Management Briefing - ITS Strategy Update Part 1
Author: ITS
Posted on Feb 7, 2014
Category: Management Briefings
Management Briefing – ITS Strategy Update Part 1: 2013 in Review
Introduction
ITS’ strategic plan was revised by stakeholders and approved by UMC early last year, and UNB’s first‐ever
mobility strategy was also launched. Progress towards our objectives has been steady, with several key
projects completed and new ones started. This is the first of 2 briefings on UNB’s IT strategy, and looks back
on 2013; the second report will preview many initiatives now underway and scheduled for completion in
2014.
Quality reviews inform strategies to ensure an exceptional student experience
The revised IT strategy was developed to respond quickly and definitively to many recommendations arising
from extensive reviews of IT performance and services. For example, it was abundantly clear from user
feedback and our own data that the wireless network was not meeting the needs and expectations of the
university community. ITS led the replacement of the entire wireless network infrastructure on both the
Fredericton and Saint John campuses. Through creativity, superb planning, dedicated resources, and a bit of
luck, the project was completed in record time; we’ve not had a single complaint about wireless since.
Other projects included migration from Microsoft’s Live@edu cloud service to Office365 for students, a
quantum leap in performance and resources, all at no cost to UNB. Then, the first fully integrated UNB app
was delivered, featuring course schedules, final grades, and so on. The entire UNB website was reformatted
and refreshed to perform perfectly on any kind of device from smartphones to tablets, and has proved an
enormous success.
Focusing on innovation
ITS functions in a rapidly changing technology environment; every day a new technology or way of applying
existing technologies presents itself, and ITS needs to consider it for inclusion in its portfolio. To help us
cope with this constant influx, ITS began restructuring itself to better serve the university by being more
responsive and able to assess services and projects more effectively. An existing ITS service, the Project
Management Office, won the Macaulay‐O’Sullivan Administrative Service and Innovation Award for its
contributions to overall efficiency and effectiveness of the entire unit.
Supporting financial responsibility while building a better university
Several projects directly supported enterprise financial and operational goals. ITS delivered the VOIP
project, which is on track to result in $4M in savings to the university over 10 years. In addition, work on a
disaster recovery computing facility was largely completed; the site is designed take over enterprise
computing operations in the event of problems with the main UNB data center in Head Hall. The DR project
reduces overall risk for UNB, and ensures continuity under most circumstances. Finally, the UCard system
was deployed widely, providing convenient payment services to faculty, staff, and students alike, while
laying the groundwork for secure door access systems incorporating state‐of‐the‐art card technologies such
as tap‐and‐go, and even contactless options.
Building a better province
ITS has long been the leader in building and operating provincial and regional networks in the PSE sector,
and continued this tradition by working with consortium partners to define the first‐ever strategic plan for
the Education Computing Network, which will see better risk management and more collaborative projects.
February 7, 2014. Terry Nikkel, AVP, ITS