By Provost James V. Maher, Chair
Information Technology Steering Committee

In May 2000, the Information Technology Steering Committee (ITSC) submitted to the Chancellor a strategic plan to guide the development of the technology environment within the University, "An Information Technology Foundation for the 21st Century." That plan, which had been developed following widespread consultation and which had broad support throughout the University, served as an excellent guide to the remarkable progress which we have made over the past several years. In that initial plan, the then-current environment, in terms of infrastructure, support, programs, and resources, was described in detail to serve as a baseline against which to evaluate subsequent progress. Although the plan was often quite specific in describing initiatives that were planned and programs that were to be undertaken, it recognized that the rapidly changing nature of technology and its potential applications within our environment were highly dynamic and that the plan above all had to be flexible and responsive.

In order to establish a new baseline and to evaluate the progress which we have made since the implementation of "An Information Technology Foundation for the 21st Century" this update has been prepared. It is designed to indicate what progress has been made, to describe those actions which will be undertaken in the near future, and, most importantly, to provide the framework within which the development and delivery of information technology will be even more responsive, stable, and secure.

The University has made significant progress during the last several years in implementing many of the goals outlined in the plan. Among the most notable accomplishments which have transformed the environment are the following:

• Network infrastructure was upgraded to Gigabit Ethernet, considerably increasing network speed
• Port speed was increased from 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps increasing connection speed to PittNet
  University Internet bandwidth was increased significantly
• Deteriorating network infrastructure components were identified, replaced, and upgraded, and network reliability was improved through the implementation of greater redundancy
• Digital modems replaced the analog modems in the University's pool, improving reliability and connection speed
• Network security initiatives were implemented to protect our network from internal misuse and external threats
• Network accounts were carefully winnowed
• Wireless network standards were developed and implemented, and wireless access was provided in several locations
• A central directory was developed as the authoritative source for identity information and authentication
• My.pitt.edu, an enterprise portal, was implemented to provide a single point of Web access to University and Internet materials
• A comprehensive data warehouse was developed to aggregate data from enterprise systems for the purpose of analysis and a new student information system selected and purchased
• The enterprise web infrastructure was replaced with a robust, extensible infrastructure that supports advanced features such as content management
• A state-of-the-art backup system was implemented for centralized backup of enterprise systems
• Software Asset Management was implemented to track software assets and contracts
• Hardware and software were upgraded for critical enterprise services, such as E-mail, Unix Timesharing, and Blackboard
• E-mail kiosks (109) were installed across campus to provide convenient access to email and the Internet in high traffic areas

While these accomplishments are significant, they must be seen as only progress toward our goal of providing a world-class information technology environment. Our reliance upon information technology becomes ever greater, and the threats to our information technology environment from misuse and attack have never been greater. In response to these increasing threats, greater emphasis must be placed on securing our resources. This will be accomplished in a manner that is sensitive to our particular needs as a research institution, and we will continue to provide our students and faculty with the means to conduct their academic work. We will also take those steps necessary to protect that ability by providing an appropriate level of security consistent with our mission.

Based upon our progress to date and our understanding of the challenges that we face in the immediate future, the ITSC has endorsed an update of the strategic plan to guide our development through FY2005. Among the primary goals of that update are to implement the following new programs and major improvements in our environment:

• A comprehensive security plan will be implemented
• Network infrastructure will be upgraded to 10 Gigabit Ethernet Backbone
• Network redundancy will be increased
• Movement to Single Protocol will be completed and Internet Protocol Version 6 will be implemented as vendor support develops
• A network operations center will be established to monitor the status and performance of the network and central services and systems on a constant basis
• Mobile computing capabilities will be enhanced
• The voice network will be upgraded
• A usage based cost model will be developed to replace the per-port fee now in place
• The central directory service will be enhanced by the addition of authorization functions
  Enterprise web services and the enterprise portal will be enhanced
• The new enterprise student administration system will be implemented

I urge you to read carefully the plan that follows. It describes in detail the direction that the University will be taking over the next several years. The result of this planned approach will be a significantly strengthened and enhanced information technology environment to support the work of the University.

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