Strategy Updates

Strategy 1.1 – Establish Technology Governance

Strategy 1.1: Establish Technology Governance​

• IN-PROGRESS:
  • Revise charter for AI Infrastructure Subcommittee with Chair. 
  • Prepare summer launch of the Research Technology and Services Leadership Table. 
• NEXT STEPS:
  • Develop standardized ROI, proposal, and recommendation templates for governance based on Teaching and Learning Subcommittee’s work on their decision-making process. 
  • Write an evaluation of efforts to establish and implement governance for Year 1. 

Strategy 1.2 – Develop a formal collaborative structure for IT

Strategy 1.2: Develop a formal collaborative structure for IT

• COMPLETED:
  • Delivered draft information architecture for the CIO website for review and feedback. 
• IN-PROGRESS:
  • Develop framework for Shared Planning initiative. 
  • Gather feedback on CIO site information architecture. 
  • Prepare to socialize plans for IT community content on the CIO site.
• NEXT STEPS:
  • Expand input for Shared Planning initiative and draft proposal for implementation. 
  • Charge and form team to further develop proposal for a campuswide internal computer leasing program. 
  • Initiate exploratory work for a server automation proposal, as well as VM institutional footprint data collection effort. 
  • Develop a shared “Change Management Calendar”. 
  • Socialize updates for IT community content. 
  • Create development instance of the site and begin building pages.

Strategy 1.3 – Empower IT professionals

Strategy 1.3: Empower IT professionals​

• IN-PROGRESS:
  • Develop a list of existing communities of practice.
  • Develop plans to relaunch the IT Academy to structure intentional professional development and increase visibility of training opportunities.
  • Collaborate with Illinois HR to identify IT positions for job path and compensation mapping. 
• NEXT STEPS:
  • Select target phase 1 efforts from the overarching vision. 

Strategy 2.1 – Launch a Boldly IT Data Infrastructure Initiative

Strategy 2.1: Launch a Boldly IT Data Infrastructure Initiative

• IN-PROGRESS:
  • Socialize the Boldly IT Data Infrastructure Initiative proposal to gather input from campus partners.
• NEXT STEPS:
  • Identify leads and charge rapid response teams to develop decision-ready recommendations for scope and resourcing along with detailed project plans for implementation of the four projects. 

Strategy 2.2 – Launch a generative AI services & support initiative

Strategy 2.2: Launch a generative AI services & support initiative

• COMPLETED:
  • Launched team-based trainings as part of the AI Professional Development series. 
  • Engaged IT Service Desk teams to enhance gen AI-related support. 
  • Created dashboards to report about gen AI use. 
  • Highlighted agents developed by the Joint Innovation in AI team at IT Professionals Forum and showcases across campus.  
  • Deployed test agents for the Colleges of ACES and Education.
• IN-PROGRESS:
  • Conduct exploratory work to build a chatbot trained on specific university documentation.
  • Develop a training series for university approved gen AI tools.
  • Develop on-demand gen AI training for asynchronous learning to better support gen AI adoption to build a chatbot trained on specific university documentation.
• NEXT STEPS:
  • Continue development, testing and refinement of chatbots with different applications. 
  • Enhance intermediate tool-specific training.

Strategy 3.1 – Launch a generative AI services & support initiative

Strategy 3.1: Launch a generative AI services & support initiative

• COMPLETED:
  • Deployed test agents for the Colleges of ACES and Education. 
• IN-PROGRESS:
  • Gather data from initial projects to assess progress and improvements/adjustments. 
  • Continue work on pilot administrative use cases for AI solutions.
• NEXT STEPS:
  • Plan and prepare for gen AI chatbot handoff to ACES IT. 
  • Test Illinois Human Resources resume review assistant by comparing AI results to human-review results. 
  • Demonstrate agent build for Masters of Science in Financial Engineering. 

Strategy 3.2 – Operational Excellence process improvements and automations

Strategy 3.2: Operational Excellence process improvements and automations

3.2.2: Pre-Employee Eligibility Screening Assessment project

• COMPLETED:
  • Completed development, pilot, and dynamic view and response criteria. Finalized documentation, held lessons learned session to gather feedback, notes. 

Strategy 4.1 – Establish Teaching & Learning Governance Subcommittee – Complete

Strategy 4.1: Establish Teaching & Learning Governance Subcommittee – Complete

Chaired by Dean Brooke Elliott (Gies), the Teaching and Learning Subcommittee was launched in the Fall of 2025. Learn more about the subcommittee.

Strategy 4.2 – Establish a campuswide online learning infrastructure initiative

Strategy 4.2: Establish a campuswide online learning infrastructure initiative

• IN PROGRESS:
  • Review and finalize the charge for the Boldly IT Online Learning Infrastructure Steering Committee. 
• NEXT STEPS:
  • Develop charge letter, vision draft and inventory work. 
  • Review and finalize the charge and develop the charter for the Boldly IT Online Learning Infrastructure Steering Committee.  

Strategy 5.1 – Integrate outcomes from the Research Computing Visioning Committee

Strategy 5.1: Integrate outcomes from the Research Computing Visioning Committee

• NEXT STEPS:
  • Integrate outcomes from the Research Computing Visioning Committee when recommendations finalized.

Strategy 5.2 – Simplify the researcher experience

Strategy 5.2: Simplify the researcher experience

• IN-PROGRESS:
  • Identify a set of potential interventions as next steps to improve coordination, service visibility, and researcher engagement.

Strategy 5.3 – Develop a coordinated Regulated Research Program

Strategy 5.3: Develop a coordinated Regulated Research Program

• NEXT STEPS:
  • In collaboration with OCIO/OVCRI’s Data Compliance Committee, gather requirements and complete a gap analysis for the Regulated Research Environment, and ensure non-IT requirements (policy, process, compliance, and researcher workflows) are integrated into infrastructure planning. 
  • Define and document the Regulated Research Environment, including a clear outline of the broader Regulated Research landscape and how services fit together.

Strategy 6.1 – Strengthen foundational IT capabilities through strategic investments and roadmap delivery

Strategy 6.1: Strengthen foundational IT capabilities through strategic investments and roadmap delivery

• Integrate existing infrastructure, identity, cybersecurity, privacy, accessibility and data initiatives (e.g. SailPoint IGA, Cybersecurity and Privacy roadmaps, Boldly Connected) into a unified universitywide framework.
• COMPLETED:
  • Completed release 1 requirements gathering and stakeholder alignment. 
• IN PROGRESS:
  • Coordinate execution of SailPoint connectivity to key university systems and applications. 
  • Finalize SailPoint stakeholder reviews and approvals to help manage people’s accesses by improving oversight, automation and enhancing controls.
• NEXT STEPS:
  • Prepare User Acceptance Testing with stakeholders of SailPoint. 
  • Transition from SailPoint release 1 planning into the implementation phase. 
  • Begin design of core identity systems. 
  • Collaborate with Human Resources and student governance groups to update third-party and external researcher access. 
  • Integrate the Privacy and Cybersecurity roadmap into Boldly IT. 

Strategy 6.2 – Establish unified IT architecture

Strategy 6.2: Establish unified IT architecture

• IN-PROGRESS:
  • Update the Teaching and Learning portfolio in the EA tool. 
  • Assist a project with purchasing needs.  
  • Finalize the initial Enterprise Architecture Review Board charter and membership.
  • Establish communication and collaboration tools for the Architecture Review Board and assemble onboarding materials. 
• NEXT STEPS:
  • Research the purchasing need for the project referenced above. 
  • Outline tasks for the next quarter and complete collaborative tool setup.
  • Review IT Operational Excellence needs for architecture.

Strategy 6.3 – Modernize core infrastructure for future needs

Strategy 6.3: Modernize core infrastructure for future needs

• IN-PROGRESS:
  • Reorganize Technology Services to create the Systems and Platforms group to unify data center operations, virtualization, data storage and backups, operating system management and public cloud technologies. 
• NEXT STEPS:
  • Finalize Tech Services reorganization. 
  • Obtain approval for the Boldly Connected proposal.

Strategy 6.4 – Advance enterprise IT service delivery

Strategy 6.4: Advance enterprise IT service delivery

• IN-PROGRESS:
  • Redistribute and assign responsibilities following the departure of the Lead Service Management Analyst.  
  • Explore opportunities to automate service offerings reminders and review cycles in the future. 
  • Refine ITSM processes and onboarding pilot units. 
  • Standardize service offerings for the Enterprise Service Catalog. 
  • Update training and enablement materials. 
  • Work with units to assess readiness and align expectations for phased adoption. 
• NEXT STEPS:
  • ESMO will continue advancing several key Service Management initiatives. 
  • Development of Service Management practices, including continued collaboration with campus working groups on the Change Management and Service Request Management practices. 
  • ESMO to work with the ESMO Liaisons to begin developing a roadmap for implementing the Incident Management Practice. 
  • Continue outreach to campus IT units to collect and validate unit-level service offerings for inclusion in the service catalog, ensuring the catalog accurately reflects the services currently being provided across campus. 
  • Develop and coordinate a transition plan to temporarily redistribute incident management and major incident response responsibilities. 
  • Continue ITSM practice development and support active working groups. 
  • Maintain service offering intake for the Enterprise Service Catalog. 
  • Coordinate with pilot units on training plans, readiness assessments and incremental implementation.