University Buys New Computer Software

"It (Mimer SQL) is a way of storing data that you can easily pull out and change quickly," said associate vice president for Information Resources James A. Stevens, Jr.

The tool can be used in a variety of ways, from photo identification picture storage to applications that will allow periodically sending e-mails to admission applicants, Stevens said.

Unlike Nell, the program currently being used for data storage on campus, Mimer SQL allows the use of graphics, which will make the system "resemble a Web page," according to Nancy Sears, assistant director for Computer Services.

The system is also more beneficial in that it is cross-platform, meaning it works on Windows, Linux and UNIX programs.

"It's going to allow us to keep our information for the whole university, no matter what type of equipment that is being worked with," Sears said. "That's a very good thing."

While Computer Services is currently converting everything from Nell to Mimer SQL, they have also written programs that keep track of lab assistant scheduling and the new keying system for Academic Building 4.

"The number of keys for just that one building was phenomenal," Sears said. "When they renovated the LSC, the university issued 387 keys for the building. Using Mimer, we can easily validate a person's university status and issue the keys accordingly.

"We have the ability to keep better track of what's happening less expensively, and we're excited about that," she said.

While students may not notice a difference in the system, because the system is "transparent," Mimer will also "eliminate work on the user's part," according to Sears.

"It's back-end stuff," she said. "They're not going to know things are better based on one certain thing."

She said, for example, when a student logs on to the SamInfo menu to check things such as degree plans, account balances or registration, eventually students will only have to log on once with their username and password, no matter how many different parts of the page he/she wants to visit.

"We can now run it off a database system that will speed things up dramatically," she said.

The program cost the university much less than commercial alternatives, according to Stevens.

The Mimer SQL program will be a lot more work for the Computer Services technicians for the next three years, due to the conversions, but will eventually make things easier for users and the programmers Sears said.

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SHSU Media Contact: Jennifer Gauntt
Jan. 24, 2003
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