Why reorganize IT at UiO?
– The rapid changes in technologies and technology use place high demands on an IT organization, says project owner and IT director Lars Oftedal. – When we now get this new, joint IT organization at UiO, we get several benefits: All UiO's employees and students get a common user support to turn to, knowledge and competence can be spread more easily within one IT organization, and we are able to work better and more effectively together to help lift research and teaching at UiO, the project owner continues.
The OU IT project (project for organizational development of IT at UiO) has worked broadly and thoroughly to find a new organizational form which can help to rig IT at UiO for the future. – UiO is in the leading IT in the sector, so this was not started because we are not good enough. We want to be at the forefront, and the challenges which lie ahead, place other demands on the organization of the work with digitization and high technology. IT services for research and education require more, and some of basic services require less. The reorganization makes us able to better give our researchers, lecturers and students what they need of customized IT solutions and consulting, Oftedal concludes.
A digital transformation
From the project's documentation, we see the challenges which come with the ongoing digital transformation:
- Technologies and user needs change faster
- New technologies change both how we work and what we work with
- Need for increased and other competence for both IT users and IT staff
- Need for common, standardized basic solutions with a high degree of distribution which free up resources for customization where necessary
- Need for a more dynamic organization, where the supply of new tasks is large when changes in technologies and user needs mean that old tasks fall away
Digitization and IT security will be a common thread throughout the organization, and this involves digitization and further digitization of both processes and tools in the IT organization and of UiO's activities in general. IT security will be integrated in all activities, and knowledge and competence about the digital tools will be important for everyone. With the new organization, therefore, competence development and competence sharing will be important not only for the IT staff, but also for all employees and students at UiO.
What can UiO expect?
The new organization offers a common point of contact for support, where many of the issues can be resolved by email, chat, over the phone or via Zoom. Nevertheless, support and IT personnel will also be available locally, so that help with equipment in auditoriums and teaching rooms, and other things that require physical attendance, will be easily accessible. The IT employees who are located locally will also keep in touch with the units nearby and participate in the development of the IT services that must be adapted to the various subject areas at UiO. And with the introduction of standardized equipment and common services where possible, resources will be freed for research and teaching which require customizes solutions.
But despite standardization and more efficient basic solutions, the need for IT personnel will not diminish. – We have no IT staff to lose, and no is going to lose their job in this process. Everyone who is to be transferred to the new organization will have a good and exciting job with development opportunities, Explains project manager Lill Mardal. – In addition to support and maintenance, the new organization will continue the work of developing and operating IT solutions to support our primary business, research and education. We will be one of the largest IT organizations in the country, and we will be there to help lift our researchers, teachers and students and give them what they need to achieve their goals, concludes the project manager.
Starting from 01.01.23
From the university director's decision on 20 May, the path for the project continues with the placement and staffing of the new organization. There is a lot that needs to be in place, both administratively and for the IT staff. All IT staff receives information from their manager and through joint meetings, and all IT users will receive good information about new offers from the IT organization.
All information about the reorganization project and process is available from the OU IT project website (in Norwegian)