2004 IT Strategic Achievement Report
I am happy to present this document as a strategic achievements report to the UF community. The Office of Information Technology (OIT) was created in response to recommendations from a review in 2001 of the University of Florida Information Technology (IT) environment. This central unit and the creation of my position were a first step in a comprehensive University-wide reorganization of IT resources and operations with a focus on the University’s missions of teaching, research, and service/extension. The OIT was charged with forming an organization to address:
- The creation of a new IT organization from existing organizations,
- On-going strategic planning,
- Strategic allocation of resources and budget guidance,
- IT architecture planning and management, and
- Performance measurement to assess benefits and outcomes.
As a second step to address those mandates, a new IT strategic planning process was initiated involving a broad range of individuals from the newly created Information Technology Advisory Council (ITAC) and the various ITAC committees and subcommittees.
The proposed IT SP was approved by the Vice Provost and submitted for University approval on May 7, 2002. With the approval of the Provost and President, the IT SP has now become the roadmap for OIT operation and development. The plan identifies a set of five strategic focus areas related to University IT functions: (1) Planning, Administration, and Human Resource Issues; (2) Teaching, Learning, and Research; (3) Service and Support; (4) Infrastructure; and (5) Security and Standards. Under each of these focus areas, a series of goals were adopted to align the OIT organization and its goals with the greater University mission as defined in the UF Strategic Plan.
This report is an overview of efforts in support of the strategic focus areas and specific goals established in the IT Strategic Plan. It does not provide an exhaustive list of OIT activities. Rather, it presents a representative sample of activities during the report period (14 months) that have a direct bearing on the goals stated in the strategic plan. Other activities, considered fundamental to operations or basic infrastructure, are not reported here.