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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Browse through our Frequently Asked Questions for more information on our
services. If you have additional questions that are not listed, please
contact us and we will be happy to assist you.
What is meant by the term "franchise fund" and do Austin Information Technology Center (AITC)
customers benefit from receiving IT-related services from AITC, a franchise
fund?
Franchise Funds
were established in Government to promote competition and to reduce the cost of providing common
administrative support services. Authorized under the Government
Management Reform Act of 1994, the AITC is one of six VA Enterprise
Centers offering common administrative services on a fee-for-service
basis. No appropriated funding is provided franchise fund
organizations, so the success of the AITC depends on our ability to
fully recover costs from customer revenue, satisfy customer
requirements, and to expand our customer base.
The AITC has been very successful in the VA Franchise Fund. Our
unit costs have been reduced each year due to increased workloads,
new technology, expert contract negotiations, and improved
processes. We have also expanded our business with VA and other
Federal agencies. All AITC customers have benefited from this
success.
How can AITC
customers be certain they receive "best-value" IT solutions from
AITC?
AITC management believes that its customers should expect no less
from AITC than the highest quality products and services at the most
economical costs. Because of this commitment, AITC contracts with an
industry professional performance measurement firm (usually every
other year) to compare the cost efficiency and performance of AITC
with similar data centers, public and private. Results of the FY
1998 performance measurement assessment placed AITC’s competitive
posture within the top third of commercial data centers with similar
profiles. Comments from previous benchmarking studies are offered
below…
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Quality is exemplary in terms of service levels provided to end
users.
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Performance was notably better at the AITC.
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AITC is more cost efficient than the commercial peer group
averages and significantly more cost efficient than other
government data centers.
Does the AITC offer multiple processing platforms?
We provide multiple platform options – from stand alone workstations
to large-capacity, redundant, clustered servers.
I’m interested in finding
out more about AITC products and services. How can I get additional
information?
For more information about the AITC, please contact us at 512.326.6005
or via email at dvac@va.gov.
With the current emphasis on government data security, how can I be
sure that my data will be securely housed at the AITC?
The AITC offers its customers "Total Information Assurance."
All our data and applications are stored on secure servers in a secure
environment using the market’s number one intrusion-detection
software. Certified security staff run our operations and security is
regularly reviewed by a variety of recognized commercial and Federal
information security specialists.
How long has the AITC been in operation?
The AITC has been the VA’s
corporate data center for over 35 years. Since entering the franchise fund
pilot program in FY 1996, the AITC has expanded its business within the VA
and other Federal agencies, including General Accounting Office and the
National Archives and Records Administration.
I work for a state/local
government organization. Can we take advantage of the AITC’s services?
Unfortunately, the AITC only services other Federal clients.
I am a current customer of
the AITC. I have forgotten/misplaced my Austin user id and/or password. Where
can I get help?
Please call the AITC customer
support center (help desk) for assistance. They are available 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week at 512.326.6780.
I am a current customer of
the AITC. Where can I find specific information regarding an application run at
the Center?
The AITC maintains a large
number of application intranet Web sites at vaww.aac.va.gov.
Click on "site map" then "application sites" to find the
application you are looking for. The AITC also offers comprehensive technical
support at 512.326.6780.
What kind of training does
the AITC offer for new users?
Through the AITC’s intranet,
AITC customers can access online training for S/390 tools, including signing
on to timesharing, job control language, and performing file transfers
(FTP). This training is available at vaww.aac.va.gov/operations/austin_info.asp.
The AITC occasionally offers SAS training. Please visit vaww.aac.va.gov/sastraining/
for more information. The AITC customer support center (help desk) is also a
great source of information. They are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week at 512.326.6780.
How can I find out about employment opportunities at the AITC?
For employment and benefit
information, please visit the Human Resources section of this site. In addition to traditional job openings, the site explains
the AITC’s student career program, where college and graduate students can
work part time at the AITC while completing their degrees.
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