Round 4
Dec 2000
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Office of the Provost
Compact Plan
Part Two: Initiatives
A. Initiatives Supporting University Goals
University Goal: Adopting New Business Models
3. Combine Telecommunications and ITD's Production Networking Groups Under New Partnership Model
What will be achieved, how, and why it is important to the university
As part of the effort to advance the university's goal of adopting new business models, ITD and Finance and Information Systems (FIS) units have begun seeking ways to improve the IT and communications services currently offered to the university by each organization. In some areas, new structures and collaborative solutions that consolidate, rather than expand, resources could improve the quality and efficiency of services to both academic and administrative clients. One such area identified early in the process was the university's data and telecommunications services. The division between ITD's NCState.Net network operations group and FIS's Telecommunications group was perceived as an impediment to providing essential data and telecommunications networking to the university.
Technologically, data and telephony are converging onto a single high-bandwidth network. It would become increasingly difficult to have an effective university information technology strategy without significant coordination and integration of activities that in 1999 only intersected at the Chancellor level. Furthermore, to maintain its leadership role in technology and be competitive in distance education, technology-enhanced teaching and learning, e-commerce and other mission-critical areas, the university will increasingly rely upon its ability to develop, deploy and use advanced network technologies.
As a solution to this problem, ITD initially proposed an Initiative to merge Telecommunications and the networking operations group within NCState.net into a single more efficient unit. While the reasoning was sound, subsequent conversations made it clear that the prospects for an organizational merger were not good. As a result, however, a plan for a new model of partnership between ITD and FIS emerged and is now being implemented.
In September, 2000, ITD and FIS signed a Memorandum of Understanding that formed a new combined telecommunications and data networking group called Communication Technologies (ComTech). The new partnership promises many of the same benefits of a merger, without the debates that would surround a complete organizational restructuring. The overarching purpose of this partnership is to improve the service and business model for campus data and telecommunications networking while maintaining the university's lead in developing and implementing advanced networking technology.
The MoU specifies the following:
· ITD and FIS agree to form a new unit called Communication Technologies (ComTech) with Jennifer Van Horn, now Director of Telecommunications, as the director. The Director of ComTech will report jointly to the Vice Provost for IT and the Associate Vice Chancellor for FIS. The director's salary will be split between the two parent divisions, with half being paid by ITD and half by FIS. Performance reviews will be jointly administered. The director will attend staff meetings in both ITD and FIS and will serve as a bridge between the academic and administrative units for networking and telecommunications services.
· The new ComTech unit will consist of the three units within the FIS' Telecommunications (Customer Operations; Business Office; Engineering, Construction, and Maintenance) and two networking units from the former NCState.Net staff (Engineering and Operations; Advanced Technology Development).
· The data networking and the telecommunications units will "officially" remain as units of ITD and FIS respectively. Budgets and staff positions will also "officially" remain with the parent divisions. However, it is agreed in principle that the combined ComTech units will be operated so as to most efficiently and effectively utilize total resources and to return the greatest value to the university.
· ITD will split off the technology strategic planning and special projects activity from the data networking unit (NCState.Net) and establish this group as a separate functional unit called Strategic Planning and Special Projects (SPē).
· In addition to the current staff in Telecommunications, Jennifer Van Horn will take responsibility for performance reviews and daily management of both ITD's network Engineering and Operations, and Advanced Technology Development staff. See attached organization chart for current staff names and positions.
· ComTech will manage and run the production data, phone, and video infrastructure on campus and will assume primary responsibility for ensuring that the diverse networking and telecommunications needs of the university are being appropriately met. The unit will be managed consistent with the goal of maintaining the university's status as a leader in networking infrastructure while providing stable and reliable production network services to all clients.
· The ComTech partnership will:
1. Establish a joint business office responsible for rate setting and billing for the combined group
2. Coordinate and manage physical and electronic infrastructure campus-wide
3. Integrate deployment planning and design for physical and electronic infrastructure
4. Provide campus users with a single point of contact for both voice and data connectivity
5. Establish helpdesk services for both voice and network for campus users
6. Integrate procurement and management of all physical and electronic infrastructure components
7. Enhance role and training level of field (telephony) technician staff to maximize the quality of on-site customer service
8. Work with SPē group to place in production products and services developed to enhance the capabilities of campus network, after appropriate discussion and review by campus users (ACS, NCS, EIS, colleges, faculty and students).
9. Utilize current resources (staff and budget) of combined group to maximize efficiency.
Impact or outcomes for students, faculty, staff, external clients or others
As stated in the MoU:
It is of strategic importance to the university's mission and to its survival as a competitive higher-education enterprise that NC State take full advantage of the potential of its networking and telecommunications technology resources. The new business model for networking and telecommunications is an essential next step if we are to achieve demonstrable and timely improvements in service quality, accountability, and cost-effectiveness of operations. At the same time, it is essential to pursue a commitment to the aggressive deployment of the new capabilities that are vital to the university's advancement and leadership role in science, technology and technology-enhanced learning.
Resources needed
The ComTech partnership will produce a significant win for the university at very little cost. The primary requirement is that all current commitments to funding for the wiring project and other on-going activities be continued as is.
Sometime in the future ITD will want to move the combined data and telecommunications ComTech operations to Centennial Campus, near the Centennial Main Distribution Facility (CMDF) and Networking Technologies Center (Compact Initiative 5). Funding for this move is appropriately an activity to be covered within the rate structure and therefore is a part of the operational business plan.
Deliverables
· Implement formation of Communication Technologies (ComTech) partnership. (September, 2000; ongoing)