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When IT comes up during conversation in your office, what is your first reaction? Do you associate IT with the Service Desk you regularly call when you need to change your password or with the people who see to it that the internet always works?
The IT Division is generally perceived as a service delivery organisation – and often simply as a “utility”. Since it has a history of mainly supporting office and administrative systems, it might come as a surprise to learn that our goal is to focus on the core functions of the University – research, learning and teaching, and social impact.
The term IT Division refers to the central IT Division solely, which is the central, accountable authority for the institutional information and communication technology function.
The IT Division manages, builds, sources, runs and maintains cyber-infrastructure (such as networks, central computer servers, identity management, e-mail and telecommunications systems, amongst others) and a wide range of software applications, information systems and platforms, and services that are essential to the University’s core academic and administrative functions and, in collaboration with decentralised groups, supports users in the effective use of information and communications technology (ICT).
The central Information Technology Division comprises some 140 staff members when at full capacity, ranging from support technicians, through service desk agents, system administrators, engineers, software developers, systems analysts, database administrators, project managers to architects and business analysts.
However, over time, a multitude of organisational entities that manage and provide ICT support services, infrastructures, software applications and systems and maintain the security and integrity of information, started to develop in the University. Most often, but not always, they are in partnership with the central IT Division, although they report to deans of faculties, schools and other divisions. We refer to the group of distributed entities as the “IT Organisation”.
Many of the distributed ICT entities have also gradually morphed from computer user areas or computer laboratories to become support and advisory entities that are located close to students and academic users.
The ICT Function at Stellenbosch University comprises the following elements:
• The IT Organisation and its people, competencies, knowledge base and skills;
• The processes and capabilities required to plan, manage, build and run the services and infrastructure encompassed by the ICT Domains of:
o ICT support services,
o educational technology services,
o research computing services,
o computing infrastructure services,
o communications infrastructure services,
o information security, and
o information systems and applications;
that enable and support the University’s core academic, social impact and administrative processes;
• The ICT assets including technologies, hardware, software and information.
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Wanneer IT se naam gedurende `n gesprek opduik, wat is jou eerste assosiasie? Dink jy dadelik aan die IT Dienstoonbank wat jy gereeld bel as jou wagwoord verander, of beskou jy IT as die mense wat sorg dat die internet altyd werk?
Die IT-afdeling word oor die algemeen gesien as ʼn diensleweringsorganisasie – en soms eenvoudig as ʼn “nuttigheid”. Aangesien IT hoofsaaklik `n geskiedenis het om kantoor en administratiewe stelsels te ondersteun, mag dit as `n verrassing kom dat ons doelwitte deesdae in lyn is met die universiteit se kernfunksies – navorsing, leer, onderrig en gemeenskapsinteraksie.
Die term “IT-afdeling” verwys slegs na die afdeling, wat die sentrale, verantwoordbare gesag is vir die institusionele inligting- en kommunikasietegnologie funksie binne die universiteit.
Die IT-afdeling bestuur, bou, voorsien, dryf en onderhou kuber-infrastruktuur (onder andere netwerke, sentrale rekenaarbedieners, identiteitsbestuur en e-pos en telekommunikasiestelsels) en ook `n wye reeks sagtewaretoepassings, inligtingstelsels en -platforms, en dienste wat noodsaaklik is vir die universiteit se kern akademiese en administratiewe funksies en, in samewerking met desentraliseerde groepe, ook gebruikers ondersteun in die effektiewe gebruik van inligting- en kommunikasietegnologie (IKT)
Die sentrale Informasietegnologie afdeling, wanneer dit op volle kapasiteit funksioneer, bestaan uit 140 personeellede wat ondersteuningstegnici, hulptoonbankagente, stelseladministrateurs, ingenieurs, sagteware ontwikkelaars, stelselanaliste, databasis administrateurs, projekbestuurders, argitekte en besigheidsanaliste insluit.
Oor tyd het ʼn magdom organisatoriese entiteite wat IKT ondersteuningsdienste, infrastrukture, sagtewaretoepassings en -stelsels bestuur, sowel as die sekuriteit en integriteit van inligting onderhou, binne die universiteit ontstaan. Dikwels, maar nie altyd nie, werk hierdie entiteite saam met die sentrale IT-afdeling, alhoewel hulle aan die dekane van fakulteite, skole en ander afdelings rapporteer. Ons verwys na hierdie verspreide groep entiteite as die “IT-organisasie”.
Baie van die verspreide IKT-entiteite het ook geleidelik vervorm in rekenaargebruiksareas of rekenaarlaboratoria met die doel om ondersteuning en advies te bied aan studente en akademiese gebruikers in hul omgewings.
Die IKT-funksie by Universiteit Stellenbosch bestaan uit die volgende:
• Die IT-organisasie en sy mense, bevoegdhede, kennisgrondslag en vaardighede;
• Die prosesse en vermoëns nodig om die dienste en infrastruktuur wat deur onderstaande IKT-domeine omvang word, te beplan, bestuur, bou en dryf sodat die universiteit se kern akademiese, gemeenskapsinteraksie en administratiewe prosesse ondersteun en aktiveer kan word.
o ICT ondersteuningsdienste,
o onderrig-tegnologie dienste,
o navorsingsverwerkingsdienste,
o verwerkingsinfrastruktuur dienste,
o kommunikasie-infrastruktuur dienste,
o inligtingsekuriteit en
o inligtingstelsels en -toepassings;
• Die IKT bates, insluitende tegnologieë, hardeware, sagteware en inligting.
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The IT Hub, centrally located in the heart of campus, under the bridge connecting Admin A and Admin B, now offers a one-on-one consultation room for staff with a professional technician.
