University of Washington

UW-IT 2013 Annual Report

Issue link: http://uwashington.uberflip.com/i/223926

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 12 of 19

PART N E R IN G FOR BETTER SERVICE Redesigned the IT Connect website to make it easier to find information, with streamlined content, improved navigation and a design that works across mobile and other devices. It also offers better accessibility for those using assistive technologies. Received EPA ENERGY STAR certification for the UW Tower Data Center for superior energy efficiency; the UW is one of only two universities in the country to ever earn it. Reduced power consumption in all UW data centers, increasing efficiency and lowering rates. Strengthened strategic partnerships with leading technology companies to keep UW on the forefront of innovation. UW users can now easily access the Microsoft Azure cloud computing platform with a UW NetID. Google Apps for Education provides services to more than 34,000 UW users. Amazon's cloud computing platform will benefit scientific computing at the UW. Engaged the UW community in guiding information technology (IT) strategies, priorities, funding levels and services through three governance boards. The IT Strategy Board advises on IT strategy; the IT Service Investment Board conducts an annual review of the Technology Recharge Fee and prioritizes UW-IT projects; and the IT Service Management Board identifies UW-IT services to enhance or retire. more info UW-IT Service Catalog uw.edu/uwit/services IT Connect uw.edu/itconnect UW-IT Metrics uw.edu/uwit/metrics Made significant progress on "Top Five" UW-IT service priorities. As recommended by UW's IT Service Management Board, these include support for faculty use of technology; consolidated research consulting services; enhanced Enterprise Data Warehouse analytics; consolidated servers and storage; and better management of UW-IT's collaboration services portfolio. IT Governance uw.edu/uwit/governance Foster School of Business IT Director Mick Westrick is partnering with UW-IT to improve customer service. "We're excited about partnering with UW-IT on this," Westrick said. "We want to be a good partner, and we want to learn, and this is going to help us be a better IT department." Erik Lundberg, UW-IT's Assistant Vice President for IT Services & Strategic Sourcing, agrees. "I believe this is going to be transformational for us and for other IT groups on campus, and provide a more streamlined experience for all," he said. Implementing a service management system is part of UW-IT's adoption of ITIL, the most widely used set of IT best practices in the world, he explained. The goal is to make UW-IT, and other IT units that join in, more efficient and responsive, with the end result to deliver better service to the University. "Eventually, this will provide a single place that people can go, either on the Web or on the phone, that integrates all the support that they need," Lundberg said. "This approach is going to help us be much more proactive about how we provide service to our customers." Westrick is happy that UW-IT is spearheading this effort. With four help desk staff and more than 90,000 requests for help each year, he doesn't have a lot of time to implement new systems. "So often, we're stuck in the weeds just solving problems," he said. "I think this service management approach is going to help us be much more proactive about how we provide service to our customers." 2013 ANNUAL REPORT 11

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

view archives of University of Washington - UW-IT 2013 Annual Report