Vice Chancellor for Information Technology

Status and Activity Report for May 2024

Prepared by Timothy M. Chester, Vice Chancellor for Information Technology and CIO

1. Key Items and Announcements

• Unified Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Assessment continues: The University

System of Georgia’s Office of Strategic Initiatives, in collaboration with the Information
Services Group (ISG), is facilitating a preliminary assessment for the Unified ERP
project. This assessment establishes a foundational set of requirements to guide future
competitive procurements for a unified software system and associated implementation
assistance. A request for information was posted in April and information from potential
vendors is due back mid-June. The system office and institutional representatives will
evaluate vendor information, with presentations from vendors expected in September.

2. Services for USG Schools and the USO

• Information Technology Services (ITS) is conducting a search for a Virtual Information

Security Officer: ITS has begun interviews for a Virtual Information Security Officer
(VISO). The VISO will assist, guide and aide cybersecurity programs at USG institutions,
and be responsible for continuously maturing the cybersecurity program by aligning it to
USG policies, procedures, and standards. Round one of interviews for this lead position
should be completed in May, and interviews for an associate VISO position will begin at
a later date.

• Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Updates for Banner Managed
Services (BMS) customers: ITS is actively engaged in implementing Banner patches and
software updates to support significantly revised FAFSA forms, which students will use
to request federal financial aid support. ITS has implemented the first three phases of
items released and installed for the BMS institutions. Currently, ITS has released Phase
IV and is working closely with BMS institutions to install. Phase V is tentatively expected
from Ellucian on May 16. While further delays by the Federal Student Aid Office could
push the dates back, the BMS team actively monitors and prioritizes evolving federal
changes. We will move aggressively to meet the needs of USG institutions.

• Duo Enhancements coming for LastPass, VPN: In the coming months, ITS will deploy
additional enhancements to Duo, the system’s two-factor authentication service.
Enhancements include implementing the Duo Universal Prompt and Duo Push
Verification for the LastPass application and the VPN. Additionally, ITS will reduce the
number of digits required to verify in Duo from six to four, to aid in the completion of the
authentication process.

• Teams Rooms Standardization begins: ITS has begun procuring the necessary
equipment to implement Teams Rooms at the Shared Services Center (SSC) and
complete the final two rooms at the system office’s Trinity Washington building.
Additionally, this effort will include the implementation of Teams Rooms in the
classrooms and presentation room at the ITS Data Center.

• Data Center UPS replacement planned: ITS is planning a replacement of the

Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) in its data center. The project will include the

VCIT Status and Activity Report for May 2024 1

 refurbishment of the main electrical switchboard and replacement of the existing UPS
system with two UPS systems configured for active/active, dual path redundancy (A/B).
Modification of the UPS load side distribution to provide active/active, dual path
redundant circuits to each data center rack is also planned. ITS is actively working on
this initiative with the Real Estate & Facilities division of the system. The project will be
posted to the Department of Administrative Services site in early May.

• Plans for CRM for Albany State, South Georgia State and Atlanta Metropolitan: ITS is
working with Academic Affairs and procurement to provide a customer relation solution
(CRM) to Albany State University, South Georgia State College, and Atlanta
Metropolitan State College. With the implementation of a solution, there are plans for
the SaaS as well as support.

3. Other Items of Interest

• Georgia Film Academy Infrastructure Standardization: ITS Enterprise Services visited

the Georgia Film Academy (GFA) to begin work on a strategy to standardize the
technology located at the Trilith Studio site. The goal is to identify a strategy the utilizes
existing standards to better support the facility and technologies that are already
deployed to support the operations of the GFA. This was the first step in procuring
necessary equipment to fulfill the approved year end request that GFA submitted and
received approval to begin implementing.

• Request for Proposals documentation reviewed for new Managed Network Services
(MNS) contract for statewide educational network: In 2020, the Georgia Department of
Education (GaDOE), through a strategic partnership with the Board of Regents of the
University System of Georgia (BOR), created a statewide educational network to serve
the needs of the students, faculty, and staff of the State of Georgia. This collaborative
effort resulted in a robust, high-speed network capable of supporting the ever-increasing
requirements of the K-12 community for years to come. The contract awarded to support
this network has entered the final year, therefore the BOR, on behalf of the GaDOE, has
issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the procurement of a new Managed Network
Services (MNS) contract to begin July 1, 2025. The ITS Network Support Services team
has completed a review of the RFP documentation in support of the Managed Network
Services (MNS) contract renewal, and the RFP is now being reviewed by the USO E-Rate
and Contracts teams with a release date targeted for July. The objective of this RFP is to
obtain the services of a single qualified Telecommunications Service Provider that will
provide high quality and reliable Managed Network Services (MNS) to GaDOE District
and Administrative Office locations across the state at a cost that is favorable to the BOR.
The BOR intends to award a single contract to a qualified Telecommunications Service
Provider to provide all services requested in this RFP.

• Transition from Banner 8 to Banner 9 Complete for all BMS institutions: On August 23,
2023, the CIO and CISO of the University System of Georgia sent a memo announcing
End of Support for Self-Service Banner 8 effective March 31, 2024. ITS assisted
institutions on the transition with weekly meetings, conducting UPICKIT training
sessions, and responding to tickets. As of April 1, 2024, all BMS institutions have
completed the transition and are live with Banner 9.

VCIT Status and Activity Report for May 2024 2