Multidivisional and Office of the CIO
Organizational adjustments made
ITS made organizational adjustments that took effect July 1. These changes are oriented toward three primary aims: realize substantial budget/expense reductions as directed, optimize and consolidate the management of ITS, and increase operational efficiency and effectiveness of ITS, with a particular focus on expense reductions caused by reduced budget allocations
Most significantly, the Communication Technologies division was consolidated into other operational units. The Networking, Engineering, and Transport Operations teams now report under Infrastructure & Operations. The Voice Services / Telephony teams now report under Customer Experience & Engagement.
Further adjustments are: The group previously known as Enterprise Reporting & Departmental Systems gained a new name of Data & Reporting Environments & Application Middleware (DREAM). It was renamed to reflect a broader orientation to data and integration services. Middleware, Database, and PeopleSoft Application Administration teams moved from Infrastructure & Operations to DREAM. The division formerly known as User Support & Engagement is now called Customer Experience & Engagement. The IT Service Management team moved from Customer Experience & Engagement to Infrastructure & Operations. Software Distribution moved from Customer Experience & Engagement to Finance & Administration in ITS.
Full Position Management advances
During the quarter, multiple ITS teams and groups outside of ITS were heavily engaged in the Full Position Management project in preparation for a mid-October go-live. This work of changing ConnectCarolina and related business processes to require all appointments to be associated with positions has entailed multiple rounds of testing, user-acceptance testing with more than 60 campus representatives, updating dozens of training sessions and materials, and communicating broadly, including holding webinars. ITS teams with the heaviest lift for the project are Enterprise Applications, Data & Reporting Environments & Application Middleware, and Infrastructure & Operations. The change affects everyone who works with HR actions or who posts positions in PeopleAdmin. Since ConnectCarolina HR/Payroll went live seven years ago, the University has been translating appointments (which don’t have positions) into positions. That’s because those managing finances at the Board of Trustees and at the University System level think in terms of positions when discussing budgets. Translating this data is an unstable process that gets increasingly complex as the UNC System Office requests more data.
ITS’ers assist Service Desk and students
During the week of Fall Rush, about 30 ITS employees from across the organization supported the ITS Service Desk and students by taking shifts to address tech issues and questions from under the canopy in front of the Undergraduate Library. By handling the most common and less complex issues, the volunteers alleviated the number of people going into the building for assistance, and students got help faster. This was the first time that volunteers from across ITS had provided Fall Rush tech support from outside of the library. Based on its success, ITS anticipates offering this service again.
Enabling passwordless login
During the quarter, Identity Management and other ITS teams made progress on the Carolina Key project, which will provide a passwordless login option to the existing SSO service, with at least the same level of security as exising passwords. As part of the project, in September, the teams updated the look and feel of the SSO and made it mobile-friendly. The additional teams working on the project include the Information Security Office, Enterprise Applications, Infrastructure & Operations, Customer Experience & Engagement, and the Office of the CIO.
Closing in on Remedy retirement
ITS made further progress toward decommissioning Remedy. In July, ITS closed out the Computer Repair Center (CRC) app and PeopleSoft billing, which CRC and Managed Desktop Services had used. CRC now uses Fixably with ServiceNow to process repair requests. In August, Rapid Admin Service Request (RASR) replaced Remedy RF-1. In addition, ITS began moving System Registration, the last Remedy application in production, to ServiceNow. It tracks assets in ITS data centers. Having fewer platforms to run means less time, money and energy spent on running and maintaining multiple platforms. This will enable the Service management team members to focus on providing better value to their customers within ServiceNow, while also being better steward of the money and time spent on IT resources at the University.
Outage exercise held
In August, Matthew Mauzy, ITS’ Emergency Response Technology Manager, led staff through some test runs of ITS’ major outage process.
Customer Experience & Engagement
Service Desk lobby transformed
ITS Service Desk team members labored over the summer to renovate the Service Desk lobby before the start of the semester. The project consisted of clearing out surplus computers and furniture, reconfiguring the space, painting, replacing carpeting, and removing the front desk area and the built-in benches. With a new set-up using iPads, employees can check in customers or customers can check themselves in.
Gaming arena opens for more events
ResNET was finally able to open the Carolina Gaming Arena for special events and fully opened for reservations on September 7. Of note, ResNET and the Residence Hall Association held a Carolina Gaming Arena open house for students on August 16. At least 150 students attended the two-hour, student-led event that served as a welcome to campus. ResNET also started hosting game nights with Resident Assistants and their halls on August 27.
The Well features arena
The Well published a story on the Carolina Gaming Arena on September 22.
Gained coverage in WorkWell
During the quarter, ITS Communications produced and gained coverage in the Office of Human Resources’ WorkWell newsletter. The August WorkWell featured return-to-campus tech tips while the September issue ran an item about LastPass Premium password manager.
Information Security & Identity Management
Improved phish reporting
In September, the Information Security Office rolled a simpler process to report phishing emails. Campus community members can click on the “Report Message” button in their Outlook header and select “Phishing.” The report forwards the suspected phish to Microsoft to be evaluated. If it is confirmed to be a phish, Microsoft removes the bad message from all our mailboxes and blocks it worldwide. The ISO hopes that use of this Microsoft Office 365 functionality will lighten the load on the ITS Service Desk and Tier 2. After several simulated phishing campaigns, a review of reporting data, and checking phish.unc.edu website statistics, it became evident that the method of reporting phish needed a more user-focused overhaul.
The Well covers phish reporting button
On September 17, The Well wrote a story about the new phish reporting button.
New security requirements for NIH logins
On September 15, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) began requiring multi-factor authentication when logging in to its site. To meet that requirement, the University is adding Duo 2-Step Verification when faculty or staff use their UNC credentials to log in to the NIH site. The change is the first the NIH is making to improve security by requiring stronger proof that people logging in to its system are who they say they are. ITS is working with the Office for Undergraduate Research, the One Card Office and HR to identify and develop processes to collect assurance information from faculty and staff. The team is also reaching out to other universities to see how they’re handling this requirement.
Student Onyen deprovisioning resumes
Identity Management resumed deprovisioning of student Onyens on July 1.
Infrastructure & Operations
Improved email deliverability
In September, ITS made an important change to improve email deliverability across @unc.edu email accounts. ITS put in place a Sender Policy Framework (SPF) record at the top-level unc.edu domain. SPF specifies the mail servers that are allowed to send email on behalf of the unc.edu domain. Receiving mail servers use SPF to verify that incoming messages that appear to come from the unc.edu domain were sent by servers that the University authorized. ITS implemented this to remediate many deliverability issues and lay the groundwork for future measures to improve security and deliverability.
New PSK network created
ITS Networking rolled out a new PSK network, called 21-22-UNC-PSK, on July 26. Users were given two weeks to migrate devices using UNC-PSK to the new SSID.
Wi-Fi 6 access points installed
ITS Networking has installed hundreds of Wi-Fi 6 access points across campus over the past six months. The group is targeting 1,000 access point life cycles in the next year. Wi-Fi 6, the sixth-generation wireless network standard, enables faster speeds and better coverage.
Network Report released
ITS Networking has released the Biannual 2021 Network Report, which covers the first half of the year.
Educational Technologies
Zoom sub-accounts consolidated
ITS Educational Technologies’ Zoom sub-account consolidation project wrapped up July 26. Consolidating sub-accounts resolved common issues with cross-department collaboration on the web conferencing platform and standardized account settings and simplified user support. ITS worked with Zoom Technical Support to migrate approximately 14,000 user accounts into the main campus account or the consolidated HIPAA sub-account. EdTech began planning the project in late 2020 and proposed the project to ITEC in February 2021.
Enterprise Applications
TIM Kronos upgraded
In August, Enterprise Applications completed the TIM Kronos service pack upgrade. The project enables ITS to entertain future TIM upgrades, such as mobile functionalities.
Project Portfolio & Change Management
Community of Practice convenes
About 40 people from across the University attended the inaugural meeting of the Project and Change Management Community of Practice on August 6. The group brings together University professionals who work in or are interested in project management and change management. Brenda Carpen, Director of ITS Project Portfolio & Change Management, created and oversees the group.
Performance Management launches for EHRA
Performance Management for permanent EHRA non-faculty employees went live on July 1. This followed the launch for SHRA employee performance management on April 1. ITS Change Management team members played a major role in efforts to prepare the University for this shift to Carolina Talent.