2. The IT@arts team has been making a lot of changes. We wanted to take the time to explain
to you what’s happening and why, and how the changes will support your work.
Everything we’re doing is focused on the staff and student experience i.e. we’re trying to
improve things for you.
We know things haven’t always been smooth, and thank you for bearing with us through
any disruptions you’ve experienced. Our goal is for the changes we are putting in place to
address some of the fundamental issues and build a framework that’s fit for the future.
All the changes we’re looking to make, we will continue to fully discuss with you, our
customer. Any changes that are decided on will only be introduced once they have been
accepted by yourselves.
What have we been up to?
3. 1. Student expectations: Students will judge us on our ability
to provide the latest equipment and IT services.
2. Security and resilience: Our current back up plans and
on-site storage facilities leave us very exposed . We’ve
been lucky so far, but we need to protect ourselves from
risks of system failure.
3. Data storage: The amount of data we are storing has risen
by a staggering 3,140% since 2006. Secure, cloud-based
services now give us the option to shop for flexible
solutions, but it’s still costly and we need to cut waste and
inefficiency by being better at managing data.
4. Rapid innovation: We need to take advantage of
innovations in technology and build an environment that
enables us to adapt to future evolutionary change.
5. Consistency: We can make things simpler and cheaper by
creating a backbone of common administrative systems.
6. Regulations: We’re at risk of large fines if we don’t comply
with regulations, such as data protection and copyright.
Six reasons why we need to transform IT
2.5TB 81TB
2600TB
The exponential rise in UAL data storage
2006
2012
2018 (projected)
1 Terabyte = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes and stores the equivalent of 500 2 hour movies
162TB
best-case
worst-case
4. Overall strategy
Our priority is to deliver and maintain day-to-day services and at the same time rebuild the underlying
structures so we can establish a framework that’s fit for the future. It’s a case of rewiring the house while
the lights are on…
stabilise simplify grow
Following a period of underinvestment, our
current IT infrastructure is both unstable and
prone to failures. As well as carrying out
repairs, we are urgently taking measures to
update services, storage and server
facilities to improve stability and security.
We can save money and time, and even
generate income by simplifying and
integrating the way our IT systems work.
With your help, we would like to reduce the
number of IT technologies, applications and
suppliers we use.
Our aim is to support UAL’s strategy for
growth. We can achieve this by building a
system that has solid common foundations,
but has the in-built flexibility to keep pace
with unpredictable future demands and
enable teams to experiment.
6. Priorities
Infrastructure
and Storage
We currently manage three
equipment rooms on site. To
create more data storage and a
more flexible, secure and resilient
service, we are moving to an
outsourced infrastructure service.
The switch over is planned for the
end of the year. A backup storage
solution for the whole university
will be in place by the end of May.
Information
Management
We need to establish how we
organise information, how we
protect it, and how we ‘retire it’.
We’re in the process of writing the
core policies and will need to
communicate some basic do’s
and don’ts in advance of an audit
in the summer.
Desktop
transformation
We’re halfway through a five year
programme to upgrade the
systems that manage our
computers and the software you
use. We'll also be upgrading
operating systems so you can
use the latest applications.
A programme of software asset
management is being
implemented to support a
standard deployment of
applications wherever possible,
whilst remaining flexible to the
needs of individual courses and
keeping pace with the latest
technologies to deliver a world-
class supported service.
You shouldn’t notice too much
changing except for a significantly
better service. The benefits are
that you will be able to access the
UAL network anytime, anyplace,
from any device.
Architecture
At the moment, our systems are a
bit like a complex spaghetti of
connections. This makes them
unreliable and costly to maintain
and develop. It also means that
data can’t be easily shared.
Our first task is to understand
how the “spaghetti” of
connections is currently working.
Ultimately, we want to design a
system that will make it easy to
access shared and report
information, across the
organisation.
7. Priorities
Hardware
This year, we’ll be spending
£1.4 million on replacing some of
UAL’s 2,800 Macs and 4,200
PCs. This is part of an rolling
hardware replacement
programme ensuring you have
access to the latest hardware.
Software
licensing
We’re conducting a review to
make sure we’ve got the right
number and range of licences to
meet users’ needs, and we’re
complying with licence
agreements.
Printing
We’re working to develop a
common print solution for all UAL
staff and students. The new
system will be in place by the end
of the year.
8. Priorities
IT Service
Desk
A new Service Management
team has been set up to
consolidate the support service
provided across the University.
The IT Service Desk will field
the first line of enquiries and 11
support engineers, who will
provide on-site services across
the organisation. The aim is to
go live with the reorganised
service on 1st August.
9. Projects we’re involved in
Online
Portfolio
Review Tool
This enables applicants to
upload their portfolio and course
leaders to review their
submission. The system was
used in January for 20 courses.
Work is underway to develop a
system that will cater for all
30,000 applicants.
Website
A more flexible, ‘mobile first’
website has been designed to
promote the UAL brand as well
as reflect the personalities of
the individual colleges. Designs
have been signed off and we’re
on track to launch on
September 17th.
Virtual
Learning
Environment
All course related information –
timetables, reading lists, course
notes, assignments – will be
moved from the current
‘Blackboard’ environment to a
new application called Moodle.
This will be the home of all
Virtual Learning applications
and will integrate with all other
systems. Courses are in the
process of being created – our
target is for all courses to be live
on Moodle by September 2013.
MyArts and
Intranet
Replacing the current MyArts, a
new homepage will become the
single point of access for all
online applications.
Sitting behind MyArts, a
redesigned intranet will give
content publishers more flexible
page templates and users more
personalised information.
10. What’s coming up
MyArts and intranet relaunch
July 31: New portal (MyArts) page launched, plus phase 1 of the intranet
Website relaunch
September 17: New website
launch
New data storage solution in place
By December: Users should experience no change,
other than a faster more reliable service.
Centralised IT Service Desk goes live
August 1: New service desk goes live. From
now on call 9898 for all IT queries
June: Phased switch over to centralised IT
Service Desk begins
New policies communicated
July: New policies introduced to tighten the way
information is managed across all sites, and to ensure
we are compliant with regulations.
IT Strategy
June: IT Strategy presented to the board
May June July August September October November December
Online Portfolio Review Tool options
By July 31: Complete project to understand
requirements and next steps for the Online
Portfolio Review Tool
Moodle launch
October: All Virtual Learning Experience programmes
now
Information Commissioner audit
August / September: Following an incident last year,
the Information Commissioner is coming in to check
what policies and practices we have in place to
protect personal data.
July - Sept: Next phase of desktop refreshments take
place
Desktop refresh
CRM
July 31: Delivering scoping for QL integration
alongside minor improvements to functionality.
May: OpenDays management
system launched
July – Sept: Annual Summer moves
Summer moves
Unified Printing Policy
July 31: supplier selection
Aug/Sept: LCF / CCW implementation
Oct/Nov: LCC / CSM implementation
Aug/Dec: Printing Policy implementation
11. How we can help
The changes we've been making to our team structures are nearing completion and we now have three new
heads of department in place.
Phil Swain
Associate Director of
Service Management
The Service Management team is
responsible for providing joined
up support for day-to-day queries
and issues. Talk to Phil if you'd
like to discuss levels of service
or support.
Helen Davies
Associate Director of
Portfolio Management
The Portfolio Management team is
responsible for co-ordinating
improvement projects. Talk to
Helen if you want to start a new
project with IT requirements.
Gareth Bedford
Associate Director of
Strategy & Architecture
The Strategy and Architecture team
is responsible for shaping the
overall design and planning for the
future. Talk to Gareth If you would
like to discuss ideas or ask
questions about technology used
at UAL.
John Brown
Director of IT
12. How you can help us
Complete security details on the password
self service site
Log your call with the IT Service Desk when you have a
problem (visit it.arts.ac.uk or call 9898)
Look out for policies coming out shortly
Some of the changes we're working on won't have any impact on you (other than an improved service).
For other changes, we will be asking you and your teams to make small changes in the way you work.
Here are some immediate things you can help us with:
New changes in regulation means
that we could risk fines of up to 2%
of our revenues if we break certain
conventions. A first step has been
to put common policies together; a
next step is to communicate them.
The IT support team receives about
5,000 calls a year about forgotten
passwords. That takes up vast
amounts of time and costs
approximately £125,000 a year.
You can save everyone time and
money by logging security details
online, so when you forget, you can
find the answer yourself.
Thank you for reading. We'll be back in touch in a few weeks with more information
about how we can protect all at UAL from IT-related risks, such as viruses, security
and regulation breaches.
