Find out about the Digital Infrastructure Programme (DIP) – new modern, sustainable, integrated and secure infrastructure services underpinning the University’s digital operations.
Overview
What it is: A programme of projects that will implement new and better infrastructure services to support our digital operations.
Why it's better for you: It will enable us to deliver more responsive and innovative services across teaching and learning, administration and research.
Why it's better for the University: It will allow increased digital security and efficiency and will help us lower our carbon footprint.
When it's happening: The five projects will have different timelines – you can find out more below.
How it will launch: Detailed launch information for each project will become available as the projects progress.
About the programme
As part of our ‘Ahead of the Digital Curve’ strategy, the Digital Infrastructure Programme (DIP) will implement modern, sustainable, integrated, and secure infrastructure services to underpin the University’s digital operations. The new digital infrastructure will follow a cloud-first strategy, capable of evolving to meet our changing requirements and taking advantage of new technological opportunities. This will be supported by knowledgeable and customer-focused ITS teams and informed by industry best practice.
The projects within the programme are:
- Telephony Modernisation
- Cloud Enablement and Transformation
- Document Storage
- Flexible Workspace – better computers with better support
The changes
The projects will implement:
- joined-up communications – a unified communications solution using Microsoft Teams will bring together telephony, messaging and video calling on one platform whilst retaining existing staff phone numbers. This will work from the office, at home or on your mobile and make it simple to reach external contacts.
- greater sustainability – by moving to an energy-efficient cloud environment, which also increases our digital security and reliability. The new cloud-based system will help us make energy savings through a reduction in utility costs. It will also increase performance, reliability, security, and efficiency whilst making it easier to bring on new services and improve the responsiveness of the IT Services team.
- simplified document and file storage: a simplified and consistent approach for storing documents and files so that they can be easily shared, retrieved and also interface with other work applications no matter where you are working.
- a new way for how computers (desktops and laptops) are issued, managed, supported and replaced to aid evolving and more flexible ways of working and meet our working requirements
- a new architecture for research data.  This will provide a foundation for more joined up and usable services for storing and managing research data, making it easier to access and share data assets with colleagues across the University, and beyond.
This will:
- simplify how we communicate
- make it easier for us to find and share information
- make it easier for the University community to work effectively from any location
- enable us to make energy savings, allowing us to work towards our sustainability goals
- save money by reducing the University’s technical debt.
When it will happen
Telephony Modernisation is currently in the delivery phase and will be complete towards the end of Autumn 2023.
Cloud Enablement is currently going through procurement processes to identify partners that we will work with. It is expected that this project will be completed towards the end of 2024.
Cloud Transformation is being scoped and the timeline is not yet undefined.
Flexible Workspace is in the early proposal stages and the timeline is not yet defined.
Document Storage is also in the early stages and the timeline is not yet defined.