IT Strategy Review
March 2014
This presentation contains a review of the implementation
of the UCD IT Strategy 2009-2013, covering:
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The background and context to the strategy
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User feedback post implementation based on survey
and focus group material
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Project and programme record of IT implementations
and current status input from senior IT staff
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Impact assessment including SWOT analysis
Background & Context to the IT Strategy
INTERNAL
EXTERNAL
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Large growth in IT service use in UCD
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Cloud platforms (& utility IT)
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Reduction in budget of circa 7% p.a.
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Social Media platforms
Tech staff attrition to external posts
(IT Services 26 leavers, 12 joiners since 2008)
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Consumerisation of IT
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Smart phones & tablets
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“Big Data” trends
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MOOCs & on-line courses
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Inter-Institutional Collaboration
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Very high user adoption of services –
UCD Connect & Blackboard
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Out-sourcing of major services –
Google, Blackboard & Helpdesk
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Modularisation “Horizons” program
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Shared service developments
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Internationalisation of UCD
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Economic downturn
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Growth of Post-Grad & Research
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Increased competition
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Campus Expansion & New buildings
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Information demand for
planning and accountability
Service Growth
- The number of wireless users on the network has grown
massively since 2007 – from equal wired/wireless, to 5 x times more wireless.
The total devices on the network in a given month is now over 60,000
In the same period the overall UCD budget spend on IT has decreased by 25%
from 11.4 mil Euro in 2008 to 8.5 mil Euro in 2014.
Profile of Investment & Performance
User Feedback – UCD Staff
Amárach Report
IT Satisfaction Level - survey
“Review how UCD staff interact with IT services”
Overall satisfaction with IT services is high among
stakeholders. For services which are used
regularly and everyday satisfaction is very high.
(90% satisfied)
25
Across the board stakeholders felt that the
organisation was well up to date in terms of
technology and updating it’s systems.
99% of stakeholders identified reliability as being
the most important aspect of IT services
Access to face to face support (41%) and 24 hour
access to services (60%) are two areas where
stakeholders felt that IT services were
performing least well
58
Very satisfied (25%)
Satisfied (58%)
Neither/Nor (12%)
12
4
1
Unsatisfied (4%)
Very unsatisfied (1%)
User Feedback – Research Foresight
A study with focus group was carried out by the Research Office in Oct 2013
Current Service Feedback
Future Requirements
A series of focus groups with
research users found overall high
satisfaction with Research IT
The expertise of the Research IT team
was positively commented on
The network, hosting, and HPC
services, including ICHEC are
meeting UCD demand
The network infrastructure is now seen
as very robust and reliable
Storage costs are still regarded as
very high by research users
The need for more advanced services was
identified, suggesting Research
requirements are moving to a new level
Expert advisory services - Three areas of
need were identified – GIS, Digital Arts &
Humanities, and Personalised Medicine
IT services should include the provision of
web design, development, & hosting
Video conferencing & podcasting supports
need to be provided as a service
Requirement to provide access to datasets
from publicly funded research
Data Management Services are essential
Strategy Objectives & Implementation
There were 5 key objectives in the IT Strategy
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Sustaining IT Infrastructure & Performance

Enhancing user experience & access to information

Building a Collaborative Data Centre

Implementing Classroom Technology & Learning Spaces

Growing eContent and Data Management Capability
The implementation of each objective is summarised in the
following slides, with a strength/weakness assessment
Strategy Objectives & Implementation
1. Sustaining IT Infrastructure & Performance
Strength / DELIVERY
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Target availability met 99.5%
Network very strong – both measured
& user feedback
Infrastructure delivered with a much
reduced budget
On campus dual Data Centre
effective, with low cost profile
Strong technical team
Effective move to out-sourcing &
virtual/cloud models
Large savings in storage and support
from Gmail / Google outsourcing
Weakness / GAP
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Aspiration to further increase
availability (99.9%), not possible
Investment level is very low (UCD
2.5% income vs. 4.4% benchmark)
Meeting future demand may be
difficult
Storage cost for Research viewed
as expensive ( currently a full cost
recovery model is used )
Attrition of skills to external market
is a threat – concentrated in
technical teams
Strategy Objectives & Implementation
2. Enhancing user experience & access to information
Strength / DELIVERY
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UCD Connect – platform of choice for
users, with high satisfaction
Web interfaces for staff to admin
systems implemented : +ive feedback.
Off-campus access and mobile services
delivered – with strong adoption
Technology in classrooms rolled out
Research services – compute & support
delivered, with high satisfaction
Management Information delivered
through InfoHub for staff
Content management system
implemented for UCD web site
Identity management implemented
Weakness / GAP
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Office automation solution not yet
finalised or implemented
Research demand is now for more
specialised advisory services
Customer awareness of some
services could be improved
Some Figures
60% off campus use of UCD Connect
200+ web sites use CMS
60,000 campus wireless devices
30,000 mobile downloads UCD app
Strategy Objectives & Implementation
3. Building a Collaborative Data Centre
Strength / DELIVERY
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Interim option to expand Daedalus
centre was implemented
Data centres on campus provided
necessary capacity for the duration of
the strategy, with DR in-built
ICHEC high performance compute was
hosted in Daedalus
Cost effective & high efficiency model
was implemented for campus DCs
UCD new investment in ICHEC condo &
in-house cluster provides for research
Future out-sourcing options for second
DC are under review
Weakness / GAP
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Plan for national data centre on
UCD campus not funded
Future capacity needs to be
sourced to meet demand – flexible
& agile option
Priority to meet UCDs strategic &
research objectives
DR and failover option required,
when/if older campus DC shuts
down (campus development plan)
Data Centre transition is a high risk
project with service implications
Strategy Objectives & Implementation
4. Implementing Classroom Technology & Learning Spaces
Strength / DELIVERY
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Standard model for classrooms
agreed and implemented with B&S
Rolled out to all “bookable” rooms
Support model agreed and
implemented
User interface, podium, PC and
technology are all easily used
External support contract for
hardware is in place
Positive feedback from staff
Daedalus equipped with
smartboards, videoconference &
multi-functional spaces
Weakness / GAP
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Lecture capture facilities are still
only used by a few – 10%
Extend technology standards to all
classrooms
Continue discussion & interaction on
design of new spaces / buildings
Ensure long term maintenance of
the new model
Strategy Objectives & Implementation
5. Growing eContent and Data Management Capability
Strength / DELIVERY
Weakness / GAP
Research Data
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Plan developed on data management
model with Research IT group
Output used with Library for future
work on data management
Advisory / training on data security
Learning Content
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Templates in Blackboard for course
delivery.
Educational technologists based in
schools ( 14/15 )
UCD initiative for on-line courses
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Some progress on research data
management & analytics, but
requirement for this is escalating
Demand for research for advisory
service around data not fully met
(apart from data security area )
Limited involvement in MOOC trials
and new public learning platforms
( Futurelearn, Udacity, Coursera
etc..)
Impact Assessment
Opportunities
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Build on high user adoption – capacity to
deliver services on a wider scale,
international and inter-institutional
Strong learning platform with capability to
deliver wide range of services – could work
in parallel with MOOC presence (for
marketing - see Edinburgh e.g. )
Transition to a cloud model with out-sourcing
and brokered services, would give high
agility
Research storage – secure /cloud capacity
possible – some subvention may be required
to drive adoption
Incentives & support to use lecture capture –
e.g. Tutorial “10min” lecture element service
Threats
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Research capability –
stronger service and skills
required in data
management & analytics
DC capacity and higher
availability required for
“consumer” type service
model
Underinvestment could
severely damage the
service
IT Skills attrition is a high risk
Strategy Summary Impact
The significant impacts of the IT Strategy were:
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Greatly improved satisfaction with user interfaces and access to information
services, reflected in high adoption rates and feedback.
Strong performance of infrastructure and high confidence in the user community
of availability of services – reflected both in general feedback & also from
research community, who have very high demands.
A strong eLearning platform base, with high use and the potential for growth
into a more sophisticated delivery model.
Transformation in working model in the University from paper based to on-line
Major objectives of the strategy were met despite a very constrained financial
environment.
Very strong capability to service mobile devices and off campus access –
meeting the changing needs of the student population.
Contribution to UCD Strategy
Learning:
IT Systems and Services provided the critical platform to support UCD’s
modularised curriculum and blended learning model.
Student information, registration, and on-line module selection were essential.
The Blackboard learning platform and classroom technology services are key
enablers of blended learning, with high adoption and ease of use.
Research:
Computation and storage are essential elements of the research
infrastructure, supporting UCD’s research intensive & inter-disciplinary strategy.
The IT Research Team model provided a customer focused service supporting
collaboration and the use of Research IT across all disciplines.
Platforms delivered by the IT Strategy are providing long term research infrastructure.
Innovation & Collaboration: UCD’s portal based IT services and integrated
systems provided a very flexible environment for multi-institutional collaboration.
Very effective in supporting the Innovation Alliance and new strategic partnerships.
Student Experience: High quality on-campus IT, with extended Mobile and
“anywhere/anytime” services match student demand & enhance the experience.
UCD IT Strategy Review – Overall SWOT
Strengths
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Very High User adoption of services
Very strong customer satisfaction
Flexible “anywhere” access (60/40)
Good infrastructure base – robust, scalable
Shared Application Standards – BlackBoard,
Connect, Gmail, CMS, InfoHub
Good Research capacity – storage/compute
Wireless network & support for mobile
Weaknesses
•
•
•
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Next stage DC infrastructure, not yet in
place – off/on campus ( high risk )
eContent & data management – initial
model in place, development required
24/7 support model & higher availability
needed to meet future demand
Complexity in wider application base
Opportunities
Threats
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•
•
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Build on high user satisfaction to broaden
services & enable UCD initiatives
UCD online & public T&L delivery models
Transition to cloud model & brokered
services for greater agility
Initiatives & incentives for eLearning
(lead)Shared initiatives for Research IT
•
•
Attrition of technical staff
Research requirements for more advanced
services need to be met to retain users
Under-investment in IT
Explosion in devices & internet of things –
access risk exposure, even greater wireless
capacity requirements