An external report was recently made public evaluating the effectiveness of the UNM IT department — and UNM has work to do.
There was a general agreement across the board, according to the report, that the present IT structure is inoperative and does not benefit the University. The report also shows an absence of trust in Central IT altogether.
Technology Integration Group, a solutions provider firm, conducted the report.
Interim Chief Information Officer Duane Arruti, working beside Deputy Chief Information Officer Brian Pietrewicz, said they will work together to address the criticisms of the report.
“We have been asked not to just maintain, but to improve IT services campus-wide, alongside other campus IT service providers in consideration of the recommendations made by the external consultant and the needs defined by our academic and administrative leadership,” Arruti said.
Arruti said the IT team takes this duty very seriously, and they will work diligently to make the overall IT structure more efficient.
University President Bob Frank addressed the report’s findings in an email to all students, saying he plans to carefully consider all the recommendations provided.
“In times of change, open communication and transparent processes are critical,” Frank wrote. “We are committed to creating appropriate venues for dialogue and feedback on these recommendations and plans for their implementation.”
According to the report, there was a near unanimous sentiment that UNM IT isn’t up to par. The department was also widely criticized for campus Wi-Fi being unable to handle large amounts of internet traffic on the first day of the fall semester.
“Everybody who attended the sessions was of the opinion that IT needs to change; the current setup doesn’t work,” the report states. “The feeling was consistent with the internal IT staff as well. Each college/division is managing their own IT needs.”
According to TIG, many campus departments are relying on outside resources for services that UNM IT should already be providing.
“The University has multiple licenses for the same tools in some instances, and in some instances multiple providers for the same services,” the report states. “We can get better service at a lower cost from others, including other colleges and, yes, the finance department at the University.”
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An illustration of this would include desktop support being supplied by University Libraries at what could be a lower cost than being supplied by Central IT.
Arruti said the decision to outsource specific services begins with an evaluation of campus needs comparative to internal and external expertise and what is necessary to meet these necessities.
“It is very appropriate to periodically do a market assessment to determine if external companies have the skills and/or economies of scale to meet or exceed our requirements and provide an enhanced return on investment,” Arruti said. “Lots of factors are considered as part of this evaluation, and the decision is not based just on financial considerations.”
Arruti said they also analyze whether specific duties are specialized and/or short-term in essence, and when outsourcing would be beneficial to free up internal resources.
More and more colleges and divisions are maintaining their own data center, where they utilize their own servers.
“This leads to replication of core services and underutilization of expensive skill sets,” the report states. “System/Network Administrators that support these functions can be part of the larger Central IT team and gain some efficiencies.”
The issue, according to the report, is not the amount of staff in IT or a lack of financial resources, but rather the manner in which those funds are allocated. On the other side of the spectrum, the report states that Central IT feels there is not enough staff to attend to the needs of the University as a whole.
According to TIG , there are 21 directors and managers outside of IT, excluding the Health Sciences Center, while Central IT has 32 managers, which means 53 managers supporting IT functions within UNM.
“Central IT needs robust leadership, a leader who can ‘lead’, not just manage the Central IT,” the report states. “This person needs to gain the trust of all of Central IT, and the UNM community in general.”
A well-favored model utilized by various educational institutions includes less middle management and a more substantial staff that can be forthright with service delivery.
“To respond well to the new IT environment, an IT organization needs to be resilient and ready to explore and take on new challenges, all on increasingly short timelines,” the report states. “With tighter budgets and more managers focused on management these days, the number of middle managers is decreasing to help have a larger staff who focus on service delivery rather than on management.”
For a favorable outcome, the report states that IT governance must commit to the following values: transparency, communication, accountability, responsibility, appropriate representation and active support.
“The University is evaluating the timing and approach to filling these roles in the longer term,” Arruti said. “In the meantime, Brian and I are committed to working with campus to advance UNM’s goal of continuous improvement.”
According to Arruti, the report by TIG, with careful consideration of the suggestions made, will provide opportunities for UNM’s collective IT expertise to strengthen services for everyone on campus.
“Our understanding of and attention to student and faculty needs will ensure that we target our efforts towards the technology issues that are most important to our campus,” he said. “The net benefit will be realized and measured by improved satisfaction with UNM IT services, which is our ultimate goal.”
Arruti said students can make the process easier by continuing to provide feedback concerning what’s working and what needs improvement.
“We exist to serve our campus community, and students are the most important part of that equation,” Arruti said, adding that their online help system, help.unm.edu, allows students to report issues and request services online.
Arruti also cites the call center and annual student technology surveys as ways to help determine primary issues and proposals for future investments, while working alongside student government.
“Please take advantage of all these mechanisms to let us know how we can enhance your experience at UNM,” Arruti said. “We are here to serve you.”
Sarah Trujillo is a freelance news reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @sarahtweets_abq.
