Strategy Updates

Strategy 1.1 – Establish Technology Governance

Strategy 1.1: Establish Technology Governance​

• COMPLETED:
  • Built list for potential candidates for AI infrastructure Governance Subcommittee. 
  • Held Executive Committee meeting October 14. 
• IN PROGRESS:
  • Establish the AI Infrastructure Governance Subcommittee. 
  • Finalize subcommittee AI Infrastructure Governance Subcommittee charge and membership. 
  • Build agendas for Teaching & Learning Subcommittee and AI Infrastructure Subcommittee. 
• 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.  
  • Plan 2026-2027 technology governance agendas.
  • Plan the establishment of the AI Infrastructure Subcommittee membership, develop operational logistics and an agenda for the year with the CIO and subcommittee chair 

Strategy 1.2 – Develop a formal collaborative structure for IT

Strategy 1.2: Develop a formal collaborative structure for IT

• COMPLETED:
  • Finalized guidelines for content inclusion on IT Community pages and key metrics.
• IN PROGRESS:
  • Develop framework for Shared Planning initiative. 
  • Socialize plans for IT community content on the CIO site.
  • Revise pages for IT Community content.
  •  Launch IT Community content for Communities of Practice, Mailing Lists, and Microsoft Teams pages.
• 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”. 

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

• RRT1: Campus Data Catalog 
• RRT2: Shared Data Engineering Pipeline Infrastructure 
• RRT 3: Unison Learning Analytics Data Infrastructure 
• RRT 4: AI-ready Data Practices 

• COMPLETED:
• IN PROGRESS:
  • Define approaches, recommendations, and stakeholder engagement plans for all RRTs.
  • Develop recommendations for RRT 1, 2, 3 and 4. 
• NEXT STEPS:
  • Develop detailed project plans for implementation of the four projects. 
  • Define pilot scope and success measures. 
  • Evaluate architecture and access approaches, engage end users and incorporate privacy and cybersecurity perspectives. 

Strategy 2.2 – Launch a generative AI services & support initiative

Strategy 2.2: Launch a generative AI services & support initiative

• COMPLETED:
• IN PROGRESS:
  • Conduct exploratory work to build a chatbot trained on specific university documentation.
  • 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:
  •  
• 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

• COMPLETED:
• IN PROGRESS
  • Partner with the Strategic Project Management Office to create a project proposal for analysis to form recommendations for an integrated technology support model. 
• NEXT STEPS
  • Complete project proposal and submit to Operational Excellence steering for approval.

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

• COMPLETED:
• IN PROGRESS:
  • Create academic continuity plan for disruptions to teaching.
  • 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.

6.1.1 SailPoint MVP

SailPoint is software that helps staff manage people’s access to applications, data, and cloud services. This tool will improve oversight, automation, and enhancing controls.

• COMPLETED:
  •  
• IN PROGRESS:
  • Develop release 1 support and operational documentation. 
  • Complete release 2 planning. 
  • Complete SailPoint release 2 stakeholder reviews to prepare for implementation. 
• NEXT STEPS:
  • Prepare User Acceptance Testing with stakeholders of SailPoint.
  • 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

• COMPLETED:
• IN PROGRESS:
  • Develop Service Management practices, including continued collaboration with campus working groups on the Change Management and Service Request Management practices. 
  • Coordinate with pilot units on training plans, readiness assessments, and incremental implementation.
  • Implement Incident Management practices and standards including consistent severity, communication, escalation and measurement expectations. 
  • 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. 
  • Maintain service offering intake for the Enterprise Service Catalog.