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IT Update

In December, and throughout the year, we wrap up some existing projects, plan for the coming year and take stock of our accomplishments. In January, ITS will post a summary of year-end accomplishments.  The updates are organized by the strategic goals within the IT Strategic Plan.

Goal: Modernize Infrastructure 

  • Upgrade the university network
    • Networking and Telecommunications Services (NTS) continue to focus on the second and third floors of Hale Library.
    • Planning continues for the:
      • Network upgrades in the Veterinary Medicine Complex and KSURF
      • The McCain Expansion
      • Multicultural Center
      • Ackert
      • K-State Polytechnic projects
      • Baseball Stadium renovation 
      • The south end zone expansion of Bill Snyder Family Stadium and other athletic venues. 
  • Modernize the data center
    • Staff have made significant progress implementing our Cloud First strategy with the data center relocation options. Completed efforts include implementing the CommVault backup system and the move of the ERP systems to the cloud. Many applications have been moved to native AWS and VMWare on AWS. Out of the original 1300 virtual machines in the data center prior to the fire, 511 remain to be migrated.
  • Develop the cloud and hosted computing strategy
    • Cloud Center of Excellence is providing minutes and other information, which are available on the Cloud Center of Excellence webpage with an eID/password.
    • With the ERP systems, the focus is now on optimization and stabilization. DARS uAchieve was also migrated to the cloud.

Goal: Re-architect Enterprise Applications

  • Define and implement enterprise customer relationship (CRM) strategy.

Goal: Evaluate IT Service Delivery

  • Improve IT assistance. Perform a comprehensive IT support process improvement project.
    • ITS is in the process of evaluating processes and services using process mapping tools. Process maps in development include password change, hardware repair, and technology classroom troubleshooting to name a few.

Goal: Improve Enterprise Security

  • Establish cybersecurity awareness and risk management
    • Cybersecurity Awareness training has been completed by 5,075 employees. A reminder to those who have not completed the training will be shared with the deans of all the colleges in January.
  • Improve enterprise security
    • Global Protect VPN replaces the current AnyConnect VPN. More information is available on the VPN website.
    • With Duo, two-factor authentication, 6,705 accounts have been assigned to faculty/staff and students.

Comparison of Phishing Scams and Compromised eIDs 

YTD 2019 YTD 2018 YTD 2017
Compromised eIDs 554 516 4923
Phishing scams 1254 523 1165
Phishing scam tickets processed 3165 2091 6837

Goal: Strengthen Communications and Feedback – One IT staff continue to provide training opportunities for campus. Preliminary numbers for fall semester show 238 sessions on topics including MS Excel, Qualtrics, MS Teams, Mediasite, the Content Management System, the CRM and more. Checkout the ITS events calendar for available training sessions.

ITS invests in our people through professional development opportunities. Eleven staff went to 2019 Women Advance IT Conference in Nebraska (Nov 5-6). Ten staff participated in the AWS: re:Invent conference in Las Vegas (Nov 30 -Dec 4).

This month staff celebrate major milestones including the CommVault backup move, the ERP migration and the E&I Cloud Award.

Happy holidays from Information Technology Services to the campus community.

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