The IT department at IMS is responsible for planning, implementing, securing and managing the organization's information and communication systems. This includes overseeing voice, data, imaging, internet and office automation systems. They develop budgets, policies and provide technical support to the board, founders, guests, staff, teachers, volunteers and customers. Outside vendors provide additional support services. The visible aspects of IMS IT include many computers, devices, copiers, phones and audio/visual equipment. The less visible aspects involve complex network infrastructure with many hardware, software and technical standards. Future planning focuses on succession for the core database application and upgrading wiring at the retreat center.

1. Information Technology
Charlie Stevenson

2. IT DEPARTMENT
What’s the IT department at IMS do? Who does it serve? Who helps out?

3. My Role
Responsible for planning, implementation,
security, and management of multiple
information and communications systems and
projects, including voice, data, imaging, Internet,
and office automation. Develop annual
departmental budgets and corporate IT policies
and procedures. Provide technical support and
training at all levels of the organization.

4. People I Serve
• Board of Directors
• Founders
• Guests
• Staff
• Teachers
• Volunteers
• Customers (aka Yogis )

5. Outside Help & Services
Eric Woudenberg – Dharma Seed
Geof Karlson – Yogi Enhanced System (YES)
Mark Pirani – Electrician
•Expert Laser Services (copiers)
•Charter Business (voice & Internet)
•Rapid7 (Nexpose)
•Gravity Switch (website)
•Prevco Audio (sound systems)
•CCB Nonprofits (software)
•Citrix (XenServer)
•Orange Oil (air conditioners)
•Dell (servers)
•Provantage (equipment)
Over 60 vendor/service providers including:

6. WHAT YOU SEE
The visible and tangible aspects of IMS IT

7. What you see: stuff
• Laptop & desktop computers, iPads, etc
• Copiers, fax machines, scanners, printers, labelers
• Credit card readers
• Hearing devices, microphones, amplifiers,
recording equipment
• Cameras, televisions, CD/DVD players, projectors
• Conference phones, desktop phones, cell phones,
helpdesk “red” phones, etc

8. What you see: website

9. WHAT YOU DON’T SEE
The invisible and/or intangible aspects of IMS IT

10. What You Don’t See
• Astounding layers of complexity
• Vast array of hardware, software and technical
standards & protocols to study and master
• Anticipating obsolescence/adoption of new
technologies
– rate of technological innovation leading to
dramatically short lifespan of assets and
investments in hardware, software, web presence,
data formats, storage resources, etc

11. TIP OF THE ICEBERG
How much are we talking about here?

12. By the numbers
• 15 wireless access points
• 2 VPN firewall routers
• 2 dharma talk recorders
• 4 fiber media converters
• 2 air conditioners
• 6 microphones, 2
amplifiers, 2 equalizers, 2
FM transmitters for dharma
hall wireless headsets
• 2 phone and voicemail
systems
• 2 photo copiers
• Fax machines, digital
cameras, video recorder,
etc..
• 23 telephone lines
• 2 locked fireproof storage
boxes
• Phones: 6 cell, 2
conference, 7 emergency,
40 system, 2 helpdesk “red”
phones

13. By the numbers
• 6 external drives, 2 network
attached storage (NAS), 2
storage area networks (SAN)
• 37 desktop and laptop
computers
• 20 servers
• 48 displays
• 25 network switches
• 26 print devices
• 39 battery backups
• ~11 different operating systems
• ~15 programming languages
• ~100 username and passwords
for internal systems, vendor
websites, etc
• Central anti-virus & software
management for all servers and
computers
• ~26,500 lines of code for online
registration and donation etc
• ~300,000 lines of code under
the hood in YES
• Death by acronym:
– DNS, DHCP, LDAP/AD, DFS,
HTTPS, MySQL, MS SQL,
Subversion, SSH, SAMBA, iSCSI,
VLAN, NTP, GPO, MSI, VNC,
WSUS, ODBC, IIS, SMTP, POP3,
IMAP, ARP, WPA2
• Myriad cyber threat vectors
monitored with Nexpose etc

14. PICTURE IT
My eyes just glazed over can you show me a picture?

15. Physical Inventory
* Entire inventory not depicted due to space constraints

16. Can you help me visualize IMS IT from another angle?
VISUALIZE IT

18. GLIMPSING COMPLEXITY
How do technologies intersect creating challenges for IMS IT?

19. Case study: Retreat Support
What’s needed?
A system that provides on-call help for yogis
after normal operating hours
• Needs to be easy to use
• Needs to be reliable
• Needs to be flexible—given time-off schedule
for respondents (aka retreat support fellows)

20. Case study: Retreat Support
• Red desk telephone
• No buttons
• Dials immediately when receiver lifted
• Calls Google Voice number
• Google Voice rings one or both
cell phones

21. Case study: Retreat Support
• Rugged cellphone + GPS
• Operates in all
conditions
• Clear audio
• 6 hours of talk time
• Rings when red phone
received lifted
• Receives notifications
for missed calls

22. Case study: Retreat Support

23. Case study: Retreat Support

24. Case study: Retreat Support

25. LOOKING AHEAD

26. Roadmap (Future Planning and
Investment)
• Yogi Enhanced System (YES)
– succession plan for ongoing enhancements and
maintenance of our mission critical database
application as Geof Karlson moves towards
retirement
– forward migration planning
• Upgrading obsolete wiring at Retreat Center

27. Questions?