Massey University(MIS100 2009)

By CIO staff | Friday, July 24 2009

2008 ranking: 9

Senior IS executive: Gerrit Bahlman, CIO
Reports to: General manager strategy and finance
Size of IS shop: 120

PCs: 5500
Mobile PCs: 1000
Terminals: 350
Hand-held devices: 810
Total screens: 7660

Industry: Educational services
PC environment: Windows XP, Vista, Mac; Linux; Advantage; HP; Toshiba
Server environment: Dell, HP, Supermicro, IBM, Red Hat Linux, Windows 2003, Mac
DBMS: SQL, MySQL, Oracle, Ingres
Address: Highway 57, Palmerston North
Website: www.massey.ac.nz
Key IS projects this year: Disaster recovery project — Auckland datacentre; student programme management software devel-opment; upgrade of telephony infrastructure; implementation of a security framework; implementation of ITIL.

The IT team at Massey University provides Massey researchers, teachers and administrators with support in managing the infrastructural ICT components of their working environments. Underpinning those work environments are reliable high-capacity networks, data storage facilities, data transfer facilities, reliable audio visual and teaching support infrastructure, extensive student computer laboratories and high-performance computing equipment.

The growth of eResearch is introducing new challenges to provide simple and easy access to ICT research facilities and capabilities that will be readily available, perform effectively and have sufficient capacity to meet demand.

The growth in demand for storage, which is evident to all, is a key challenge to many sectors of the industry, says CIO Gerrit Bahlman, but this is particularly evident in universities.

Bahlman says one of the key roles of IT in modern universities is to provide mechanisms to support reporting frameworks that provide a single view of ‘the truth’ and supports an emerging balanced scorecard approach to university management.

“These frameworks integrate student prospects, students, alumnus and other stakeholders into a system that enables multiple roles to be managed effectively,” says Bahlman.

He says Massey IT is also focused on providing a unified messaging and communications environment that brings together communications channels such as voice, email, voicemail, texting, and video conferencing for each individual.

“Integration of communication technologies can no longer be constrained by the physical boundaries of the university and now needs to provide for collaboration between people globally,” says Bahlman.

Massey University has an extensive and growing dependency on the KAREN network that now underpins significant teaching, research and administrative communications infrastructure in the university.

The Massey IT team provides a wide scope of desktop support services that include centralised printing and photocopying services, automatically updated personal computer platforms and the maintenance of core standardised software able to be used collaboratively.
Users receive the training required to use this platform
effectively. Other goals include an overall IT coordination function that is part of a portfolio management framework incorporating teaching, research and administration domains of activity.

Key ICT projects for 2009 include investment in disaster
recovery systems, implementation of a security framework and further investment in unified communications infrastructure. Business intelligence system upgrades are also on the agenda, along with continued software and server virtualisation, VoIP system implementation, and extension of wireless technologies and services across Massey campuses and throughout the buildings. Projects involving cellular mobile devices, technologies and services are also ongoing.