Integrated Technology Services (ITS) Budget Presentation 2009

Integrated Technology Services Integrated Technology Services (ITS) Budget Presentation 2009 - 2010 Planning and Managing the Information, Communications & Technology (I.C.T.) Resources at UNB Submitted by: Lori MacMullen, Associate Vice President, ITS Date: Monday, January 26, 2009 Budget Submission 2009 - 2010 Integrated Technology Services Mission To enhance UNB’s ability to achieve its objectives through the strategic management, effective use, and efficient delivery of information communications technology (I.C.T.) and imaging services at UNB. Vision To have UNB acknowledged as a leader, by its students, its employees, its stakeholders, its peers and its community in the management and use of information, communications and technology (I.C.T.). The Drivers The strategic management and effective use of I.C.T. resources in support of:  Strategic enrollment planning and management,  Quality teaching and learning,  Innovation and discovery,  Service excellence,  Effective and efficient planning and management of resources, and;  Strengthening UNB’s role in the local, provincial, regional, national and international “community” Mandate ITS is a corporate unit, with a university wide mandate to:   Manage the delivery of information systems to all units (e.g. Datatel’s Colleague, Blackboard, etc.), Provide client support services to the Fredericton campus (e.g. help desk, level 1 technical support) as well as infrastructure and technical support services to both Fredericton & Saint John (e.g. I.T. procurement, instruction & training, specialized technical support services, etc), and; Define and implement a university wide I.C.T. strategy.  Goals Services: The delivery of quality, self serve, cost effective I.C.T. and reproductive services for students, faculty and staff of UNB enabled by a stable, secure and robust technical infrastructure. Solutions: The provision of integrated, standards based, cost effective automated solutions/information systems supporting the unit specific, campus focused and institution wide business processes of UNB. Strategy: A managed and continued evolution of the information, communications and technology strategies to meet the business needs of the organization and achieve maximum value from the investments made. Budget Submission 2009 - 2010 Integrated Technology Services Organization Services: Services are delivered through four organizational units - Imaging Services, Client Services, Infrastructure Services and Network & Communication Services with responsibility to:         manage and deliver quality, cost effective reproductive services, provide user support services through a variety of means including help desk services, distributed support services in faculties and departments (i.e. Level 1’s) and a computer response team, coordinate and manage the acquisition of I.T. products and services through a centralized procurement and support service (including site license management), manage and deliver a hardware repair and support service for UNB owned computers, printers and servers, manage and operate a centralized data center, manage and support all enterprise level systems including email, calendaring and file/print management, manage and coordinate the operation and support of all public labs (1000 machines), and; plan, manage and operate the University's data and voice communications network(s). Solutions: Business solutions are delivered through one organizational unit focused on the delivery of core business solutions, business intelligence, eServices (or web based solutions) including:     automated systems to support core business processes in human resource management, payroll, financial management, student information, ecommerce and learning management, campus specific needs in the areas of budget management, security support systems, building operation and management (HVAC) and door access systems, unit specific needs such as departmental web pages, alumni management, development and donor relations, and; management information systems to support the planning and decision making needs of the departments, the faculties and the University overall. Strategy: The strategy group (currently 2 FTE’s) in conjunction with the services and solutions units and reporting to the AVP, is responsible to plan for, develop and coordinate UNB’s overall information, communications and technology (I.C.T.) architecture(s) and strategies. Budget Submission 2009 - 2010 Integrated Technology Services The Portfolio The ITS budget portfolio is made up of two envelopes – Imaging Services and Integrated Technology Services. Imaging Services, as a unit, is expected to recover the full cost of operations through internal and external charge backs. Integrated Technology Services, as a service unit, receives the majority of its funding from the operational budgets with a small revenue stream from both internal and external sources. For the purposes of the budget submission, the unit envelops which make up the ITS portfolio have been treated as two separate envelopes. The Continuing Challenge As operational budgets continue to shrink, the ability to provide and maintain an appropriate and sustainable level of funding for the I.C.T infrastructure represents a significant challenge (and risk) to the University. Without it the University will be unable to:    ensure the continued operation and support of the critical I.C.T. infrastructure, address an increasing demand for the services (e.g. expectation that systems are available 24 X 7, implement new and improved business solutions), and; take advantage of new opportunities both for the business (i.e. on-line services) and in the technology (e.g. virtualization). The Priorities UNB and ITS must continue to focus on and invest in the following priorities areas:    improving the reliability of the I.C.T. infrastructure through the implementation of a redundant and fault tolerant infrastructure (e.g. redundant fiber connections, additional UPS’s, facilities upgrades, etc), addressing current and future needs through the implementation of scalable and enterprise wide solutions (e.g. enterprise storage, enterprise space management, document imaging, etc.). identifying, pursuing and taking advantage of the new opportunities which are both enabled by and found within the technology (e.g. virtualization, active admissions, content management system, web strategy, etc.) The Problem Since 2005, ITS has been asked to reduce its operating budget by approximately $350,000. To date, the impact of these reductions on the infrastructure has been mitigated through the strategic use of carry forward dollars and an increased reliance on one time funding sources to support the renewal needs of the I.C.T. infrastructure at UNB. Budget Submission 2009 - 2010 Integrated Technology Services The use of carry forwards is no longer an option to address infrastructure renewal or any other unforeseen circumstances or needs as they relate to the management, operation or support of UNB’s critical I.C.T. infrastructure. Due to continued budget reductions there is little or no expectation of carry forward going forward. In addition, the continued reliance on one-time funding to support infrastructure renewal is likely not sustainable without intervention. ISSUE AND RECOMMENDATIONS ISSUE 1: Operating and Supporting UNB’s Critical I.C.T. Infrastructure The “I.C.T. infrastructure” is made up of the data communications networks (wired and wireless), the servers running the systems and the software associated with securing and managing the infrastructure itself. The network(s) include a campus wide fiber network connecting 54 buildings and serving over 5000 university and 4000 student owned devices, supported by 3 core network switches, 350 building or edge switches and routers, 100+ (and growing) wireless access points, and a gigapop connection to Canada’s research and education network (i.e. Canarie). The server, facilities and lab infrastructure consists of 1000 public lab machines, 100+ servers, a number of enterprise services (email, scheduling, file/print, student printing, etc.) and the Wasson Computing Center. This infrastructure is critical to the day to day operation of the university – administratively and academically. Students use it to access content (e.g. Learning@UNB, library resources, etc.); faulty use it to support teaching and research activities (Learning@UNB, on-line grades and class management, access to Canarie); staff use it to deliver services and manage the operation of the University (TimeOnline@UNB, procurement, budget planning, energy management, security monitoring, etc.). Without it the University’s ability to deliver its mission would be significantly compromised and in some cases impossible. UNB’s current investment in the I.C.T infrastructure is estimated to be $11.5 million (not including research computing housed and operated outside ITS) with an annual renewal cost of approximately $250,000 – $350,000. Funding Sources From a low of 6.8% of the funding available (or $49,000) in 99 – 00 to a high of 24.9% (or $147,000) in 03 – 04, non-space requests have traditionally been used to augment the operational budget of ITS. These funding sources, coupled with any carry forwards realized from in year savings in the ITS operational budget have traditionally been used to support the on-going renewal of the I.C.T. infrastructure. Budget Submission 2009 - 2010 Integrated Technology Services More recently, significant investments have also been made from the Student Tech fee to support computer lab renewal and more recently to support the implementation of wireless networking across campus. As noted above, with the continued reductions in the ITS operating budget this approach is no longer feasible. Recommendation It is recommended that $250,000 and $25,000 be allocated as an “off the top” item from non-space and A & R (similar to library acquisitions, smart classroom needs and accessibility) to support the continued renewal of the I.C.T. infrastructure. As part of the process, ITS will be responsible to provide the appropriate body (to be determined) with an annual spending plan for the allocated amount with the objective of ensuing the availability of a secure, reliable and sustainable I.C.T. infrastructure for students, faculty and staff at UNB. ISSUE 2: Software & Hardware – Maintenance, Licensing and Support Software and hardware licensing and maintenance costs are accounted for and included within the annual operating budget of ITS, representing an annual estimated expenditure of ~$550,000. Specific items include:         Datatel’s Student, Colleague, Finance and HR software – supporting the operation of the Registrar’s office, Financial Services & Human Resources and used by all units Blackboard – UNB’s learning management software Novell’s Netware – file & print management services for all students, faculty and staff Enterprise storage and back up – for all students, faculty and staff on both campuses Entrinsic reporting software – supporting management and operational reporting Microsoft and Mac products for end users (e.g. Office, Mac Office, etc) software used in public and teaching labs (e.g. Matlab) one-off systems and software supporting business processes such as payments on-line, space management and facilities management. The ITS budget is significantly impacted by two issues in this area:   the increasing costs associated with the current environment, and: the assumed inclusion of on-going operational costs associated with the acquisition and implementation of new software without additional funding. Budget Submission 2009 - 2010 Integrated Technology Services Recommendation #1 It is recommended that the hardware & software maintenance, licensing and support budget items be exempt from all future budget reduction targets. ITS will be asked to prepare a report outlining current costs, anticipated costs and the associated impact (negative or positive) for input to, and direction from, the appropriate budget committee. For budget planning purposes software and hardware licensing and maintenance costs are estimated to increase 7 – 10% on top of a 20% exchange rate for 2009 – 2010. Recommendation #2 It is recommended that all requests to purchase software requiring ongoing licensing or maintenance costs must be reviewed by ITS and RPB to ensure all costs are included, funding sources identified and budgets adjusted accordingly prior to the acquisition being completed. In 2009 – 2008 a project to implement Active Admissions in support of an integrated approach to recruitment and admissions was approved. Both onetime and on-going costs were included and funding was identified however to date the ITS budget has not been adjusted to reflect the on-going software maintenance costs therefore the ITS portion of the overall portfolio is submitted at $25,000 over the current portfolio target to cover the on-going cost of this software. ISSUE 3: Addressing the structural deficit in Imaging Services Imaging Services, as a cost recovery unit, is expected to match its expenditures to its revenue resulting in a net budget of zero. Over the past 3 – 5 years, this has not been possible due to:   a continued decline in use of the services at Imaging Services, and; a continued increase in the fixed costs. In reviewing the context of the past 3 – 5 years, it is believed that the decline in the demand for the services provided by Imaging Services is attributed to the following factors:    an overall decline in demand for printing and copying by the university community due to non-salary budget restrictions in all units, the availability and use of on-line content, sustainability and environmental awareness, etc.), the increased availability of convenience printing and copying on campus (local printers, including color; a fleet of 120 convenience photocopiers), and; an increase in the use of off campus printing and copying service providers Budget Submission 2009 - 2010 Integrated Technology Services With respect the use off campus service providers, it should be noted that in reviewing the invoices paid to off campus service providers for 2008 – 2009, it is estimated that services totaling $300,000 of the total $600,000 in invoices paid may possibly have been delivered by Imaging Services. A number of initiatives were identified in last year’s budget submission as possible short, mid and long term approaches to addressing some of the underlying issues including:  not replacing a possible retirement – the identified retirement did not occur,  closing one production copy center – this was negatively impacted by the delay in the delivery and implementation of the print management system however the Head Hall Copy Center hours were reduced by ½, allowing full time staff members to be used to offset the need for part time resources  assess the feasibility of moving a copy center to Saint John – this was also impacted by the delay in implementing the new print management system,  Looking at other possible sources of revenue including external parties (NBCC/CCNB, increased use of course packs and perhaps a new model for delivery, new services, etc.) – although this remains a potential mid to long term strategy, the resources required to pursue these opportunities were not available in 2008 – 2009. As noted previously, Imaging Services, as a cost recovery unit, should have a budget target of zero (i.e. revenue should equal expenses). Based on last year’s actual expenditures, a base budget of $102,349 has been allocated. Revenue and expense projections for 2009 – 2010, as provided for in this budget submission, indicate the budget target for Imaging Services can be met however the structural issue remains – revenue continues to decline while the “fixed” costs associated with providing the service continues to increase. In addition to the annual budget challenges, this issue, if not addressed, represents a growing negative carry-forward year over year. Recommendation It is recommended that the University undertake a project to assess the feasibility of implementing a printing and photocopying policy at UNB including:  An assessment of the current environment in terms of technology and capacity,  An identification of the current and future needs (including the impact of the external influences such as environmental concerns, technological changes, etc.),  The definition of the appropriate delivery model to address these needs (internal, external, mix of both) and  The management and funding framework required to support the model. The estimated cost for this initiative is $25,000 over 3 months. Budget Submission 2009 - 2010 Integrated Technology Services SETTING OUR PRIORITIES 2009 – 2010 and Beyond As all departments, faculties and units at UNB, ITS has been challenged with reviewing the services provided, the solutions delivered and the strategies pursued in order to ensure that the resources available to us (i.e. time, money and people) are aligned properly to support and/or enable the strategic priorities of UNB. As a mission critical service and supporting infrastructure, ITS can, and will, play a significant role in helping UNB achieve its objectives however the demand for I.T. services and/or solutions continues to outpace the resources available. Integrated Technology Services, as a unit, is in the unique position of “connecting the dots” at many level and for many reasons including;     physically through the actual networks and physical infrastructure, operationally as a corporate service unit looking at how economies of scale or a university wide approach might save money “for UNB”, tactically as the provider of automated solutions to support information and business process integration “flow” and strategically as the “watcher” of the technology in order to identify areas of opportunity for UNB to take advantage of the technology to achieve its objectives. Our most significant challenge is the need to develop, implement and support a university wide approach to address the increasing demand for automated solutions and technology enabled services and ensuring that we are focusing our limited resources in the “right” places. Preliminary work has been done to establish an approach, including identifying how the process would work, who needs to be involved and how it should/must integrate with the overall planning and budgeting processes at UNB. However without a mechanism to ensure that our limited resources are focused on the strategic priorities of the University overall, we, nor UNB, will be successful. Without this, decisions about I.C.T. will continue to be made at the unit or campus level, potential efficiencies will be missed, investments of both time and money will be lost and UNB’s ability to take advantage of the opportunities provided by information, communications and technology to enable effective change on all levels will be missed. Complement Planning Over the past few years, ITS has taken advantage of each vacancy to review its overall needs in terms of capacity and skill in order to ensure that we have the right skills at the right time for the right reasons. Budget Submission 2009 - 2010 Integrated Technology Services ITS has four vacant continuing full time positions as a result of 2 resignations and 2 retirements in 2008 – 2009. In addition, there are a number of term positions due for renewal during 2009 – 2010. In order to meet both the operational and financial needs of the University, our complement plan for 2009 – 2010, as submitted, is based on the following strategies:       Filling continuing full time position # 10254 as a senior business analyst/project manager in the Solutions group. Reassignment of an existing term employee to continuing full time position #10637 as an intermediate business analyst/project manager in the Solutions group. Eliminate term position #10411 in Client Services. Retain position #10474 as vacant for 2009 – 2010. Replace continuing full time position # 10614 with a full time term position to maintain an appropriate level of administrative support Extend or renew 5 existing term positions to April 30, 2010 (three in the Solutions group to support process improvement and web projects, one to support the continued implementation of the phone services audit and one to continue the delivery of IT instruction and end user training services). All positions currently exist within the ITS complement plan and have been included in the overall complement costs for the 2009 – 2010 budget. Priority Funding Requests As noted on page 6, under ISSUE 1: Operating and Supporting UNB’s Critical I.C.T. Infrastructure, we are seeking an off the top allocation from non-space and A & R on an on-going basis to address the need for a continued and sustained investment to support the on-going operation of UNB’s critical I.C.T. infrastructure. Of the 6 priority funding requests submitted for 2009 – 2010, all but one would fit in the category of renewal of the critical I.C.T. Infrastructure. They include: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 200910 – 0410 200910 – 0407 200910 – 0393 200910 – 0403 200809 – 0333 Conduits and Trays (A & R allocation) Network Monitoring Renewal (Non-space) Building Fiber Redundancy Phase 2 Network Expansion/Building Redundancy (Non-space) UNB Enterprise Server Replacements (Non-space) The remaining one time priority requests are in support of increased service. 1. 200910 – 0406 Desktop Backup Solution (Non-space) Budget Submission 2009 - 2010 Integrated Technology Services Managing Carry Forward in the General Operating Accounts of ITS Non-salary carry forward from within the general operating accounts of ITS are being transferred to one account and are intended to be used for the following:    as a contingency fund to address unforeseen issues such as a significant increase in the exchange rate or unanticipated price increases to fund opportunities identified during the year (new software, new technology, training or professional development, etc.) but not budgeted for to fund additional student help or other external resources required to address specific issues. Over the past two years a significant portion of the ITS carry forward have been used to help fund the renewal and refresh of critical components of the I.C.T. infrastructure. This approach has allowed ITS to plan for and manage the workload as well as the refresh cycle. With the recent reductions in the base budget of ITS and the freeze on non-salary budgets, 08 – 09 will be the last year ITS will be able to use this approach. Special Accounts Administered by ITS There are a number of accounts administered by ITS which contain funds and track expenditures related to activities “outside” the normal operating budget for ITS. These accounts include: 174033 MPHEC-ECN Chargeback A clearing account for expenditures made on behalf of the NB-PEI Education Computer Network. Expenditures are made against this account and recovered from the MPHEC. The account should be brought to a zero balance each year and therefore would not have any carry forward. 174034 CANARIE Gigapop/ORAN UNB operates the NB Oran and Gigapop connection on behalf of a number of users in NB. As part of the agreement, the members pay an annual fee. These fees are used to purchase equipment and provide support to ensure the continued operation of the ORAN in NB. Carry forward amounts would remain in this account from year to year until major purchases are required (normally every 4 – 5 years). 174054 Student Lab Printing ITS provides a print on demand service for students on a print credit basis. Revenue from the service is re-invested to ensure the continued operation and support of the service. Carry forwards remain in the account and are expended as hardware needs to be replaced. Budget Submission 2009 - 2010