As part of a long-range information systems planning effort at the University of Miami, the impact of technology on the organization was assessed. The assessment covered hardware, office automation, systems and database software, and communications. The trends in computer hardware point toward continued decreasing size and cost, placing computer power at the closest point to human interaction. The explosion of personal computing is threatening to overshadow office automation as a unique discipline. Movements toward greater flexibility in mainframe databases, and the emergence of strong high level development tools appears to be stimulating a resurgence of custom-developed software in many institutions of higher learning. The University of Miami has recognized three interdependent arenas for automation: (1) the institutional level, based on mainframe technology, allows for the highest level of data sharing in a centralized database network; (2) the local level provides for contained data sharing within departments or operating units; and (3) the personal level allows dedicated manipulation of shared data and the proper environment for unshared data. A schematic of the overall institutional processing architecture, which represents the three-tiered approach, is included. (SW)