The scenario (pre-Evolve programme):

The performance of PC clusters and applications was often poor. Logging in to PCs took a long time and there was a lack of flexibility in accessing applications. There was limited capacity in PC clusters, and a lack of availability at certain times of the year.

This project has delivered:

• Upgraded hardware in PC clusters and central teaching rooms.
• A time-saving process for preparing and issuing new University-managed laptops to colleagues and postgraduate researchers using automation technology.

In future the project will deliver:

• A new PC cluster provisioning service (new applications delivery solution).
• Stronger links between IT Services and the Teaching and Learning community for colleague and student computing services.
• A strategy for PC clusters linked to the Teaching and Learning strategy.

What difference will this make?

• Improved performance of cluster PCs that have the information and applications that colleagues and students need to be able to work.
• Information and applications can be streamed from the cloud.
• Staff and students can work on any device in any location and access the information and applications they need.

The result:

An improved experience for students in the PC cluster environments and a more robust service for colleagues.

The present scenario:

Critical applications are reaching end-of-life and will soon be unsupported – risking outages, data loss and limits to functional change we can make.

This project will deliver:

• A documented understanding of our current applications landscape.
• Power platform and PowerBI review.
• CRM and applications portfolio assessment with a recommended roadmap.

What difference will this make?

• We will have a broad converged set of information applications with speedy, accessible low-code platforms.
• A clear applications roadmap so we can better manage and support our applications. 

The result:

A documented applications strategy and roadmap to guide investment decisions and highlight technical debt and risk.

The present scenario:

We don’t have end-to-end test environments that mirror our live systems, so what we test isn’t the same as real-life services, risking major service outages and failed implementation.

This project will deliver:

• Automated build for environments for our core systems.
• On-demand environments available through the IT service catalogue.
• Robust guidelines, standards and governance.
• Data obfuscation as required.

What difference will this make?

• We will have readily available information applications sets.
• There will be a route to a live environment for information and applications.
• We will have obfuscated data outside of a live service.

The result:

Delivering on-demand, high availability, reusable, stable and managed environments utilising industry-standard tools.

The present scenario:

The way we secure access to systems and data is overly complex and we are functionally constrained.

This project will deliver:

• Introduction of Identity and Access Management (IDAM) architecture, policy and standards.
• Secure by design strategy, architecture and principles.
• Directory services, personal access management - single sign-in and authentication.

What difference will this make?

• Your own University secure digital identity.
• Services to authenticate your identity.
• Management of your information and application access.

The result:

The development of an IDAM (Identity and Access Management) strategy and implementation of a new IDAM service model and technology will improve the user experience with a seamless access management service.

The present scenario:

Our infrastructure (computing, storage, connectivity) needs greater capacity and/or renewal. We are at risk of hardware failure, service outages and capacity limits.

This project will deliver:

• Implementation of an IT operations centre that will respond to system alerts.
• A set of work instructions to bring critical services online 24/7.
• IT tools assessment and implementation.
• Hosting strategy (cloud and on-premise).

What difference will this make?

• Ability to pinpoint issues with our IT infrastructure before they arise resulting in fewer outages and incidents.
• A 24/7 service staffed by a team of experts to ensure service continuity.
• Stable and highly available IT services.

The result:

An improved IT Infrastructure management environment that supports a 24/7 University.

The present scenario:

Our systems are integrated using complex, end-of-life platforms and are poorly understood. Our change portfolio is at risk due to a lack of systems knowledge.

This project will deliver:

• An integration catalogue.
• A Centre of Excellence (governance, architecture, strategy) to enable future programmes of work.
• A technology review and implementation.
• The migration of integrations to a new platform.

What difference will this make?

• We will have a joined-up set of enterprise and productivity information.
• We will have seamless applications working together to better support our core business processes.
• The user experience will improve with fewer integration issues and manual interventions.

The result:

A new, simplified, scalable, future-proof integration platform, driving best practices and standardisation in integrations.