IT Strategic Plan

Within the next several years, UAlbany will convert from using the complex PeopleSoft infrastructure installed in the campus data center to a cloud-based (vendor-hosted or vendor-provided systems outside the campus network) system or systems. The move is required, in part, because companies are fundamentally changing the way they provide applications. 

The complete move will require significant campus commitment and will unavoidably take several years. The current system, utilized by innumerable offices, is highly customized and includes approximately 1,500 integrations with other systems, 2,500 customizations of the product, and 16,000 custom queries. While the University only runs PeopleSoft’s student information system module, the system has been heavily customized to house business functionality beyond the scope of a student information system. Cloud-based systems will not accommodate the type and scope of customizations currently in place. 

Over the next three years, the campus needs to capture and define future needs for administrative and business systems and develop a strategy to achieve that long term vision. While ITS will coordinate the effort, considerable time and dedication is required from many offices. To fully appreciate the totality of this activity, it is important to recognize how long, and how deeply, the University has relied on PeopleSoft. This technology sufficiently met campus needs 20 years ago but has become cumbersome and unwieldy by today’s IT standards and expectations. For the past two decades, applications were built directly in PeopleSoft simply because it was the technology we had, rather than moving to newer, modern tools, each of which would introduce a new expense. Given this practice, numerous campus offices, including many that are student-facing, must evaluate their business processes and work with ITS to transition to entirely new applications and platforms. 

While ITS expects to make continuous improvements to recruitment and enrollment services in the near term, the longer-term PeopleSoft initiative remains a massive undertaking. Planning in the form of extensive requirements gathering and thorough needs assessments are the prominent activities during this 3-yr timeframe. These preliminary efforts are critical in defining the new technical environment to successfully support necessary technical changes, now and well into the future. 

High-level Timeline:
Y2 – Draft RFP and engage ERP planning consultant
Y2-3 – Campus works with consultant to identify gaps and needs; campus responds to report and establishes ERP direction

Many departments have requested and would benefit from a tool to help automate and/or expedite processing activities. This would enable offices to collect information from students or customers via a web form and automatically move that information along to the appropriate office or staff through a defined workflow. Common scenarios might involve multiple handoffs of that information in sequence, gathering approvals or spawning related processes along the way. General availability of this capability is essential for departments to digitize or automate business processes and more expeditiously transition from paper-based or other dated collection/submission practices, which is consistent with the University’s sustainability goals.

In many cases, such tools enable departments to adjust simple business processes independently, without IT staffing resources. In more complex cases, the automation of a business process may require ITS to integrate with existing systems to pull or store data or may require business process analysis prior to implementation. In both situations, appropriate tools will facilitate faster improvements to business processes, and assure that ITS staffing directed toward this goal are used efficiently and effectively. This initiative has tremendous implications to enhance recruitment and enrollment, as it empowers student-facing offices with increased access to real-time information, and the ability to adjust business processes accordingly.

High-level Timeline:
Y1-2 – Define needs, select the tool(s), procure, and implement the tool(s), and initiate usage

Many of the University’s administrative platforms and processes rely on older technologies. Various system and application interfaces that students and parents use appear dated and would benefit from a modern look and feel. ITS will partner with campus offices to identify ways to improve the administrative experience and minimize any processing delays. Activities will include recognizing areas that will benefit from business process review, automation, and innovative technologies. Faster turnaround times in these vital areas will make the University more competitive with its peers by providing admitted students with clear, accurate information to encourage commitment to and remain at UAlbany and improve overall student satisfaction.

While this goal has far-reaching implications for recruitment and enrollment initiatives, technology alone cannot accomplish these resource-intensive activities in a vacuum. Focused attention, commitment, and willingness on the part of campus partners to evaluate long-standing departmental business practices—with an eye toward change—are critical success factors. 

High-level Timeline:
Y1-3 – Address and implement improvements for Financial Aid and Student Accounts (100+); begin addressing/implementing improvements in other student-facing offices

The health and safety of the campus community is of paramount importance. The University has called for technological improvements that support this priority:

• Expanding commercial cellular coverage in areas with weak or no signal, including podium basements and tunnels on the uptown campus. Verizon Wireless is expanding its coverage, and ITS is encouraging other providers to follow suit.
• ITS will deploy full WiFi coverage in the tunnels on the uptown campus. In addition to commercial cellular expansion, this will make the University network available to the campus community when they traverse the tunnels. At least one network must always remain available for communication services (mobile phones, campus safety apps, etc.) to function.
• ITS is working closely with the University Police Department (UPD) on a variety of safety measures, including continuous review of blue light emergency phones and the addition of Rave Guardian, a modern campus safety app.

High-level Timeline:
Y1 – Expand commercial cellular coverage; design and propose full Wi-Fi coverage in uptown campus tunnels; deploy Rave Guardian in concert with UPD
Y2 – Implement full WiFi coverage in uptown campus tunnels

Reliance on old, unsupported technologies is a poor practice that invites a host of risks and vulnerabilities. The University needs to move away from systems that have already reached end of life as defined by vendors and identify modern, secure replacements. These include the following:

• Degree Audit Reporting System (DARS). ITS is collaborating with the Registrar’s Office, Purchasing, and SUNY System Administration, and a replacement system has been identified. The project is currently underway.
• The Hyland Nolij document imaging system will migrate to an on-premises version of Hyland OnBase as a near-term resolution. The project is currently underway. In the long term, a SaaS (Software as a Service) solution is preferred and will be explored in the future. 
• The system behind the MyUAlbany student and employee portals has reached end of life and needs to be replaced. ITS is working in collaboration with the Office of Communications and Marketing to identify a replacement solution appropriately aligned with UAlbany’s web presence. 

In all cases, the continued use of outdated technologies reflects poorly on the entire institution. Replacing these systems presents additional opportunities to modernization with fresh, user-friendly interfaces, timely information, and other enhancements to improve the overall University experience. 

High-level Timeline:
Y1-2 – Replace DARS, Nolij, Colleague Advancement, Colleague Finance
Y2-3 – Replace MyUAlbany

The University’s contract with Blackboard ends in December 2023. SUNY System Administration has a contract for Brightspace, a new digital learning environment that is being implemented at institutions across the SUNY system. UAlbany participated in system-wide discussions about the implementation to understand options and make decisions to best serve our students and faculty. The University is planning for our own implementation of Brightspace managed by ITS, with the following timeframe: 

• Fall 2022 – Planning and preparing for pilot and migration
• Spring 2023 – Brightspace Pilot 
• Summer 2023 – Production (full cut-over to Brightspace from Blackboard)
• December 2023 – Termination of Blackboard contract 

The move to Brightspace makes a significant contribution to academic success for students and faculty alike. The new platform boasts an intuitive, user-friendly interface, modern features, and 24x7 support. ITS is working closely with campus groups to ensure that all faculty, student, and staff needs currently addressed by Blackboard will continue to be met, either within the new Brightspace system or via other means, particularly in cases where the current LMS (Learning Management System) is being used for non-academic purposes. 

High-level Timeline:
Y1 – Implement Brightspace
Y2 – Archive and retire Blackboard

Equitable access to campus technology has long been an area of concern and is an important part of the University’s commitment to an equitable, inclusive environment. Fortunately, this issue has gained traction among vendors of technology tools, who are increasingly building accessibility features into their products. In Year 1, the implementation of Brightspace and Panopto will provide the campus with built-in accessibility tools that significantly enhance the user experience, including automated closed captioning. This will offer ITS opportunities in Years 2 and 3 to review current third-party tools that address additional needs and make informed decisions about which products are essential for ensuring appropriate levels of accessibility.

High-level Timeline:
Y1 – Implement Brightspace and Panopto
Y2-3 – Additional accessibility improvements, including support of SUNY-wide initiatives

While ITS has a wealth of experience delivering enterprise-wide technologies for teaching and learning, supporting the unique needs of individual faculty members is sometimes challenging. Ideally, ITS should be positioned to respond positively to faculty requests to provide innovative resources and/or environments to meet the evolving needs of our faculty, particularly as they aspire to incorporate unique technologies into their curricula. Improving the ability to respond quickly and affirmatively is an important next step for ITS to continue meeting the teaching and learning needs of the campus community. 

High-level Timeline:
Y1 – ITS to measure and characterize unique needs and present findings to Academic Affairs
Y2-3 – Prepare joint recommendation with Academic Affairs on how to staff, prioritize, and respond to such requests.

The Albany AI initiative represents a tremendous campus-wide commitment. ITS will continue to expand the general-purpose HPC (High Performance Computing) cluster and expand that to include GPU cluster nodes to accommodate the immediate needs of the research community. Concurrently, ITS will continue working closely with the Research and Economic Development division to plan for the design, procurement, and implementation of the AI Initiative to dramatically improve the technology available to the University research community over a longer term. In keeping with the University’s sustainability goals, this will include the identification of lifecycle tools and best practices to inform and improve sustainability as the research environment evolves.

High-level Timeline:
Y1 – Design and procure Phase 1 AI supercomputing infrastructure; launch data center design study
Y2 – Implement Phase 1 AI supercomputing system
Y3 – Implement data center upgrades; design and procure Phase 2 AI supercomputing infrastructure

ITS recently completed a pilot project to provide researchers with a NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) 800-171 compliant environment. Compliance is defined by meeting a total of 110 controls to secure and protect data. As the pilot transitions to operations, ITS is working on the documentation and details to assist researchers in understanding what is currently available in the University’s existing research environment and begin projecting future needs. A NIST-compliant environment significantly increases the University's eligibility for grants and other funding opportunities.

The goal is to provide a similar environment and set of controls that would allow researchers to operate within HIPAA requirements. It has the potential to be an important aspect of the Albany AI initiative, as well as other research endeavors. This will accelerate research excellence by complying with federal requirements and increasing eligibility for faculty pursuing grants and other funding opportunities. 

High-level Timeline:

Y1-2 – Partner with Research and Economic Development division to perform gap analysis and deliver proposal for accommodating HIPAA-related grants 

The high-performance computing (HPC) cluster available to the UAlbany research community includes many open-source applications. As Albany AI grows and becomes infused across the curriculum, software offerings will need to grow with multi-disciplinary demand. Additionally, a user-friendly, web-based interface will be selected to encourage and facilitate widespread usage of AI. As HPC usage continues to expand and the AI clusters are designed and deployed, gaps in the software library will be identified. The existing general-purpose cluster will be used to introduce new applications identified as an early step in the emerging AI program.

High-level Timeline:
Y1 – Assess, propose, and implement new software to meet anticipated AI research needs/expectations; assess and propose base implementation of user-friendly, web-based access to the cluster
Y2-3 – Expand software offerings based on need and scale base implementation

Current planning for the Albany AI Supercomputing Initiative is focused on building an AI cluster for use across UAlbany schools, colleges, and departments. In the coming months, the University will hire a new director for the AI Institute. Among the primary responsibilities of this position are the opportunities for research efforts to be incorporated into teaching and learning activities. ITS will continue working with the Research and Economic Development division and the new AI director to focus on service and support to ease and shorten the on-ramp for faculty and researchers to utilize the new AI cluster(s). This initiative encompasses a wealth of implications for advancing the University’s research excellence and student success goals. 

High-level Timeline:
Y1 – ITS to hire two new Research Technology Analysts; additional positions defined
Y2 – ITS to hire additional positions as defined

Just as the information security landscape changes, so too do the tools that are used to protect it. ITS must continuously assess the value and overall effectiveness of the applications, systems, and tools in the security program. 

Identity management is a critical aspect of any information security program. The University currently uses Microsoft Identity Manager (MIM), which allows organizations to manage user identities, credentials, related policies, and what systems everyone can access based on their institutional role (i.e., student, faculty, staff). As MIM is reaching end of life, and identity management systems are tied in with numerous other technologies, ITS is conducting a design-and-propose project to identify a modern replacement that meets the University’s needs. The selected solution may impact other technologies in place, including the multifactor authentication platform – another critical tool in the University’s identity management arsenal. Given the importance of managing access to institutional data, it is critical to select products that work in concert to maintain the University’s information security posture. 

High-level Timeline:
Y1 – Select new identity management system to replace MIM
Y2 – Procure and deploy new solution

The ability to evaluate security incidents both in real-time and after-the-fact across multiple systems and platforms is increasingly important. Tools that quickly identify and respond to potential security incidents help reduce the impact of cyberattacks. 

ITS currently monitors security using a wide variety of tools. Ideally, this telemetry should be consolidated so all anomalies can be viewed concurrently. Once ITS can examine security events across all platforms, search and alerting capabilities may be expanded. Machine learning and AI are some of the tools that may identify relationships across events. These advancements will enable ITS to identify potential incidents, not just vulnerabilities. The faster ITS can identify events, the less likely an event will become a major incident.

High-level Timeline:
Y1-2 – Conduct needs assessment for centralized logging
Y2-3 – Recommend and implement new solution 

While a variety of emergencies have the potential to disrupt technology, cyberattacks are an increasingly likely threat to the University. A high-severity security incident that requires shutting down IT systems and services has the ability to stop all campus activities for an unknown period of time, possibly days. It could require millions of dollars and countless hours to remediate, notify affected parties, and engage in other reporting and restoration activities, severely damaging institutional reputation in the process. Given the potential impact of such incidents, it is critical to develop a broad understanding of the impact on campus and how recovery efforts will proceed. ITS is working with the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) to prepare the campus to better understand the impact and response to a range of security incidents. 

High-level Timeline:

Y1 – Develop ITS playbook with OEM for potential high-severity incident, informed by participation in tabletop exercise

Y2-3 – Conduct tabletop exercises to address other security incidents and update OEM playbook(s); develop/refine procedures to better respond to campus security incidents; further develop ITS recovery efforts and strategies 

Reliance on the University network is exponential and meeting demand is a significant undertaking. Capacity enhancements are critical to keep up with the increasing density of devices across campuses. While the University’s WiFi footprint has grown by 78% over the last five years, the desire for expanded coverage continues to grow amongst students, faculty, and staff. The reach of the network will continue to grow during this period as a strong connection between the University Data Center and the former Albany High School is implemented to support the future needs of CEAS (College of Engineering and Applied Sciences) occupants and assuring appropriate redundancies to the data center. There will also be additional connectivity work in ETEC to meet the needs of the xCite Lab. In addition to continued expansion of WiFi, ITS is replacing the entire wireless network with new WAPs (wireless access points) that rely on cloud-based controls, which bring significant increases in functionality, capabilities, and performance to this critical service.

High-level Timeline:
Y1 – Improve wireless coverage, capabilities, and performance by growing the campus wireless footprint by 6% and replacing 10% of legacy WAPs

Y2 – Complete network connections for FAHS (Phases 4 and 5) and identify timeline for Phase 6; implement redundancies to Downtown Campus; complete switch installation for Xcite Lab; grow wireless footprint by 10.5% and replacing 23.5% of legacy WAPs
Y3 – Continued expansion of campus WiFi, growing the footprint by 5% and replacing 31% of legacy WAPs

All University data is stored on-site in either network attached storage (NAS) or in the storage area network (SAN). ITS currently keeps multiple copies of that data here on the campus network. Consistent with new industry standards, ITS has initiated a project to implement off-site, cloud-based backup and storage to protect copies of all enterprise data (non-research data) in a cloud-based system outside of the University network. This practice represents a crucial preparatory step in recovering from ransomware attacks. Note that it would be cost prohibitive to store a copy of all research data in a cloud-based system.

High-level Timeline:
Y1 – Deploy cloud-based backups for all NAS-based production, enterprise data (80% of enterprise data)
Y2 – Deploy cloud-based backups for all SAN-based production, enterprise data (20% of enterprise data)

The University needs to adopt modern technologies to manage the way data is shared across enterprise systems, including the student information system, the digital learning environment, and many other systems. The first step was to implement MuleSoft, an infrastructure application providing a modern, low-code method for passing and accessing data. The platform enables real-time integration, which allows data to be integrated quickly and reduces the need for ITS to write and maintain custom code for this purpose. With MuleSoft in place, ITS will use it to address all new integrations, no longer using legacy methods. Over the next three years, ITS will begin converting the 1500 customized PeopleSoft integrations to MuleSoft. This is a crucial precursor in the PeopleSoft migration to a cloud-based environment where the use of modern data exchange technologies is expected.

The second step in this goal is to procure and implement a low-code development platform. This will provide the campus with opportunities to collect and work with data outside of the PeopleSoft environment, enabling ITS to build modern apps/solutions more quickly. This sets the stage for making much-needed improvements to business process workflows for many campus partners faster than ever before, and it will end the use and dependence on PeopleSoft as the tool for this growing need.

High-level Timeline:
Y1-3 – (Integration platform) Begin systematically converting PeopleSoft integrations over to MuleSoft
Y1 – (Low-code development platform) Procure low-code development platform
Y2-3 – Implement and begin using platform to re-develop applications that cannot be replaced with commercial solutions

ITS is actively building an asset inventory using a recently deployed application that gathers information about ITS-managed computers on the University network. Collecting this data is the first step in ITS’s broader asset management strategy. Once the information is gathered, it can be used to establish a baseline equipment standard and recommended lifecycle for university equipment. Standardization will improve the user experience with greater consistency and functionality. This, in turn, will allow the University to predict annual hardware replacement costs with greater accuracy and explore strategic spending options. 
 

ITS currently believes that many faculty/staff (~85%) are currently using computers with standard configurations, while far less (~15%) likely require computers with specialized configurations. Building an asset inventory will inform the accuracy of this assessment, as well as help ITS evaluate the current recommendation of a 5–6-year equipment lifecycle. A clear understanding of how many computers can use a standard configuration has significant implications for purchasing equipment efficiently and effectively, while an established lifecycle determines the frequency with which computers are replaced. Collectively, the improvements realized by this asset management strategy will lead to informed decision making about the life expectancy of campus devices and increased accuracy in budgeting cyclic replacement costs.
 

High-level Timeline: 

Y1 – Complete asset inventory of ITS-managed computers 

Y2-3 – Establish standardized hardware configurations and recommended lifecycle for university workstations 

Standardizing the device experience is challenging, as the purchase and support of equipment is a decentralized responsibility that cuts across divisions and departments. Increasingly, security concerns and disparities in the customer experience warrant a more centralized approach to desktop and mobile device support. Ensuring that equipment is properly patched, supported, and updated provides a level of consistency and security that is important for all members of the campus community. 

High-level Timeline:
Y1 – Apply consistent security settings to all Windows and Mac workstations; apply consistent user experience settings to all ITS-managed machines
Y2-3 – Extend device management capabilities to workstations that are not managed by ITS; apply consistent user experience settings to all university-owned machines 

ITS is actively exploring modern, cloud-first options for telephone-based services in campus call centers and the University operator. The next iteration in telephone technology is the elimination of desk phones in favor of computer-based solutions, such as Jabber or Teams. The University’s current Cisco phone system contract ends in Year 3. In anticipation of this, ITS will explore various telephony options in Year 2. Internet-based solutions offer greater efficiency and better pricing, as they will eventually reduce or eliminate the need for phone servers housed in the University Data center. Over time, these will represent significant cost savings for the campus. 

High-level Timeline:
Y1 – Participate in SUNY unified communications pilot
Y2-3 – Implement new system

ITS has been working with Verizon to expand cellular coverage in areas where access is limited. While Verizon is the only carrier exploring cellular improvements on campus at this time, ITS expects that additional carriers will follow their example as this technology evolves. WiFi calling is much more dependable as we expand WiFi coverage across the campuses, which will provide members of the campus community with the WiFi-calling option as well.

High-level Timeline:
Y1 – Deploy Verizon cellular to all podium buildings, tunnels, and basements
Y2-3 – Enlist other major carriers to utilize the same distributed antenna system (DAS)