Information Technology Services (ITS) Strategic Plan. Release Date August 2010

Transcription

1 Infrmatin Technlgy Services (ITS) Strategic Plan Release Date August 2010 Empwering the University This is a dcument intended t guide strategy and peratins fr infrmatin technlgy at Dalhusie University. It will prvide a framewrk fr ITS and infrmatin technlgy deplyed and used acrss campus. It begins with a visin and guiding principles. Fllwing are sectins n what we d and hw we d it. This Plan recgnizes that infrmatin technlgy is embedded in nearly all aspects f the university... teaching, learning, research, administratin and recreatin. It als acknwledges the average persn has a wealth f infrmatin technlgy at their fingertips. Much f what used t be a distinct need fr supprt by an IT rganizatin is nw cmmditized and readily available as a cnsumer service. That means the IT rganizatin needs t fcus effrts and resurces n technlgies and strategies that lift Dalhusie tward strategic initiatives and disengage frm prviding services that may be ffered elsewhere, cheaper, better and mre efficiently. That will allw us t target finite resurces where they have the greatest impact and help create an envirnment that helps set us apart frm ur cmparatrs. Our verall fcus will be n service, advising and cnsulting, and the prvisin f netwrks, data, infrmatin and a cmmunicatins infrastructure. In ding s, we will achieve a careful balance between the prvisin f infrmatin access with cmmensurate security prtcls. We take ur rle in the prtectin f private infrmatin seriusly. Ultimately, we are nt here fr the business f technlgy. Rather, ur gal is t empwer the success f ur cnstituents.

2 Infrmatin Technlgy Services Strategic Plan 2010 Table f Cntents Visin... 3 Principles... 3 ITS Primary Functins... 4 Client Services... 4 Academic Innvatin & Supprt... 4 Infrmatin Management... 5 IT Infrastructure & Operatins... 5 Unified Cmmunicatins... 6 ITS Pririties... 7 Culture f service that empwers the success f thers... 7 Prject Management... 7 Prcess Integratin... 8 Data Stewardship & Security... 8 Cmmunicatins... 9 Sustainability... 9 Prfessinal Develpment Strategic Planning & Cnsulting Page 2

3 Infrmatin Technlgy Services Strategic Plan 2010 Visin Our visin is an Infrmatin Technlgy Services rganizatin that is strategically engaged with the university leadership. partners with university rganizatins in pursuit f cmmn gals and innvatin. empwers the success f thse we serve. invites and incrprates nging client feedback. prvides a blend f hsted and utsurced services. prvides cnsulting and prject management services. prvides a data envirnment that prmtes nline services, gd reprting and business intelligence. has a strng, cllabrative relatinship with distributed IT supprt staff. prmtes and trains its prfessinals t be engaged with custmers, t remain current with new and emerging technlgy skills, and t be accuntable t the changing needs f the university. practices respnsible versight f its assigned resurces. prvides empwering tls and infrmatin. Principles We are guided by the fllwing principles Technlgies shuld be aligned with the academic and business gals f the university. Gd stewardship ver finite resurces requires respnsible management, bth within and beynd ITS. When and where feasible, applicatins frm reliable, specialist prviders are preferable and mre cst-effective than in-huse develpment and supprt. Greater adherence t standards prmtes higher levels f service and supprt. Transactinal data shuld be transfrmed t institutinal knwledge. The prtectin and security f sensitive and private infrmatin is paramunt. Individuals may and shuld be respnsible fr their wn data and private infrmatin. Respnsibility fr data and netwrk security is the respnsibility f everyne. Technlgies have shrt- and lng-term csts. These need t be factred in when making decisins. Sftware and hardware have life cycles. T make rm fr new, we need t let g f the ld. A strng ITS rganizatin cannt be all things t all peple. It defines cre services and strives t perfrm them with excellence. New technlgies require change in habits and prcesses. Page 3

4 Infrmatin Technlgy Services Strategic Plan 2010 ITS Primary Functins Client Services Gal Prvide the tls and services t empwer, supprt and prmte innvatin and self-service. Identify and segment ur client base t enable targeted ffering f prducts and services. Crdinate Help Desk, repairs and desktp supprt fr walk-in, phne-in, r click-in supprt. Cntinuusly revitalize ur prduct and service fferings. Simplify ur services. Prvide advice and cnsulting. Intrduce service delivery prcesses that emphasize ne tuch service reslve the issue n the spt. Manage expectatins f clients and ITS service prviders with Service Level Agreements (SLA s). Cntinuusly assess client needs and satisfactin. Keep the campus cmmunity infrmed f IT events, issues and services. Academic Innvatin & Supprt Gal Align technlgy and supprt resurces t enhance innvatin and greater flexibility in teaching and learning. Develp an academic IT strategy by Spring Cllabrate with Library and Centre fr Learning & Teaching t enhance integrated services fr faculty and instructrs. Create a supprtive envirnment and assign resurces t experiment and absrb new and emerging technlgies with applicatin in the classrm. Supprt prfessinal schls in accreditatin prcesses. Create nline frums t enhance cmmunicatin with academic leaders. Page 4

5 Infrmatin Technlgy Services Strategic Plan 2010 Infrmatin Management Gal Prvide secure, simplified access t nline services, integrated infrmatin systems and business intelligence tls that supprt the peratinal and strategic needs f the university. Establish an infrmatin management/business intelligence framewrk including: Infrmatin management infrastructure and architecture Infrmatin security Legislative and regulatry cmpliance Business intelligence infrastructure and architecture Align the infrmatin management strategy t Dalhusie s strategic initiatives. Develp an infrmatin management and business intelligence radmap with pririties, resurces and deliverables. Develp an enterprise applicatin inventry and review cntinuusly t ensure the changing needs f the client base are being met. Define an ITS design methdlgy, develpment prcess and best practices. Prvide prject management and cnsulting services in supprt f the evaluatin, acquisitin, develpment and supprt f enterprise and integrated applicatins. Establish quality assurance (QA) standards and prvide client QA cnsultatin services fr applicatin develpment and upgrades. Fllw the rule f reuse befre acquire befre build. IT Infrastructure & Operatins Gals Prvide and cntract fr the systems and netwrk architecture fr reliable, secure, sustainable and respnsive services upn which the university relies. Prvide ubiquitus access t Dalhusie netwrks and systems with best practices arund security and prtectin. Seek cst savings thrugh best practices and cnslidatin f effrts acrss the campuses. Develp server virtualizatin t reduce hardware, supprt csts and pwer cnsumptin. Ensure apprpriate identity management fr cnstituents wh access and use university infrmatin and netwrk systems. Institute and maintain best practices fr netwrk security. Prvide the IT Infrastructure, space, HVAC, UPS, mnitring and secure hsting fr all Dalhusie infrmatin systems and servers, reducing distributed csts and redundant supprt. Oversee enterprise services and the netwrk equipment t ensure the highest levels f service, cnsistent supprt and apprpriate security. Page 5

6 Infrmatin Technlgy Services Strategic Plan 2010 Explre ptential partnerships and/r service level agreements fr new systems and acquisitins bth internal and external t Dalhusie. Increase hardware and system standardizatin by embracing industry-recmmended applicatins and supprting mainstream, standardized equipment. Maintain reginal expertise and leadership in supprting ACORN, CANARIE, ACEnet and ISInet. Update and test disaster recvery plans. Unified Cmmunicatins Gal Prvide a set f dynamic tls and infrastructure t enable cmmunicatin, cllabratin and cmmunity within and beynd the university. Establish a dynamic, interactive and infrmative web envirnment that presents Dalhusie at its best t prspective students, faculty and staff, and external cnstituents seeking infrmatin frm the university cmmunity. Prvide a rich web prtal within which services, infrmatin and resurces are presented based n established rles. Institute ne, simplified calendar system that everyne can use. Prvide a dcument and cntent strage management system that integrates needs f external and internal webs, alng with extended use by the larger campus cmmunity. Develp cllabrative nline wrkspace where students, faculty and staff may write, pst, share and edit dcuments. Establish a cmmunicatins and persnal infrmatin management system that allw individuals substantial tls and strage fr , calendar and persnal infrmatin management, seamlessly and securely integrated fr use and access anytime, anywhere, frm any device. Prvide a versatile emergency cmmunicatins infrastructure. Page 6

7 Infrmatin Technlgy Services Strategic Plan 2010 ITS Pririties Culture f service that empwers the success f thers Gal Instil a culture f integrated ITS units that are fcussed n the success f ur clients by understanding their needs, pririties, challenges and varius perspectives. Establish an ITS service training prgram. Implement systems fr nging client feedback. Institute rganizatinal and individual perfrmance bjectives that are directly tied t client satisfactin and Dalhusie`s measures f success. Establish crss-functinal service teams that are accuntable fr identifying and acting upn pprtunities t imprve client services. Create and cntinuusly refine a rbust prtfli f easy-t-use cmmunicatin tls and techniques, and ensure IT staff members are fluent in their use. Prject Management Gal Prmte prject management methdlgy t fster respnsible, effective management and implementatin f new technlgies Create a central ITS crdinatin rle fr prject management training, develpment and crdinatin. Develp a prject management training prgram fr ITS and IT staff acrss campus. Cnduct tw, 3-mnth hybrid training sessins in prject management each year. Serve as cnsultants and prject managers within ITS and amng ther Dalhusie departments. Create a culture f PM with mentring and caching fr new and aspiring prject managers. Prvide and supprt a scalable prject management apprach that can be used at bth the department and enterprise level. Create a knwledge base envirnment that prmtes best practices and resurces fr prject managers and trainees Develp prject prtflis in key units within ITS. Integrate the ITS prject management prgram with that f Facilities Management. Present ITS prgram and apprach t instilling a culture f prject management at AUCTC and ther prfessinal assciatins Page 7

8 Infrmatin Technlgy Services Strategic Plan 2010 Prcess Integratin Gal Imprve the university s return n investment in enterprise prcesses and systems thrugh prcess imprvement and systems implementatin. Facilitate business prcess integratin Prmte the benefits f integratin and the university wide perspective Maintain an nging Integratin Team t prvide a frum fr reslutin f crss system issues Advcate the usage f university-wide system standards Cmmunicate/publish prcess integratin infrmatin Manage and supprt the develpment f integrated university wide infrmatin systems prjects Prmte rganizatinal efficiencies, cntinuus imprvement and change management Cnduct business prcess analysis fr university ffices and departments Establish methdlgy and implementatin prcess Prvide nging training and supprt Advcate the use f cst benefit analysis Facilitate integrated prcess imprvement effrts Prvide integratin/analytical supprt fr strategic/decisin making activities and prject priritizatin initiatives. Data Stewardship & Security Gal T prtect the cnfidentiality, integrity and availability f the university's data and the systems used t stre and transmit it. Wrk with the Integratin Plicy Advisry Cmmittee in nging reviews and executin f the Data Administratin Plicy. Perfrm the general custdianship f general persn data used by all infrmatin systems. Perfrm biennial risk and vulnerability assessments and develp apprpriate risk mitigatin plans. Integrate infrmatin security practices and principles int IT prjects and new services. Establish guidelines and standards fr hsting and accessing sensitive and private infrmatin. Prvide infrmatin security cnsulting services thrughut the university cmmunity. Publish mnthly articles n security issues and university emplyee respnsibilities. Cperate with auditrs, legal experts, and thers tasked with ensuring ITS meets its security bligatins. Page 8

9 Infrmatin Technlgy Services Strategic Plan 2010 Cmmunicatins Gal Keep the university infrmed f IT issues, services and events, and allw fr nging feedback. Infrm the university cmmunity f changing technlgies, services and ther matters assciated with infrmatin technlgy. Maintain an ITS blg that highlights services and issues. Develp internal, dynamic cmmunicatin methds that keep varius IT staff (bth in ITS and beynd) infrmed and wrking tgether. Maintain cmmunicatins infrastructure fr emergency and urgent ntificatins t the university. Manage media relatins fr ITS. Sustainability Gal Intrduce cntinual practice and imprvements in university technlgies that reduce energy cnsumptin, lwer cst and manage the utflw f ld technlgy equipment. Centralize university servers in either the Killam r Sextn data centers. Intrduce virtual memry-ware (virtualizatin) and transitin frm ne server per ne applicatin. Expand leasing arrangements fr servers and desktp cmputers, allwing fr regular and planned equipment revitalizatin as well as dispsal. Intrduce thin client cmputing fr labs and select faculty and administrative units. Meter energy cnsumptin in Killam and Sextn data centers and develp incentives fr energy-reductin practices. Explre ptins fr harnessing heat prduct f data centers and utilizing it elsewhere. Intrduce central, remte management f university desktp and lab cmputers t maintain cntrl ver pwer settings and ther energy-saving practices. Wrk with Purchasing Services and the Office f Sustainability t reduce the use f standalne ffice equipment and enhance business prcess efficiency. Institute purchasing practices that prmte and priritize energy-saving prducts. Wrk with Office f Sustainability in the nging assessment and evaluatin f gd sustainability practices. Page 9

10 Infrmatin Technlgy Services Strategic Plan 2010 Prfessinal Develpment Gal Develp ur peple with the skills t match current and emerging university needs, and develp career paths fr grwth and sustainability. Facilitate career gal and bjective planning with emplyees n an annual basis Develp internal, nging prgrams fr IT prfessinals in: Prject management methdlgy Custmer service Prmte prfessinal develpment activities ffered thrugh prfessinal assciatins. EDUCAUSE CUCCIO AUCTC NERCOMP Others Identify and develp individuals wh demnstrate ptential fr prject leadership, manager and leadership rles. Target emplyment equity and the recruitment, retentin and prmtin f underrepresented grups Strategic Planning & Cnsulting Gal Prvide strategic planning and cnsulting fr university in supprt f strategic gals and bjectives. Prvide needs assessment and analysis services t university departments and faculties cnsidering new technlgies. Write prpsals and reprts that prvide ptins, slutins and recmmendatins based n the needs requirements. Engage executives at the strategic level t understand gals and bjectives f the university. Identify areas f redundant technlgies and supprt and develp prpsals t centralize. Remain current with changes ccurring in the industry. Page 10