These are the things to keep in mind if using a corporate computer on the Business School's network infrastructure:
Laptops set with corporate configurations may be impossible to support by ITG.
- Although some students already have a laptop for use at work, there may be significant limitations to its usefulness in the program. Corporate IT departments sometimes lock configurations on notebook computers by requiring an administrative password to make changes. ITG cannot configure such locked systems for our network, often due to restrictive policies in place on that computer even after obtaining the administrative password.
Corporate laptops may have connectivity issues on campus
- Please do not expect Virtual Private Network (VPN) software (typically used to securely connect to corporate networks) to function at CBS. The Schools' firewall infrastructures have extensive outbound rules which often interfere with VPN traffic and School traffic must take priority. At times, corporate computers are configured to go through a firewall for all Internet connectivity. Such configurations, which are often hidden, will not work at CBS, even if all the rest of the configuration appears to be compatible with the Business School network. Be sure to double-check the existence of a firewall with your IT department before arriving on campus.
If you use a corporate laptop, it must meet our IT requirements
- To be eligible for support at Columbia Business School's (CBS) Student Technology Centers, the laptop must satisfy the listed requirements. Note that Windows XP, macOS 10.14 and earlier, and Linux are NOT supported by our staff. If the computer must run on such operating systems, support will have to come exclusively from your corporate IT department.
If you use a corporate laptop, contact IT support several weeks in advance
- If you choose to use your corporate notebook computer for the program, you should discuss any issues with your corporate IT support staff several weeks in advance, so that you will have time to get a separate computer for use at school, if necessary.
ITG recommends having a laptop not connected to a corporate network
- This may be a machine that is exclusively for use at the program (whether a personal purchase or an employer purchase), or it may be a system that is used for travel and does not have to connect to the network at work. With a computer that does not have a potentially conflicting network configuration, you will gain the full benefit of courses that use the network in class.