IS/IT PLAN

CONTENTS Pages

Executive Summary 2-4

Appendix A – IS/IT Steering Group and Associated Groups 4-10

Appendix B – The Two - Year IS/IT Plan 11-24

Appendix C – University Long Term Requirements for IS/IT 25-33

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IS/IT PLAN

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. Introduction and ContextThis document is developed in the light of the recent PME decision to defer the project to select a private sector Partner to work with the University over a ten-year period. It aims to develop a plan for the University to progress through an interim two-year period. It also proposes the mechanisms for the University to guide medium and long term IS/IT decisions towards the achievement of objectives for IS/IT delivery identified as part of the recent Partnership project.

The objective is to consolidate on existing systems and constrain computing costs to the 2001/2002 level of expenditure for two years (i.e. for financial years 2002/2003 and 2003/2004). This is an essential prerequisite if the University is to hold to its planned savings targets as presented to and agreed by Court. Any exceptions to this rule will be the subject of a separate business case and project budget. At the end of that interim period, subject to the University having successfully come through its present period of difficulty, it will restart a major project to satisfy the requirements identified in the Partnership scope documents.

2. IS/IT Structure, Organisation and StrategyThe recent focus of IS/IT debate within the University has been on the Partnership project. In the changed situation it is proposed that the University should clarify a number of issues and priorities and put in place an appropriate University-wide IS/IT organisation. This organisation should ensure that the limited financial and staff resources are used in the most appropriate fashion, during the two-year period, to meet short term needs whilst not compromising long term objectives.

This document is not an IS/IT Strategy, although the University’s IS/IT Strategy should be redeveloped over this two-year interim period and should be subject to regular review. The review of the strategy prior to end of this initial period will be particularly critical as it: will inevitably come at a time of intense demand for development projects and

improved access to information, and will have to review and determine the means of implementing the strategy,

whether that be in-house means, Partnership or a combination of the two.

The proposed IS/IT organisation is an integral part of the new PME Committee structure encompassing an IS/IT Steering Group and supporting groups as shown in Appendix A for approval by PME. The objectives of this structure are to: Ensure that the IS/IT Strategy and all IS/IT activities in the University are targeted

at furthering the strategic objectives of the University. Develop co-operation and integration between the various corporate and Schools

IS/IT functions for the common good of the University. Ensure that the University obtains the best value for its expenditure on all IS/IT,

particularly through the current period of financial difficulty.

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3. The Two – Year IS/IT PlanSenior corporate IS/IT staff have carried out a zero-based analysis of the existing IS/IT provision against the current levels of available budget and resource. The results are shown in Appendix B.

By constraining computing costs to the 2001/2002 level of expenditure for two years the University will be restricted to existing computer systems with little or no development. During this period it is inevitable that our base infrastructure will be at risk of degrading at least to some extent.

Both Computing Services and Corporate Information Services, but particularly the latter, will have little or no capability to respond to any requests for additional work during this period. Appendix B identifies the following important issues and risks which the University must recognise and manage through this two year period:For corporate information systems: The Integrated Research Information System (IRIS) cannot be restarted in the

foreseeable future unless additional resources are found. The Rebus PSEnterprise system can be implemented to stage 1 level but cannot be

taken further, nor made accessible from within Schools for the foreseeable future. CIS cannot contribute to the essential replacement or upgrading of the Finance

CFACS system on which support from the supplier will become at best unreliable and potentially non-existent from December 2003.

Business Objects financial reporting software will only be distributed to Schools’ Financial Controllers. The expectation of a widely deployed end-user reporting tool for corporate applications cannot be met.

Work on the Student Administration area (ISS) will concentrate on the requirements of Restructuring for the next eighteen months.

The ISS system has been developed in-house by a small group of people and the University bears a significant risk of disruption if as few as two members of CIS department were to leave the University.

For corporate infrastructure: Equipment which is approaching or has passed the end of its normal working life

is inherently less reliable and gives lower performance than new equipment, with consequent effect on service quality.

Although maintenance contracts are in place, if failure occurs it can take a significant total time for an engineer to attend on site, to repair equipment, and for systems software and data to be restored, with consequent interruption to service.

As there is no spare capacity, service performance can only degrade as demand increases, e.g. from the more widespread adoption of Scholar.

Without a planned technology refresh programme the overall age of our 'stock' increases and the service can be overtaken by developments and fall behind in terms of facilities and functionality delivered, thereby disadvantaging users, and building up a backlog of capital spend in order catch up.

User expectations of C&IT remain high and demand continues to increase, and unless these expectations are tempered through an understanding of the resource constraints, users may become dissatisfied.

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The urgent issue of upgrade or replacement of the CFACS financial software is being addressed by another group and a separate report with recommendations will be submitted to PME when this work is complete.

4. Longer Term IS/IT StrategyBeyond the two year plan with its severe restrictions on development, the University in its Strategic Plan is “committed to a University-wide standard computer-based information and learning environment for students and for academic and administrative users supported by the requisite technology”.

The IS/IT Strategy should therefore flesh out what this means and how it can be delivered. The objectives and scope of the Partnership project attempted this process, identifying objectives and some of the projects required to bring these about. Appendix C enumerates these objectives and the projects identified. It also identifies the risks and implications the University faces in delaying the development process. This document serves two important purposes: it identifies the risks and issues which the IS/IT Steering Group and its supporting

structure must manage, particularly over the next two years, and it provides a basis for the re-development of the IS/IT Strategy for the University.

5. Recommendation to PMEPME is requested to: Approve and establish the IS/IT Steering Group and supporting structure

described in Appendix A. Note the implications for an IS/IT development freeze and endorse the associated

Two - Year IS/IT Plan described in Appendix B. Require the IS/IT Steering Group to redevelop the IS/IT Strategy for the

University with the initial input of Appendix C

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APPENDIX AIS/IT Steering Group and Associated Organisation

1. BackgroundFollowing the deferment of the Partnership Project there is a pressing need for the University to revise both its IS/IT Strategy and the IS/IT management structure through which that strategy is to be pursued.

In the next couple of years the University will be seeking to conserve its IS/IT resources through the period of financial difficulties. However, it must also position itself for the end of this interim period, to be ready to move forward in a co-ordinated way to implement the core applications which the Partnership Project work identified as essential to support the University’s aspirations.

It will be important to ensure that through both these stages there is a heightened level of co-operation and seeking of joint goals between the corporate IS/IT functions, Computing Services and Corporate Information Services, and the other parts of the University which maintain IS/IT staff - Schools, LTC, Corporate Communications, Library.

It is proposed that PME should establish a more proactive IS/IT management structure which is an integral component of the University’s management structure at all levels. Its aims should include: To ensure that all IS/IT activities in the University are targeted at furthering the

strategic objectives of the University. To ensure that the IS/IT strategy and policy underpin the University’s Strategies

and Plans. To ensure that the University obtains the best value for its entire expenditure on

IS/IT, particularly through the current period of financial difficulty.

This paper is an outline proposal rather than a prescriptive model. The expectation is that the proposed Steering Group will itself finalise the management model that is to take ‘ownership’ of the strategy.

2. IS/IT StrategyThe strategy should set the overall direction for the use of information and information systems and related technologies in the University. It should be business driven, not technology led. IS/IT is the servant not the master. It should reflect the current needs of the University and be capable of being responsive as those needs change in the future. It should provide the framework in which to meet the information needs of individual business areas and of the University as a whole.

The University currently has a better understanding of its IS/IT needs than it has ever had before. This is as a result of work completed or initiated during the Partnership Project. It is important not to lose this advantage, even if short term financial restrictions preclude major implementation projects over the next two years.

To define the IS/IT strategy itself in any more detail at this outline stage would be premature. It is the responsibility of the IS/IT Management Structure to take it forward from here. The Management Structure should ensure that the chosen strategy

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closely fits the University’s needs, and should have clear executive responsibility for pursuing and resourcing its successful implementation both at the corporate level and within the schools and institutes.

3. Reporting Structures and BodiesIt is proposed that the revised IS/IT organisation should be headed up by a Steering Group which reports to PME as a committee within the committee structure currently being re-defined for PME and Senate. It should be supported by strong functional management from support groups at both the business and technical levels with remits to ensure that services are efficiently delivered and used, and that development projects are properly defined and planned within the context of the overarching IS/IT Strategy. It is proposed that two support groups are established: An “IS/IT Service Providers Group” bringing together the Schools and Corporate

IS/IT functions to ensure maximum co-operation and co-ordination across the University.

An “IS/IT Client Group” to identify and promote University-wide IS/IT requirements and issues.

Membership and remit of these groups is considered in outline only in this paper, it is anticipated that the Steering Group would itself assume responsibility for detailing the nature and membership of its sub-groups.

3.1 IS/IT Steering GroupThe IS/IT Steering Group should be the forum to discuss and decide upon strategic IS/IT issues, and the prioritisation and resourcing of projects. It should be integral to the senior management structure of PME, with whom it would work very closely through its Chair, the Vice-Principal.

It should have executive powers for the implementation, prioritisation and resourcing of the agreed strategy, delegated by PME through the Chair, with: Authority over clear business areas, as held both by the ex officio role of its

members and by its powers delegated by PME An overall IS/IT budget for those areas Control over the priority of service changes and development requests.

Its budget should include two components: A baseline of the minimum budget required for a 'steady state', i.e. to cover all

fixed costs for existing services provided by Computing Services and CIS A ‘minor development fund’ available for it to use on IS/IT developments, and for

which its Sub-groups could bid through project proposals

This budget would be allocated ‘up front’ each year. The baseline component would be fixed from the request submitted by Computing Services and CIS. The development funds over this baseline would be set at a level proposed by the Steering Group in consultation (through the Vice-Principal) with PME.

The Group would prepare a rolling prioritised development plan for new developments. This plan will be implemented on the basis of project based resourcing as funds become available. The group will also judge the use of existing resources,

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e.g. staff time, and be empowered to decide between competing long running projects, e.g. further development of Student Information Services vs. Research Management.

The Steering Group remit should further include: Own and monitor the development and implementation of the IS/IT Strategy and

also the short term plan currently being developed to cover the next two years of financial difficulty.

Manage the authorisation process and direct the implementation processes for all new IS/IT projects. This would involve: Review and where appropriate approve all requests for feasibility studies into

new projects authorising the Support Groups to carry out the feasibility study. Review corporate project feasibility studies, recommended by the Support

Groups, which have an expected IS/IT expenditure element (including additional staff costs) in excess of £10,000. Where appropriate approve such feasibility studies, either for immediate implementation where funding and resources were already agreed, or are to come from the Development budget; or for inclusion in the annual planning round; or in urgent cases for immediate submission to PME for special authorisation.

Review and comment on Schools projects with an expected IS/IT expenditure element in excess of £10,000.

Projects should be submitted for review in a format which identifies the full costs, full resource requirements, implications for other projects or services and the fit with the University’s IS/IT Strategy or short term development plan (see 3.5 below).

Review progress on major projects (see 3.5 below) Receive and consider minutes from the Support Groups Respond to matters brought to its attention by the Support Groups.

The membership of the Steering Group, which should meet at least quarterly, might be: Vice-Principal (Chair) Asst Principal – Resources Representative from Support Services Board Representative from Teaching and Learning Board Representative from Research Board Chair from each of the two Support Groups Senate Representative

3.2 IS/IT Service Providers GroupThe objectives of the IS/IT Service Providers Group should include the following list: Develop the IS/IT Strategy, with the approval from the Steering Group, and

ensure that it remains consistent with the University’s aims and objectives Monitor IS/IT technical developments and issues and bring to attention of

Steering Group those which can provide benefit to University. Act as the focus for the co-ordination of all IS/IT activities in the University and

to promote co-operation and sharing of developments and ideas between corporate and Schools IS/IT resources.

Monitor the technical performance of the University’s IT infrastructure and systems and recommend any necessary actions or initiatives to the Steering Group or to individual Schools.

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Review proposals and requests from users and determine those which require a request to the Steering Group to develop a project feasibility study.

Carry out, in co-operation with the Client Group and with appropriate input from other parts of the University, feasibility studies into IS/IT proposals as directed by the Steering Group.

Respond to other matters brought to its attention by the Steering Group or by other IS/IT Groups and Committees.

The membership of the IS/IT Service Providers Group, which should meet monthly and should represent all IS/IT resources across the University, therefore might include: Chair –Director of Computing Services Manager Corporate Information Services Senior IS/IT Officer from each School and Post Graduate Institute Managers from Computing Services and Corporate Information Services:

Network Services Manager Systems Manager Desktop Services Manager Project/Development Manager

Representative from LTC Representative from Corporate Communications Representative from Library

3.3 IS/IT Client GroupThis group would both propose development plans in support of their own business areas and be a forum for the understanding and initial prioritisation of each other’s user requirements.

The objectives of the IS/IT Client Group should include: Contribute to the development of the IS/IT Strategy and ensure that it remains

consistent with the University’s aims and objectives Act as the focus for the co-ordination of all IS/IT application activities and

requirements, and promote co-operation and sharing of applications, developments and ideas between the corporate departments, Schools and Institutes regarding IS/IT applications

Monitor the performance of the corporate applications against agreed service levels and recommend any necessary actions or initiatives to the Steering Group or to individual Schools.

Review proposals and requests from corporate users and determine those which require a request to Steering Group to develop a project feasibility study.

Carry out, in co-operation with the Service Providers Group and with other appropriate input from other parts of the University, feasibility studies into IS/IT proposals as directed by the Steering Group.

As directed by the Steering Group and with appropriate assistance from other parts of the University, develop requirements specifications for new or replacement systems.

Respond to other matters brought to its attention by the Steering Group and other related User Groups.

The membership of the IS/IT Client Group might include:

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Chair - Manager Corporate Information Services Director of Computing Services Representatives from:

Each School and Institute Student Body Central/Administration Services, e.g.

Finance Academic Registry Estates Personnel Corporate Communications Library TRS

It may be considered appropriate for the two support groups to hold periodic joint meetings.

3.4 Delivery GroupsIS/IT delivery would remain, as now in the hands of Computing Services, Corporate Information Services and Schools Computing Officers.

CS and CIS would report to the Vice-Principal and respond to the Steering Group and its Support Groups. In the short term, with reduced resources every effort should be made to exploit synergies and avoid duplication between these two departments. Their immediate schedules of work would be determined by the two-year plan being developed, which would be modified only by the Steering Group.

The Schools Computing Officers will continue to report to Heads of School, but through involvement in the Service Providers Group, they will seek to benefit from activities in other Schools, avoid unnecessary repetition and contribute to the delivery of the overall University IS/IT Strategy.

In the interim period any projects approved over and above the care and maintenance budget, as the result of a business case, should have a Project Manager, probably but not necessarily taken from one of the above Groups. The appropriate reporting mechanism to the Steering Group would be agreed as part of business case approval.

3.5 Project DefinitionThe IS/IT Strategy and the two year plan will be delivered by a programme made up of individual, but inter-related projects which will consume resources including IS/IT staff and user staff time, and funding for hardware and software. Therefore the Steering Group should ensure that no project, either in the short or long term horizon, should be undertaken unless:

There is a clear and demonstrated fit to the Strategy, or short term plan. A feasibility study has been undertaken which has considered alternatives and

demonstrated the costs and benefits. Resources to undertake the project within the agreed timescale are defined and

committed.

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There is a Project Sponsor who has the desire and the stature to be the evangelist for the project within the University.

There is a proper Project Management Mechanism in place with a clearly defined Project Manager and clearly defined reporting link into the Steering and Support Groups.

There is a clearly defined Project Plan There is an assessment of risks.

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Appendix BThe Two -Year IS/IT Plan

1. Computing ServicesBy 1 October 2002, Computing Services will have lost 29% of its overall staff through the Voluntary Severance Scheme and the loss of posts which have not been filled following resignations and internal transfers.

The analysis below outlines the work that is considered essential for the continued successful delivery and support of services for the next two years up to August 2004.

The plan takes the form of a list of identifiable objectives, some of which result in specific deliverables, and others which contribute to the general consolidation and ongoing maintenance of service quality. It is based on the assumptions of:

retaining the current staff resource (as at May 2002, allowing for voluntary severance due)

retaining the remainder of the budget allocation for 2001/2 being allocated the budget request submitted for the 2002/3 Planning

Round.

The schedule for certain of the objectives is determined by ‘external’ factors such as restructuring, and the start of each new academic year. The estimated completion dates for the others depend on the residual resource once these high priority tasks have been completed, and may be subject to slippage in the face of unpredictable support demands such as fault diagnosis and correction. Objectives which assess the feasibility of possible actions are included, but these will again depend on residual resource. The plan is of necessity flexible, to accommodate adjustments to schedules and content in response to changes in circumstance, in technology, and in user demand over the period.

The reduced staffing capacity and the budgetary constraints mean that the plan is severely limited in its range, and in the speed with which many of the tasks can be completed. It is of necessity conservative, aiming to achieve no more than the care and maintenance of the existing corporate IS/IT services.

Whilst no major enhancements to or expansion of services can be included, the plan does aim to ensure that all mission critical services, such as email and H-Web, will at least keep pace with the irrepressible increase in demand, and that adequate levels of security and resilience will be retained within the infrastructure. Where changes are made and new features are introduced, they are essential to support existing services in the short term, and to ensure that the University remains well-positioned for service developments in the longer term.

In addition to the specific objectives that are listed, considerable resource will be consumed in areas where there is no direct result or definable objective other than maintenance of the status quo. The activities in this category include: Day to day operation and support of all current services - whilst also trying to

'work smarter’ wherever possible, to deliver the same with less.

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Professional awareness and staff development - keeping up to date with technology and its applicability across the University, staff training to keep skill sets up to date and appropriate.

Community awareness - participating in HE sector community activities, both gaining from and contributing to them, e.g. UCISA, UKERNA, EaStMAN, JISC RSC.

Standards - monitoring, regulating and promoting the adoption of all applicable standards for IS/IT across the institution. As the corporate providers Computing Services are responsible for compliance, e.g. software licensing, Regulation 29, Security Policy.

Performing required role in the emergent IS/IT management structure, contributing to IS/IT Strategy development and implementation, liaising with Schools/Institutes, other service providers, etc.

There are a number of risks associated with the infrastructure which the University must manage through the 2-year care and maintenance period, these include: Equipment which is approaching or has passed the end of its normal working life

is inherently less reliable and gives lower performance than new equipment, with consequent effect on service quality

Although maintenance contracts are in place, if failure occurs it can take a significant total time for an engineer to attend on site, to repair equipment, and for systems software and data to be restored, with consequent interruption to service

As there is no spare capacity, service performance can only degrade as demand increases, e.g. from the more widespread adoption of SCHOLAR

Without a planned technology refresh programme the overall age of our 'stock' increases and the service can be overtaken by developments and fall behind in terms of facilities and functionality delivered, thereby disadvantaging users, and building up a backlog of capital spend in order catch up

User expectations of C&IT remain high and demand continues to increase, and unless these expectations are tempered through an understanding of the resource constraints, users may become dissatisfied

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Computing Services Two - Year Plan

Key to Priority:H High Urgent, must happen by date as external factors involved.M Medium Must happen, but date can slip under pressure of support demands.L Low May happen, depends on residual resource.

Area Objective CommentsDateTo

CompletePrty

Corporate Information Systems

Renew/upgrade various MIS servers: operating system, core software and hardware. Migration of ISS database to new server, possible migration of the Personnel database to new server.

In association with CIS. HP/UX, Oracle, CFACS, etc. Additional CPU, memory, disk space.

TomatchCISplan.

H

Directory Services

Rollout of the broader use of the central Heriot-Watt Directory Services (LDAP) as corporate directory service

Use central LDAP directory in conjunction with all mail transfers.

Move towards single sign-on. Integrate with UKERNA work on UK wide Directory Service.

12/02

10/02

H

HDisaster Recovery

Refine and broaden Computing Services draft plan in conjunction with overall corporate plan, to include all services

Prepare a location for a replacement MIS server in the event of a disaster.

With Emergency Planning Group, etc.

Plan is in place for MIS hardware, but no suitable location has been identified.

12/03

7/03

M

M

Disposal and Recycling

Investigate and develop a disposal/recycling policy for old and redundant equipment.

Secure, environmentally friendly. Liaise with Purchasing and Supplies.

3/03 L

Email Renew/upgrade operating system and mail server software on all mail servers, including Webmail, and update spam and virus detection software.

Rollout improved mail service at SBC. Renew/upgrade personal address books, calendar service, including those on

Webmail Move all inbound email to be routed through the central relays.

Staged. Exim 4 enhanced performance and security.SpamAssassin and Mailscanner wrappers.Resilience to SBC mail arrangementsStaged

Install additional mail relay

10/02 to 3/039/025/02 to 12/027/04

H

H

ML

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Area Objective CommentsDateTo

CompletePrty

General ComputingFacilities

Renew/upgrade multi-user Unix service. Assess provision of media server for unicasting and multicasting and adjust plan to

accommodate if feasible. Rollout the database of images relating to Heriot-Watt Assess provision of distributed computation deploying unused CPU power in PC

Caledonia and adjust plan to accommodate if feasible.

Enhance server capacity and function.Footage of the graduation ceremony etc., and applications in teaching/learningPrntng & Media Srvcs, Corp Comms. StagedTo address demand from compute intensive research groups within the University.

10/027/03

7/02 on7/04

HL

LL

Income Generation

Assess desirability and implications of methods of generating additional income, and adjust plan if feasible.

Schemes such as Screentime where income is generated through banner adverts on desktops or in screensavers etc. Reg 29 implications.

7/03 L

Infrastructure Complete enhanced 3-phase power distribution in machine room. Install UPS on core switches located at various key network 'junctions' Enhance mechanism for Schools to manage sub-network configuration Enhance the methods used for information access control. Refine the Domain Name Registration process

Improve safety, control, resilienceResilience.

Secure, failsafe. no direct editing of filesMultiple views (DNS Bind 9) , cntrl via IP address.Clarify, improve management processes

7/027/02

10/0210/027/03

HH

HHM

Inventory Rollout automated PC configuration and inventory recording. Survey campus fibre network. Populate inventory of all Computing Services assets.

Generate reports automatically (ZenWorks 3.2)Update records, assess condition of ducts, etc.Collection, collation and input of data in standard format

3/033/037/03

MMM

Networking Wide Area Network - implement re-procured services for EaStMAN Increase speed of centrally networked services Implement load balancing scheme for traffic to high profile services Investigate re-procurement of core campus network at Riccarton ahead of expiry of

current contract, plan for future requirements of data, voice and video. Investigate re-procurement of SBC link ahead of expiry of current contract, plan for

future requirements of data, voice and video. Assess provision of itinerant access on campus for staff and student laptops, and

adjust plan to accommodate if feasible.

External funding. Switchable high speed ports.Gigabit for PC Caledonia, email, WWW, etc.Admin network. email, WWW and SCHOLAR.To replace obsolete equipment and renew/upgrade services, e.g. voice over IPTake account of EaStMAN involvement, and JANET PoP Wireless or other method. Security, connect into De-militarised Zone (DMZ)

7/029/023/037/04

7/04

10/03

HHMM

M

M

PC Service Update/replace core standard web browser software on PCaledonia and admin PC service

Internet Explorer 5.5 web browser to replace Netscape, to meet user demand, e.g. Scholar.

9/02 H

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Area Objective CommentsDateTo

CompletePrty

Update/replace core standard email client software. Provide additional central PC Caledonia labs as and when accommodation and

equipment become available. Replace home directory fileservers in PC Caledonia (student filestore) Remove old SBC Netware server. Improve management of desktop PCs Upgrade client software operating system on desktop PCs. Upgrade file server operating system Assess desirability and implications of updating core standard suite of office

software, and adjust plan to accommodate if feasible. Assess desirability and implications of updating core standard desktop PC operating

system, and adjust plan to accommodate if feasible. Assess desirability and implications of new staff/student service and adjust plan to

accommodate if feasible.

Microsoft Outlook Express to replace Simeon 2 additional labs to meet demand for central labs and meet Scholar teaching requirements.Renewal of obsolete hardware.Transfer SBC staff accounts to PC CaledoniaSetup DHCP for all admin desktop PCs PC Caledonia and staff PCPC Caledonia file servers to Netware 5.1Evaluate Office 2000 Professional and Office XP Professional as a replacement for Office 97Evaluate Windows 2000 Professional and Windows XP ProfessionalCombined staff/student desktop PC service, bringing together disparate services currently provided for students, central administrators, SBCand Computing Services staff.

9/029/02

10/0210/0210/0210/027/0312/02

12/02

10/03

HHH

HHHHM

M

L

Quality of Service

Investigate how to 'work smarter', optimise use of staff resource across both campuses, e.g. Web-accessible resource/project tracking tools.

Introduce improved methods for providing out of hours cover. Introduce SLAs , PIs, etc. with mechanisms to enable them to be reviewed and

monitored. Expansion of statistical and logging services, enhance existing PC Caledonia

statistics Introduce Facilities Management Contracts. Investigate ways to introduce and nurture greater co-operation, integration, etc.,

between the corporate IS/IT service provision and that in Schools/Institutes. Implement a central server and service monitoring system

Staff leaving under voluntary severance, further integrate and distribute tasks to SBC staff Record incidents to provide feedbackReference to NCC report where appropriate

Record "metrics" for network and server performance and useFormalise cross-section services, e.g. HWeb Within emergent C&IT management structure, e.g. through inter and intra school SLAs, FM contracts.Similar to that already provided for Network Services

12/02

10/027/03

7/03

7/037/03

10/03

H

HM

M

MM

M

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Area Objective CommentsDateTo

CompletePrty

Remote Access

Update/replace dialin service with authentication through Heriot-Watt Directory Service.

Provide secure authenticated access for external users to University services that would otherwise only be available to users on Campus, e.g. Library catalogues, information services, and journals.

Provide secure authenticated off-campus access to the central student/staff file store.

Provide 30 lines @ 56K . Integrate with LDAP.

Incoming Proxy service

Possibly using a secure ftp facility into PC Caledonia.

7/02

3/03

10/02

H

M

M

Remote Management

Implement off-site management tools, for secure off-site diagnoses and resolution of server and network problems

Enhances 24 x 7 cover. 10/03 M

Schools Restructuring

Install School of Engineering and Physical Sciences network connections. Provide administrative file share capability, available in Schools in a secure

manner. Upgrade administrative fileservers to address school administrators' needs Assess additional security requirement for Schools firewalls. Core network reconfigurations as required for emerging needs of Schools. Assess desirability and implications of the provision of central administrative

services through a Web interface to Schools (Thin Client) in a secure manner and adjust plan to accommodate if feasible.

Connect Chemistry to Electrical Engineering.Finance and Registry to share documents with central administrators and those in Schools.4 servers to Novell Netware 5.1 Schools' needs emerge during academic year.Network cards, cabling, etc.

9/028/02

8/027/037/037/04

HH

HMML

Security Renew/upgrade operating system and hardware for administration firewall Provide enhanced central services firewall to protect as many central services from

the rest of the network as possible. Introduce new security monitoring/testing tools, to enhance diagnostic and

proactive protective capabilities. Enhance security of mail for sending and reading mail, and of upgraded dual-server

webmail service Renew/upgrade campus firewall to ensure performance continues to match the

throughput demands and network bandwidth Move all Schools and services behind the firewall(s), including SBC, in compliance

with Security Policy Complete implementation and adoption of the University Security Policy, including

Standards and Procedures documentation.

Performance, throughput, resilience, more memoryExtend to cover all major services. Include Scholar. Vulnerability Assmnt. NIDS - Ntwk Intrsn Dtctn Sys Staged. Allow only encrypted connections outside and smtp relay only from authenticated users

Increase to Gbit bandwidth of EaStMAN and JANET

Completion and revision of rollout programme to reflect schools structureSeek endorsement by PME, updated to reflect Schools structure

10/0212/02

10/02 to 6/037/02

8/02

10/02

10/02

HH

H

H

H

M

M

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Area Objective CommentsDateTo

CompletePrty

Provide enhanced security measures to prevent unauthorised use of the University network and network points

High Availability system, more memoryPrevent unauthorised connection of laptops, etc.

7/03 M

Support Computing Services staff training. Provision of tools for Help Desk to enable remote diagnosis and correction of

desktop PC problems Discuss user training needs with Staff Development

Help Desk new user registration system, etc.ZenWorks 3.2 remote control facilities, screen monitoring, etc.Updating of course materials to new software

9/0210/02

3/03

HH

M

Telephony Services

Staff/PABX - ensure sufficient capacity continues to be available. Student Services in Residences - contingency planning Rollout voice mail in response to requests Assess desirability and implications of integration of voice and data services. Pilot

of IP Telephony. Extend unified messaging. Adjust plan to accommodate if feasible

Interim upgrade to main exchange.In liaison with Purchasing and SuppliesAvailable on requestRequires funding for upgrade of exchange. Will enable familiarisation with IP Telephony and Voice over IP for future. Also requires phased upgrades of academic building cabling over next 2-3 years.

12/0210/027/037/04

HHML

User Registration

Renew/upgrade/replace user registration and account management system, using Heriot-Watt Directory Services

Integrated with LDAP Directory, ISS, and Personnel databases.

9/02 H

Web Services Update the Web proxy/cache system to provide faster access to the Internet for more of the University in a controlled manner.

Set up a new development Web service for Schools and central departments. Update the central university web server (and virtual web server) with updated

operating system and software. Investigate and implement software tools to allow controlled privileged access to

Corporate Communications staff to aid HWeb management. Implement a dynamic (database driven) Web service to provide the University

Prospectus etc. Assess desirability and implications of a Content Management System for the

central Web pages, and investigate making this available to all Schools. Assess desirability and implications of provision of a central Web Board service,

and adjust plan to accommodate if feasible. Assess desirability and implications of Web-based calendar and diary services for

staff and students, and adjust plan to accommodate if feasible.

Regulation 29, restricting access to certain web sites e.g. pornography, games, gambling etc.For development/testing without risk to live service.For improved performance, resilience and manageabilityConserve security, integrity, resilience, etc. whilst allowing efficient joint service delivery.Ease of management, accuracy and consistency of contentSimplifies process of overall management and of web page generation, using agreed styles.Allow student (and other) groups to set up discussion areasEfficiency improvement for group working, and the sharing of information, keeping it current, etc.

12/02

11/0212/02

12/02

3/03

12/02

12/02

3/03

M

MM

M

L

L

L

L

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2. Corporate Information ServicesCIS began 2001/2002 with 8 staff (2 technical project managers, 4 application developers, 1 database administrator and 1 manager). Since that point one person was seconded into CIS to support the implementation of the personnel project, but she subsequently resigned. One of the project managers resigned in early 2002 and the Vacancy Management Group approved a replacement for his post but this was subsequently offered as one of the IS/IT contributions to the overall staff reduction targets, anticipating the appointment of an IS/IT Partner for the University.

The analysis below identifies the immediate workload to October 2002, and then the additional workload to July 2003. It clearly indicates that with current resources CIS can only support its four major customer business areas (Student Administration, Research, Finance and Personnel) to a very limited degree with current resources. In particular it is very important that all interested parties understand that: The Integrated Research Information System (IRIS) cannot be restarted in the

forseeable future. The Rebus PSEnterprise system can be implemented to stage 1 level but cannot be

taken further, nor made accessible from within Schools for the foreseeable future. CIS cannot contribute to the replacement or upgrading of the Finance CFACS

system on which support from the supplier will become at best unreliable and potentially non-existent from December 2003.

Business Objects financial reporting software will be only be distributed to Schools’ Financial Controllers. The expectation of a widely deployed end-user-reporting tool for corporate applications cannot be met.

Work on the Student Administration area (ISS) will concentrate on the requirements of Restructuring for the next eighteen months.

There is a 2-year backlog of operating system, database, development tools and application upgrades which must be tackled as a priority.

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Current work in progress (May – Oct) assumptions and short-term issues

CIS’ current work is dominated by restructuring issues. Responsibility for Administrative functions is being devolved, where possible, to School administration staff. This is beginning with School financial controllers and School responsibility for some registry functions.

Project Assumption Work in progress IssuesFinance Each School will have a financial

controller. This member of staff (only) will require ‘Business Objects’ software that will allow them to run pre-written reports.Changing staff roles and locations will be handled primarily within the CFACS system by the Finance office.

CFACS system to support new organisation structures as the definitions emerge (mainly in the creation of new cost centres and users). CIS are upgrading Business Objects from version 4 to version 5. External consultants have been commissioned (approx. £5,000) to assist in the migration of the reports and ‘universes’, to develop a more maintainable security structure and to develop an approach that will allow Schools to see only data relevant to their own cost centres.

There is an expectation that the Business Objects software will be distributed more widely and that Schools’ financial controllers will be able to develop their own financial reports.

Student Administration

Many administrative functions will be devolved to School administration staff. E.g. Schools will be responsible for the registration of distance learning students (using ISS (except EBS)). Schools will have controlled access to enter and amend student information related to their own students.The October registration event will NOT be changed during 2002.

Considerable work is in progress to implement the required security structure within ISS. Procedures relating to student fee management and the division of responsibilities between the Schools, Registry and Finance are underway. Software is being prototyped to elicit further details.ISS is being developed to be the

Work related to fee management is based on an agreement in principal regarding new responsibilities. The procedures themselves are under investigation. It is not clear when the software will be complete. The target date is August 2002.

CIS expect that the changing division of responsibilities will highlight many new development requirements and that

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definitive source of programme, course and module specifications.All Courses and Modules are being renumbered (at the request of the user community) to reflect the new organisational structure.The timetabling software will reflect the new organisational structure, course and module codes.

August 2002 marks the beginning of the restructuring effort for this large in-house project.

Research The Integrated Research Information System (IRIS) project aims to replace the ‘Unilink’ software in respect of research activity and consultancy information management.

The Unilink software will receive no further development and will not be expected to model the University’s new organisational structure.

The IRIS project (currently frozen) will resume when CIS has some resource available.

IRIS is intended to be implemented throughout the Schools.

None.This project was frozen by CIS after the departure and non-replacement of Shirley Sharpe (seconded re personnel) and Alan Gray (replacement approved by vacancy management group but post sacrificed as part of staff reduction targets).

This project should be one of CIS’ major areas of work but it will not be possible to restart the project until there is capacity within CIS.

Personnel The Rebus PSEnterprise system will replace Percom in terms of ‘core HR’ in

Final data entry and comprehensive data checking to be completed in early June.

There is no definition of the next stages of this project beyond Personnel, Payroll

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June 2002. This will be followed by work to more closely integrate personnel, payroll and finance systems.The personnel system will NOT be accessible from within Schools in the short term.

The personnel project definition suggests a range of further developments including1) Support for a redesigned approach to

recruitment and the associated information flows.

2) The use of PSEnterprise for staff development recording

3) Devolved access and update of personnel data within Schools

4) Web deployed access to personnel records to individual staff.

Core system to go live in June.Percom to be run in parallel until July 31st

and used to provide 2002 HESA return.PSEnterprise HESA module to be implemented in July and parallel run against known Percom approach.PSEnterprise to model new organisational structure to come into effect on 1 August 2002.Personnel, payroll and finance systems to reflect new organisation structure relating to salaries by August 2002.

and Finance integration. Hence, there has been no budget submission in respect of further developments.CIS have no project manager allocated to this project.There is an expectation that the Personnel system will be accessible from within the Schools. This requires more investigation than is possible at present.

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CIS plans (October 2002 – July 2003) assumptions and short-term issues

CIS expect that restructuring and the changing division of responsibilities between ‘central’ administration and School based administration will raise many development requests across all project areas.

Project Assumption Work anticipated Staffing and resourcesStudent Administration

This is CIS’ largest project and has a small ‘ring-fenced’ team of one project manager and three developers. Historically this has required a disparate ‘client group’ ranging from admissions to alumni to co-ordinate development requests given the available (CIS) resources.

CIS expect that the changing division of responsibilities will highlight many new development requirements and that August 2002 marks the beginning of the restructuring effort for this large in-house project.

A known issue is that the Allocate early statistical return and income distribution model may require work to accommodate any changes to funding allocation and service teaching rules.

The ISS product, both desktop and web versions require the underlying Oracle software to be updated to a more recent version.

However development requests are to be proposed and prioritised this project area will continue to require one full-time project manager and three developers for the foreseeable future.

Finance The CFACS/POP system will remain essentially unchanged. Financial reports (that can be run in Schools) will be developed within the Finance office.

The CFACS/POP system will either be upgraded or replaced during 2003/2004 as the current product becomes unsupported by Cedar Ltd in December 2003.

CIS will not have the technical project management capacity to implement a new finance system as a replacement for CFACS.

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Research The IRIS system is designed to make extensive use of reference data drawn from the existing finance and personnel systems. It would not be sensible to implement the IRIS system until the Personnel, Payroll and Finance integration is complete.

Complete a short pilot implementation within TRS to determine this projects’ actual staffing requirements (originally estimated at 1 person-year).

This project is competing against the Finance and Personnel projects for the very limited resources available (1 person).

Personnel The personnel project definition suggests a range of further developments including1) Support for a redesigned approach to

recruitment and the associated information flows.

2) The use of PSEnterprise for staff development recording

3) Devolved access and update of personnel data within Schools

4) Web deployed access to personnel records to individual staff.

To be decided This project is competing against the Finance and Research projects for the very limited resources available (1 person).

Infrastructure and ‘renewal’

It is an unacceptable risk to run a business critical system that has no technical support from its vendor.

Hardware and software should not continue to be used beyond its ‘end of life’.

Almost all CIS supported systems are based on software systems last upgraded

The following software must be upgraded in 2002/2003

The HP Unix operating system from HP/UX 10.20 to 11.00 or above.

The Oracle database server software from Oracle 7.3.4 to Oracle 8 or 9.

CIS’ Oracle application development and run-time suite from Developer 2000 to Developer 6i.

All the necessary upgrades to Oracle and third party software are available as part of our licence agreements and will incur little direct cost. However, some operating system/database software/application software dependencies may require additional hardware.

The amount of upgrade work necessary

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in 1998. Version upgrades scheduled for 2001/2002 were suspended as part of the IS/IT partnership project.

Most of CIS’ development software, database software and web servers are already beyond ‘extended support’ and are now officially unsupported.

The Oracle web server software from OAS 3 to IAS9 or a suitable alternative technology.

The Oracle ‘browser’ reporting tool from browser 2.0 to a suitable alternative (e.g. Business Objects)

The Syllabus Plus timetabling software from v2 to v3.

The Scientia Exam Scheduling software from v1.0.1 to v1.5

will occupy a considerable amount of CIS staff time and effort and will require considerable end-user testing and training for those products that must be replaced rather than upgraded.

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APPENDIX C

University Long Term Requirements for IS/IT Delivery – Basis for Redeveloped IS/IT Strategy

The short term implications of minimal development in the next two years are identified in Appendix B. The longer term implications relate to the delay this interim plan will cause to the achievement of the longer term objectives and scope developed as part of the Partnership project and enshrined in the University’s Strategic Plan. The University should not lose sight of these objectives and they should be part of the agenda of the IS/IT Steering Group and form the basis of the redeveloped IS/IT Strategy.

1. User DemandThe objectives identified in the Partnership documentation, which represent primarily the user demand side of the strategy equation included: For Administration and Management Information - replace or develop the

existing corporate applications with the objectives of: Provide integration of administration and management information systems

and the Learning Environment of the University now and in the future Enabling integration of the administrative and management processes that are

carried out within the central University functions and within the Schools. Accommodate projected growth in University activities Where appropriate assist the University in re-engineering some of its

processes and IT systems to achieve the above objectives.

For the Learning Environment - Development or Implementation of a Managed Learning Environment (MLE) which: Integrates campus and intra-campus communications, academic resources,

administrative services and library services. Supports the relationship of information provision from lecturer to student in

whatever form that occurs. Supports access, delivery, maintenance and update of the University’s learning

resources. Provides a single gateway for students to access all on line information

relevant to learning. Supports the evolution of the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) in line

with the university’s own teaching and learning requirements. Development of the Communications infrastructure to accommodate the

delivery of this MLE.

2. Technology SupplyAs further background to developing the longer term IS/IT Strategy the IS/IT Steering Group should identify a view of the technology supply side of the strategy equation. The pace of change in IS/IT shows no sign of slowing down and other universities have major projects underway to deliver significant IS/IT developments. The following is a list of primarily technology assumptions for the next five years which the IS/IT Steering Group should, after appropriate consultation, consider as part of the basis for developing the University’s IS/IT Strategy:

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There will be ubiquitous access to a vast range of information and services, using low-cost communications of ever increasing capacity.

Mobile communications will be pervasive, including data as well as voice. Communications technologies will be media-rich and interactive, integrating data, voice and video. Increasing data rates will make more of these available to mobile computing devices, which will become as cheap and common as mobile phones.

The University will continue to seek to widen access and participation, but this will not radically change the campus based nature of the institution as the majority of Distance Learning students will be affiliated to overseas partner institutions.

The role of IT in teaching and learning will continue to increase and there will be a gradual rather than an explosive increase in on-line learning on campus.

The University will wish to conduct more aspects of its core functions electronically and there will be a strong requirement for campus-wide corporate information systems providing unified access to coherent corporate data. Shadow systems in Schools will die out as effective corporate systems are implemented.

Users (students and staff) will need and expect a high standard of up-to-date facilities, ease of use, reliability, richness of information, joined-up services and excellent support.

The majority of staff and students will have their own computer, increasingly of a portable type.

It will eventually become much easier, for those with appropriate security authorisation, to access the central managed services via any general-purpose computer. This will be achieved by reliance on the web interface, possibly including techniques such as “thin client”.

Financial considerations will continue to play a major role in determining the speed and extent to which the University can accommodate the above trends.

Responsibilities for funding, implementing and maintaining IT facilities are, and will continue to be, shared between central services and Schools. This sharing will be on the principle that Campus infrastructure and basic services, corporate management information and administrative services will be provided centrally and more specialist services and resources are provided by the Schools that need them.

3. Management of the University’s IS/IT StrategyThe plan to constrain IS/IT costs to the 2001/2002 level will effectively allow only minimal work on achieving the above objectives and put back the start of an already lengthy process by at least two years. It is also very likely to increase the number of small and “shadow” systems developed on an ad hoc basis by Schools and Departments to meet their short term needs.

It is assumed that the above objectives still represent the University’s objectives and therefore need to be recognised as such by the IS/IT Steering Group in formulating future plans and strategies beyond this two year period and in focusing the University’s restricted expenditure on IS/IT in the interim.

3.1 Information Systems (IS) RequirementsThe recent work identified the application and infrastructure areas to be in need of major enhancement or change to meet the objectives. In particular this work identified the importance of integration of management and administrative information and

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systems as a pre-requisite of achieving the objectives. The main identified areas are addressed below to indicate the priority and risk associated with the delay. This should again prove a useful guide to the IS/IT Steering Group in determining priorities for future activity. However, it will be vital, as part of the development of the strategy to identify a map of the desired integrated systems infrastructure so that the University can measure its progress towards its objectives.

3.1.1 Finance (including Purchasing)The current CFACS finance system is officially unsupported by the supplier from December 2003. The company itself has been in recent financial difficulty and was transferred to a new management company. The upgrade on offer from Cedar Ltd is a significant project in its own right requiring additional staff, new hardware, software and a review and possibly changes in current business processes. This upgrade has a likely cost between £350,000 – £400,000.Given the risk associated with an unproven upgrade at this expense it would be prudent to examine alternative financial products. Implementing a new financial system is however a much larger project requiring considerably more user department resource and likely cost between £500,000 - £550,000. An additional benefit of this route is that many of the alternative finance packages contain functionality in support or Research and Estate administration.

These two options are being considered by a separate working group which will submit a recommendation to PME on the way forward.

3.1.2 Student Relationship Management (SRM)The ISS system currently performs many functions in support of the full lifecycle of student administration required, but there are many emerging requests from Registry, Admissions and Schools for new functions and enhancements. Meeting just some of these requests ties up a significant part of CIS resources and the CIS department plays a significant role in supporting the departments’ use of this system. The ISS system has been developed in-house by a small group of people and the University bears a significant risk of disruption if as few as two members of CIS department were to leave the University.The logical next step would be to implement one of a limited number of commercial packages which address this business area. The University’s objective of achieving increased integration of information would revolve significantly around this SRM application. Ideally the University would choose a commercial SRM package and seek to choose other packages which either come from the same “stable” or have been proved to integrate successfully with the SRM package.It would be essential before commencing an implementation project, at some future date, to estimate the full cost and resource implications of the total project. However for long term planning purposes the likely full cost of implementing a new commercial package SRM system would be in the region of £500,000 – £1,000,000. Such a project is likely to last two full years and will require significant additional resources in the end-user departments to be able to introduce a new system at the same time as using the existing one. During this period developments of the existing system would need to be frozen. This is the main reason that such a project has not been promoted by the current users as incremental development of the existing system can more quickly tackle emerging issues.

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3.1.3 EstatesThere is currently no information system at Heriot-Watt that supports the specific information management needs of one of the University’s largest areas of expenditure, that of Estate Management. Estates and Building Services have identified a commercial system which they believe would meet their needs. It would be essential to ensure that the implemented package would integrate with the chosen Finance and Purchasing systems. It would be essential before commencing an implementation project for a new Estates system to estimate the full cost and resource implications of the total project. It is not possible at this stage to estimate the likely cost of such a project over and above the purchase price of the software. However, it is known that the key to this product’s utility is how well it integrates with the University’s financial systems and so it would not be advisable to begin such a project until the finance system itself has been upgraded or replaced.

3.1.4 PersonnelIn July 2002, phase 1 of the new personnel project will become operational. This will replace the old ‘Percom’ system and will provide the foundation for personnel information management.The next phase will be to closely integrate the personnel, payroll and finance systems such that the new personnel system will become the definitive repository of personnel-related information.This project has little definition beyond that point as it was originally seen as an interim solution prior to the IS/IT partnership. However, it is clear that the software can be used to support the changing relationship between the central Personnel department and personnel functions devolved to Academic Schools.Further developments for this project (as described in Appendix B) have a likely cost of £50,000 - £100,000

3.1.5 ResearchThe Integrated Research Information System (IRIS) project aims to support the University’s information needs related to research and consultancy management. A suitable ‘template’ product (source code) was bought from Birmingham University for £30,000 but the project has been suspended due to staff shortages. This project has no immediate hardware or software costs but requires at least 1 person-year of effort from Corporate Information Services.

3.1.6 HWebThe day to day management of the HWeb service, the University's worldwide web presence, is based on co-operative working between staff from Corporate Communications, Computing Services and Corporate Information Services. Minor development can proceed within the present structure, through direct funding by Corporate Communications, with the staff support implications being addressed within the existing resources of all parties. An example of such being the development in support of the on-line prospectus. Certain aspects of delivery and support, and more major projects, do not fit this ad hoc development model. HWeb is such a major corporate strategic asset that certain aspects of its management require to be addressed at the strategic level. Examples of these include web-based interfaces to corporate applications, development of web-portal(s), the delivery of learning materials to on and off campus students and access

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control and authentication for interactive applications. The IS/IT Steering Group should have ownership of an overall HWeb strategy.

3.1.7 Information ManagementA common theme across all information system projects is the ability for end-users to be able to perform ad-hoc queries against quite complex systems. This is supported in a variety of disparate ways that reflects the traditional role-specific jobs in central administration. However, this variety will not support School-centred access to this information, either because the solutions will not scale effectively, or because the approaches and software are too varied. There is also little support for cross-systems information analysis and for example, an institutional response to external statistical requirements, currently handled by individual departments.

To provide adequate information management all systems developments should support a common means of information retrieval and permit cross systems analysis by appropriate staff. This however adds a significant overhead to each project and requires specialist staff to develop the reporting infrastructure.

3.1.8 Learning Environment The current ‘learning environment’ is made up of many parts. PC Caledonia is the network of PCs that on-campus students use to run PC desktop applications including Microsoft Office and a variety of subject specific PC applications, e.g. mathematical modelling software. From these PCs, student can also send and retrieve email, access the Internet and gain access to learning materials, such as individual lecturer’s notes and demonstration files and data sets. The PC Caledonia computers also provide a way to access on-line library resources, such as journals, whose access is restricted by the publishers to institutions who have subscribed to their services.

Via the Internet, students can also access on-line learning materials, including complete sets of module notes, simulations, exercises, assessments and discussion boards.

The Learning Technology Centre (LTC) and the Edinburgh Business School (EBS) are the University’s major providers of Internet based learning materials. EBS develop and host materials for the distance learning MBA and eMBA and the School of Management’s distance learning BA. LTC develop and host materials for the distance-learning ‘SCHOLAR’ program, which covers School Higher and Higher Still qualifications, and for the on and off-campus use of similar materials in support of a variety of undergraduate courses.

The scale of this provision is increasing rapidly with over 50,000 students expected to be using EBS or LTC deployed learning materials by the end of this year.

EBS and LTC provide these services using a mixture of commercial and in-house software tools and techniques. Commercial ‘learning environment’ products (e.g. Lotus Learning Space and WebCT) have been reviewed during previous years and found to be either inadequate or prohibitively expensive.

To run effectively, the provision of learning materials via the Internet needs to be integrated with the University’s administration, technical and academic support

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systems so that a coherent approach can be developed supporting enquiry, application, registration and payment, study and support, and examination. This integration requires joint development between LTC, EBS, Corporate Information Services and Computing Services.

The growth of distance learning is one of the University’s key development strategies and the IS/IT Steering Group should maintain an institution-wide perspective on this.

3.2 Information Technology (IT) Requirements The following section deals with the IT side, the infrastructure rather than the applications. However in the areas of Portals, PC Caledonia and LTC there is inevitably a degree of overlap.

3.2.1 PortalsUsers of the University's IS/IT services are faced with a wide range of disparate services and content in their quest for information, and when deploying the functions that process it. This is largely unavoidable due to the complexity of the environment, the wealth of information and functions that are available, and the manner in which the systems environment has evolved. There is an increasing need for an integrated gateway through which the services can be presented in a structured manner that is focused on the application needs of the user.

Portals promise the capability to allow for personalised pathways into the institutional services, based on what is known about the user and his/her needs and expectations, and incorporating personal preferences. A portal can present a seamless interface, which allows for diversity in the underlying systems whilst delivering services in a coherent way giving the user a holistic view. They can dramatically improve information flows, and act as a personal information manager, where the information, functionality, news items, announcements, appointments, etc. that are important for the individual user are shown in a single space, without being drowned in material that is for a more general audience.

The stakeholders for the development of portals come from all areas of the University's activities, including: senior management, e-learning, LTC, Schools, Institutes, Alumni Office, CIS, Corporate Communications, Office for Student and Academic Affairs, Personnel Office, Estate Office, Media Services, Recruitment, etc. The successful implementation of portals will thus require co-ordination and liaison across the University as a whole, and their importance can best be recognised by including them as a component of the IS/IT Strategy.

3.2.2 PC Caledonia The demand for PC Caledonia has increased as more and more learning and teaching materials move to the interactive online environment that it provides. The particular demand for class timetabled access to PC Caledonia laboratories is set to increase significantly from the start of academic year 2002/3 as a much larger proportion of undergraduate teaching in the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences moves to SCHOLAR.

Timetabling of PC Caledonia labs reduces the time that they are available for open access. A reduction in open access below a critical level can have a major impact if

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students become unable to complete assignments, projects, etc. or to undertake adequate levels of study of courseware, online materials, etc.

Some increases have been made to the capacity of PC Caledonia, such a 24 hour access lab and workrooms in some residences at Riccarton. However, these have only been marginal, and have not been sized to keep pace with the level of increased demand.

The introduction of additional labs will become necessary in order to restore the necessary balance between supply and demand. Some capacity increase is likely to needed irrespective of developments that may take place in the architecture and technology of the service.

3.2.3 University-wide Desktop Strategy Computing Services has responsibility for the student desktops in PC Caledonia, for PCs that are on the administrative network, and for staff desktops in Computing Services and CIS. All other staff and student desktops are the responsibility of the Schools or Institutes.

All desktops that are directly under the control of Computing Services will conform to the agreed corporate standards in terms of their hardware type, level and configuration, and their core software. These corporate standards are also recommended for appropriate desktops in Schools and Institutes.

This approach is not the most cost effective one. Some level of flexibility within the Schools and Institutes is essential in order to meet the specific needs of academic work. However, unless there is also some level of control there is potential for the spread of greater variance than is really necessary. This can bring reduced compatibility and reliability, and increased complexity with greater overall costs for provision and support.

It is desirable to have a clear University-wide strategy for desktops. This should specify the corporate standard operating system and core applications suite, together with a migration plan for technology refresh as the need arises. It is also desirable to specify minimum levels of compatibility between all staff desktops, and between them and all student desktops.

This standard should be the recommended default on all desktops. Where an alternative is used when the standard is unsuitable for certain academic staff or student desktops, the chosen alternative should still comply with the compatibility criteria.

This approach would aim to ensure University-wide inter-operability for core applications and services, whilst optimising the cost of provision and support with sufficient flexibility to meet wide-ranging academic needs.

3.2.4 Re-cablingMuch of the cabling within older campus buildings is a limiting factor in network performance and reliability, and is overdue for replacement and updating to modern standards. The risks increase with time, and include:

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security problems due to shared network connections increasing bottlenecks in the network as more information is carried inflexibility for moves and changes restricts staff location, functionality, etc. restrictions to leading edge services for the University, e.g. Voice over IP

TelephonyAs soon as the University’s financial position makes it affordable, priority should be given to re-cabling. Cost estimates have been prepared for earlier submissions and amount to approximately £585k. Following completion of such work new cabling would have an expected lifetime of 20 years. Clearly there will be issues to resolve on whether this is a corporate or a School responsibility, particularly with some Schools having already undertaken re-cabling.

3.2.5 TelephonyMajor replacement of the Riccarton telephone exchange will become due in 2005/6 at a cost (at current prices) of circa £600K. By that time the technology of IP Telephony will have developed to become the most viable option, enabling further data and voice service integration. Costs are expected to drop significantly in response to technology development and market trends in the interim period.

3.3 Other Related Strategy Issues

3.3.1 User TrainingThere is currently no overall institutional approach to the provision of IS/IT training, for staff or student users. Staff training falls within the remit of the Staff Development Office or the schools, and sections, and student training falls within the remit of schools or institutes. As such skills are now vital to the work of the vast a majority of staff, and (at least to some extent) to all students, it is in the University’s best interests to encourage and support IS/IT training in a more proactive and coherent way.

Training in specific applications and services is undoubtedly best provided on a 'need to know' basis, related to the job function of the staff or the student course of study. However, there is also a broad set of core applications used by all, for which once the skills in them have been acquired they are readily transferable to all disciplines. These include word processing, spreadsheets, email, web browsers and an overall familiarity with the basics of search engines, etc. that enable the benefits of the Internet to be exploited.

The hands-off approach is to assume that the basic level of skills in these core applications is somehow endemic in the population. The expansion of IS/IT, and the way it which the personal computer has gradually permeated all areas of society, lends some support to this expectation that all staff and students already have generic skills without any need for training. However, this approach is open to criticism on the grounds that it discriminates against those whose circumstances have denied them adequate prior access to a personal computer. Furthermore, the University misses out the opportunity to be proactive in ensuring that all users reach a specified level of skill appropriate to their needs. Training users brings them and the University benefits, in that they will be more proficient and efficient in their use of the technology in their work and study.

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Many institutions, both in the public and private sectors, take a strategic approach to IS/IT training. Some, have adopted one or more of the various industry-standard methods of certification, such as ECDL or MOUS. Such certification is becoming increasingly common, particularly in educational institutions. Students and staff can thereby gain a recognised vocational qualification as proof that they possess a valuable transferable skill to a specified level.

3.3.2 Technology RefreshThe IS/IT Steering Group should also address at a strategic level the approach to technology refresh of the IT infrastructure across the University. This should take account of: The rate of change in the technology and the need to maintain standards and

compatibility. The occasional need for step changes to accommodate and support major software

upgrades. The methods of budgeting for new and replacement hardware and software

available to corporate and non-corporate functions.

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