I am sharing an update on the Strategic Plan deliverable I’m leading, which falls under our commitment as a people-focused organization and the initiative for process and system redesign.
The teams engaged to deliver on the systems renewal roadmap at BCIT have had an eventful year so far. We have been challenged with balancing our need to repair and improve the Institute’s technical foundations while delivering impactful system changes and we are excited about the results so far.
One of the biggest barriers blocking BCIT from leveraging modern technologies have been the strict rules in the province that is governing the protection of personal information. Most systems and products that the Institute would like to leverage are offered in cloud solutions and support for on-premises systems are dropping. Once we were able to surpass the immediate reactionary work caused by the pandemic, our first area of focus was to tackle this issue. We changed the structure our information backbones to allow us to leverage cloud systems. Once that work was completed, we started projects to leverage our new capabilities.
One of those projects is upgrading staff and faculty Microsoft’s cloud version of our email system by this summer. Then on June 6, the next big change will be introduced. Our file storage system called ShareFile will be replaced with Microsoft’s OneDrive. This new system is more than just a place to save files securely. OneDrive gives users capability of collaborating within documents and spreadsheets at the same time. This means that we no longer need to email documents around to merge changes or overwrite changes on a document.
You may have also noticed the first element of modernizing the way you access your corporate information. We have launched a new employee dashboard called Self Service which gives you access to your paystub, direct deposit, and other important information.
We have also been implementing tools in the background that will help improve BCIT’s security posture and prepare us for the demands of new academic and administration technology. We have upgraded our network to much greater capacity and added the ability to detect and address malicious network attacks. We have also installed a system that will help people request and receive systems access quickly and securely.
On top of this, we are also launching a new identity service that will improve how we login to our systems. We have also been busy launching a series of cybersecurity tools to help us monitor and react to threats to our digital assets.
With some of the foundations in place, we have opened up great possibilities for the future. Some of the highlights of upcoming work include:
- Redesign Part-time Studies (PTS) registration process which will positively impact student experience
- Investigate and plan out access to new Microsoft Office tools
- Roll out an improved instant messaging tool to help reduce communication confusion and improve student interaction
- Select and deploy a CRM to improve our ability to support and attract students
- Upgrade my.bcit.ca
- Improve the processes used to enable day one productivity for our PTS Instructors and full-time faculty, students, and staff
Thank you,
Derrick Underwood
Director, Enterprise Technology
Commitment: People-focused organization
Initiative: Process and system redesign
Deliverable: Sustained systems renewal in alignment with BCIT’s three-year technology investment roadmap
Deliverable lead: Derrick Underwood, Director, Enterprise Technology