be purchased from the official supplier - 'Select'.

'Select' sales contact details (Trinity procurement website)

Lightweight and slimline laptops

For most staff using lightweight or slimline laptops, Wi-Fi only access will be sufficient in getting connected to the network. Some lightweight or slimline laptops such as the MacBook Air and Dell Ultrabook are designed for wireless networks and do not have inbuilt wired network cards. If you wish to connect a Wi-Fi only laptop to the Trinity ‘wired’ network, you will need to purchase a USB-to-Ethernet adapter.

Staff should ensure computers that they are purchasing are the recommended corporate models, where available, to enjoy full support by the IT Service Desk. If you have any queries please contact the IT Service Desk for further advice.

Warranty

Macs purchased from 'Select' are provided with a 1-year warranty by default. We strongly recommend that Trinity staff purchase one of the 5-year extended warranty options on offer. 'Select' will provide you with the details of the various extended warranty options on request, including AppleCare and 'Select' warranty options. 'Select' will arrange a delivery time once the order is complete.

Signing in to Apple devices with an Apple ID

When using an Apple device, you may be prompted to sign in with an Apple ID to access certain services such as device syncing, iCloud or the App Store. An Apple ID account has no connection to your Trinity computer account.

If you are setting up an Apple ID account, IT Services strongly recommend linking that Apple account to a personal email address you own rather than your Trinity email address, as once you finish your time in Trinity and your Trinity email address is no longer active this will ultimately result in the Apple ID being unusable and can lead to devices being locked out permanently.

If the Apple device is College-owned, users must 'Sign out' of that Apple ID before handing the device back.

Contact

For 'Select' technical support please phone 0818 668888. Please note that Macs purchased from 'Select' are provided with a 1-year warranty by default, with our recommendation being to purchase a 5-year extended warranty, and so the warranty on your device will depend on what was arranged when it was ordered.

'Select' provides first-level technical support over the phone. If your problem is not resolved over the phone, then a 'Select' technician will be sent out to you and will attend within 24 hours of the call. Most troubleshooting and repairs will be carried out on-site where possible. Where repairs cannot be carried out on-site the device will be brought back to the 'Select' workshop and repairs will be carried out within one working day, subject to availability of replacement parts. If parts are not available in the 'Select' workshop there is a lead in time of a further one business day for order and delivery of the part.

Typetec technical support

If you had previously purchased equipment from Typetec and your Mac is covered by AppleCare then please contact the 'Select' technical support line at 0818 668888. If your Mac is not covered by AppleCare, then please contact Typetec technical support by phone at (01) 5009002.

Suitability of tablets as a staff work device

Although iPads and Android tablets can be connected to the Staff Wi-Fi network, IT Services do not manage them for encryption and operating system security updates. We also do not have the ability to wipe them if they are lost or stolen. Accordingly we would advise that iPads and Android tablets are only suitable as complimentary devices and not as primary work devices.

For a suitable work device, which is portable, we would recommend one of the lightweight laptop options from our approved suppliers.

Signing in to Apple devices with an Apple ID

When using an Apple device, you may be prompted to sign in with an Apple ID to access certain services such as device syncing, iCloud or the App Store. An Apple ID account has no connection to your Trinity computer account.

If you are setting up an Apple ID account, IT Services strongly recommend linking that Apple account to a personal email address you own rather than your Trinity email address, as once you finish your time in Trinity and your Trinity email address is no longer active this will ultimately result in the Apple ID being unusable and can lead to devices being locked out permanently.

If the Apple device is College-owned, users must 'Sign out' of that Apple ID before handing the device back.

Advice and Suppliers

IT Services has many years of experience in the specification and installation of AV equipment, including videoconferencing equipment and so we are happy to provide advice and guidance to Trinity staff on the purchase and specification of audio-visual equipment. If you or your department are about to make a purchase and feel that you would like some guidance do contact the IT Service Desk and we can arrange to provide information and demonstrations of existing equipment that is installed on campus and how it works.

To comply with Trinity procurement policy, audio-visual equipment must be purchased from one of the preferred suppliers for audio-visual equipment.

Advice and Suppliers

To comply with Trinity procurement policy, all Trinity-funded printers, scanners and multifunction devices should be purchased from the approved suppliers only - please see the procurement website for further information and relevant contact details.

IT Services support

IT Services will provide a network IP address for printers, or other peripheral devices, that are to be connected to the Trinity network. Hardware and other technical issues with these printers and peripherals should be covered under the warranty which is purchased with these items and these matters can be directed to the suppliers, as outlined below.

IT Services will provide full software support (setup and configuration via remote control) for HP desktop/deskside printers. IT Services do not provide any support, beyond the provision of an IP address, for the larger multifunctional devices as the manufacturer provides full support for these devices.

Service and support

Technical support with printer, scanner and MFD equipment is available from the suppliers. Please see the procurement website for their contact details.

Purchasing and installation

If you are thinking of installing Digital Signage equipment there are several different steps to the installation process that you should be aware of, as outlined below. Note that only a registered member of staff can request this type of equipment be connected to the Trinity network.

• Contact the four Trinity AV suppliers for quotes on the different types of equipment available
• Contact the IT Service Desk to request a quote for network points in the location if required
• Contact Estates and Facilities to organise an electrical power point at the location if required
• Complete the Network Request Form to have the digital signage device connected to the Trinity network. You will need to know the network adapter address for the digital signage device - you may need to contact the equipment supplier for this information. You should submit the network request in advance of the device being delivered, the network adapter address can be obtained from the supplier in advance. Please note it takes 3-5 days to process this network request.