ARCHIVED: About IUanyWare for statistical and mathematical applications

On this page:

• What statistical and mathematical software will be freely available through IUanyWare?
• Are there limitations on this software?
• Why is UITS making this change?
• What other methods can I use to access this software without cost?
• Do departments still need to pay the software invoice received over the summer from Research Analytics?
• Can I still install these packages on my local workstations or in departmental labs?
• Will other packages supported by UITS continue to be available?
• Will any software packages be eliminated or phased out?
• What is the anticipated availability of software over the next two years?
• What toolboxes are provided in the core installation of MATLAB at IU?
• What features are provided in the core installation of SAS at IU?
• What features are provided in the core installation of SPSS at IU?
• Where can I send further questions, or software requests?

What statistical and mathematical software will be freely available through IUanyWare?

As of fall 2012, the following software is available via IUanyWare, without cost, for three years to individuals, labs, departments, or schools:

For help, search this Knowledge Base. Extensive help is also available from consultants at UITS Research Analytics (formerly Stat/Math Center).

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Are there limitations on this software?

A few packages have a finite number of "seats", meaning they restrict the number of concurrent users; those packages are indicated with an asterisk in the table above. We believe, however, that the number of concurrent users is high enough to avoid hitting those limits. In addition, some add-on features for packages (particularly SAS and MATLAB) are licensed and paid for by specific groups, so they are restricted to use by those groups. Members of those groups will get access to their add-ons via access control lists (ACLs) used by IUanyWare.

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Why is UITS making this change?

For an introduction, see ARCHIVED: About client virtualization at IU With this philosophy of abundance in mind, UITS set out to identify the subset of statistical and mathematical software that is most widely used, that is most critical to the research or education missions of IU, and that can be made abundantly available via IUanyWare. This change will greatly expand the ability of learners, educators, and researchers to use these software packages whenever and however they desire.

By eliminating the direct cost of packages to departments and schools, UITS also hopes that educators and researchers will adopt the best applications in each category, not just the most economical. Over the coming few years, this will allow for greater standardization of curricula and interoperability of research data and workflows. Moreover, it will ensure that IU students are gaining applicable experiences with industry-leading tools to better prepare them for the post-graduation job market. This strategy will also allow IU to realize fiscal efficiencies by achieving greater economies of scale and eliminating duplicate software functionality over time.

Finally, the delivery of software through IUanyWare will reduce the complexity and variability of installing and supporting these tools on different platforms, providing on-demand access to faculty, staff, and students and giving IT Professionals more time for high-level strategic activities.

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What other methods can I use to access this software without cost?

Most of the packages available through IUanyWare will continue to be available in UITS Student Technology Centers (STCs) and on UITS Linux-based research systems, such as Quarry and Mason. See the availability table.

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Do departments still need to pay the software invoice received over the summer from Research Analytics?

By funding software delivered through IUanyWare for up to three years, UITS intends to implement this approach in a way that provides a clear economic incentive for adoption of IUanyWare. Thus, departments that want to convert exclusively to IUanyWare (and access through Quarry/Mason and UITS STCs) do not need to pay invoices received over the summer for locally installed licenses for these software packages.

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Can I still install these packages on my local workstations or in departmental labs?

For those labs, departments, schools, or campuses that also desire local installations of software now available through IUanyWare, Research Analytics will continue to provide that service at FY 11/12 cost. This includes labs owned by departments or campuses for which UITS manages the software build. Contact Research Analytics to confirm your pricing details. For current pricing, see https://www.iu.edu/~statmath/sales/prices/; authentication required.

Similarly, individuals who want to install software on personally owned computers (as a supplement or alternative to accessing it via IUanyWare) can purchase installation CDs from Research Analytics or at campus bookstores as in past years. For current pricing, see https://www.iu.edu/~statmath/sales/prices/; authentication required.

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Will other packages supported by UITS continue to be available?

IU is making a step toward facilitating broad and unrestricted access to mainstream statistical, mathematical, and GIS software as "basic infrastructure". However, not all software supported by Research Analytics falls into this category. For those packages supported by Research Analytics that are not included in the list above, but that still support the needs of specific, mid-sized communities of users within IU, Research Analytics will continue to negotiate license discounts and provide support via this Knowledge Base. The following packages fall into this category, and will be available (as in previous years) at vendor-established educational pricing or at an aggressive group discount:

Initially, these packages will be sold on disk or installed on systems or lab servers as before. During the course of the year, these packages will also be added to IUanyWare for access through control lists. UITS will notify all licensed users of each of these packages when available via IUanyWare. By July 2013, UITS expects that many of these packages will be distributed exclusively via IUanyWare, wherein labs, departments, or schools will pay a license fee that will enable IUanyWare access to the software.

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Will any software packages be eliminated or phased out?

Software packages that offer duplicate functionality and those with very limited use may be phased out.

For academic year 2012-13, there will be no reductions to the software that Research Analytics has traditionally supported. However, over the next few years, UITS will look to adjust this list of packages, both to reduce duplicate functionality and to improve depth of support while adding new capabilities. Prudent use of taxpayer money and student tuition funds will call for a reduction of the number of functionally similar statistical and mathematical software packages. UITS will examine usage data and consult with IU faculty members before making decisions about such changes, and will provide ample notice to respect the time required to change existing, well-established curriculum materials. Within the next three years, UITS is likely to decrease the number of general purpose provided and supported statistical packages from three (now SPSS, SAS, Minitab) to two, based on usage and functionality. The same reduction from three (now MATLAB, Mathematica, Maple) to two mathematical packages will likely occur.

Additionally, the current operational and financial model for many statistical and mathematical software packages was devised years ago, at a time when UITS could save the university money by serving as a negotiating agent and middleman, accumulating many small departmental license pools to realize cost savings. In the intervening time, many discount software outlets began offering a variety of software titles at very economical prices. In order to use the university's funds economically, UITS will stop serving as the reselling agent for packages that cannot be provided for a significantly lower cost than purchasing online. These packages include LISREL, S-Plus, Mplus, and Scientific Workplace. UITS licensing and support for such packages is expected to end no later than June 2013. UITS also maintains licenses for the education-oriented packages Geometer's SketchPad and Fathom/Tinkerplot, and will continue to provide access to these software packages as long as they remain useful and do not duplicate functionality available in other tools.

In many cases, functionality once uniquely available only in some of these niche products is now available within open source software packages (e.g., R) or in more broadly utilized commercial packages (e.g., SPSS or SAS). In other cases, it may make sense for those with work dependent upon one of these packages to continue purchasing it, but directly from the developers or resellers rather than via UITS. Research Analytics will be happy to work with you over the 2012-13 academic year to assess your needs and to recommend a sustainable path forward.

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What is the anticipated availability of software over the next two years?

See http://www.iu.edu/~statmath/info/avail/ for additional details, including differences between IUB and IUPUI and Windows and MacOS STC builds.

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What toolboxes are provided in the core installation of MATLAB at IU?

For MATLAB, the following are supported on IUanyWare, the Quarry and Mason Linux systems, and in UITS STCs:

• Extensions: Simulink, Simulink Control Design, MATLAB Compiler, Spreadsheet Link EX
• Toolboxes: Bioinformatics, Communications System, Control System, Curve Fitting, DSP System, Data Acquisition, Fuzzy Logic, Image Acquisition, Image Processing, Instrument Control, Mapping, Neural Network, Optimization, Parallel Computing, Partial Differential Equation, Signal Processing, Statistics, Symbolic Math, and Wavelet Toolboxes

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What features are provided in the core installation of SAS at IU?

Via IUanyWare, the STCs, and the Quarry and Mason Linux systems, SAS includes the following features where applicable:

Base SAS, SAS Bridge for ESRI, SAS Enterprise Guide, SAS Integration Technologies, SAS/ACCESS Interfaces, SAS Add-in for Microsoft Office, SAS Deployment Test Client, SAS Drivers for ODBC, SAS Foundation, SAS Integration Technologies Client, SAS Power and Sample Size, SAS XML Mapper, SAS/Graph ActiveX Control, SAS/IML Studio, SAS/AF, SAS/ASSIST, SAS/CONNECT, SAS/EIS, SAS/ETS, SAS/FSP, SAS/GRAPH, SAS/IML, SAS/INSIGHT, SAS/LAB, SAS/OR, SAS/QC SAS/SECURE Windows, SAS/SHARE, and SAS/STAT

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What features are provided in the core installation of SPSS at IU?

Via IUanyWare and the STCs, SPSS includes Statistics Standard (comprised of SPSS Base, SPSS Advanced Statistics, and SPSS Regression Models) and SPSS Custom Tables.

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Where can I send further questions, or software requests?

• If you have any questions about this new licensing model, contact Research Analytics at statmath@iu.edu or 812-855-4724.
• To request additional software for delivery via IUanyWare, see Request software for the STCs or IUanyWare. If you have questions about software you currently license through Research Analytics, contact Research Analytics.

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