OIT Strategic Roadmap

What Are Strategic Roadmaps?

Strategic Service Roadmaps are the Office of Information Technology’s [OIT] way of informing the Indiana State University community about what we are working on, and what we expect to be working on in the coming months and years. In addition to informing the campus community, our roadmaps are used annually as we determine our budget for the fiscal year and when requesting funds for enhancing our services.  This public information is a summary. If you are a current employee or student and would like to learn more about our roadmap activities, please contact the Indiana State University Office of Information Technology via email at: it-help@indstate.edu.

Common Goals

Support for the University's strategic plan is paramount. The Office of Information Technology strives to link its efforts to the following goals defined in the University’s strategic plan: Advance our commitment to equity and inclusive excellence; expand student pathways and access to higher education and increase student success/completion; engage internal and external partners to deepen student learning; address community challenges and meet the needs of the State of Indiana and beyond; ensure institutional sustainability; and enhance institutional reputation and pride.

The Office of Information Technology’s mission is to supply the technology services and tools that Indiana State University stakeholders need to carry out the University’s mission and vision.

Our professionals work collaboratively with all constituencies to provide a technical foundation that enables achievement in teaching, learning, research, and community engagement within the State of Indiana and beyond.

The core values required of OIT staff are honesty, integrity, fairness, and respect for all people.

Purposes of the Strategic Service Roadmap

The Office of Information Technology’s strategic service roadmap and planning update is designed to serve three purposes: To link to the University’s strategic plan as it communicates the University’s strategic goals to its staff and client partners; to provide information for university client partners as they develop their plans and permits them to align with OIT’s strategic philosophy and technical direction; and to convey OIT strategies recognizing the challenges of supporting a large enterprise technology environment with limited staff and funding. 

Key Elements of the Office of Information Technology Efforts

• Leverage - Digital tools to advance strategic direction, increase competitive advantage, and prepare for multiple scenarios.
• Enhance – Capabilities and update metrics to prove impact.
• Ensure - Responsive, professional tech support and reliable, secure systems.
• Partner – Optimize strategic outcomes, explore opportunities to increase enrollment, and personalize the student experience. 

Desired End State

First and foremost, the future desired end state for information technology’s people, processes, and systems at Indiana State University should support institutional goals centered around faculty, student, and staff success that facilitate efficient processes that maximize university resources. Technology will always be driven by academic and business processes and the University's mission. The section below lists some aspirational goals OIT desires to complete within the next five years.

Desired Goals

• Digital transformation   
• Five years from now, the University will have transformed elements of either academic or business processes. The OIT will have the technology in place and offices throughout campus will automate processes which will provide the impetus for shifts in institutional culture, workforce, and technology leading to enhanced education, improved student success, and streamlined administration. 
• University-wide use of artificial intelligence tools/platforms 
• When fully mature, identity and access management systems will facilitate seamless and secure access to all on-premises and cloud-based systems used by the University. This will be done with extraordinarily little human intervention by IT (Information Technology) systems staff because “person roles” will be identified by data gathered and managed by either Indiana State’s Human Resources or the Office of Registrar. This data, originating in an authoritative system such as Banner, will propagate to downstream systems with roles/entitlements already defined and least privileged and necessary access permitted. Lifecycle and governance will be predetermined and automated. Directories will be federated when necessary to accommodate access to peer systems and accomplished via single sign-on with multifactor authentication by default.   
• Network access will be an integration of technologies and methodologies necessary for the Zero Trust model. Users and systems must be authenticated, authorized, and continuously validated for security configuration and posture before being granted or keeping access to networks, applications, and data.  
• Data ecosystems will be modernized and, when applicable, data will be democratized enabling more data-driven decision-making. 
• Staffing consistent with peer institutions that include some dedicated project management responsibilities up to one full-time equivalency. Indiana State’s OIT will reduce or eliminate technical debt so that technical expertise and responsibilities are more equitably distributed throughout the OIT. 
• In five years, all paper forms are eliminated, within the bounds of regulatory compliance concerns, and process automation is a first-pass assumption. 
• The OIT will have the support necessary to keep all systems current and maximize use for all our client partners, including adequate funding that will permit timely upgrades of applications and infrastructure. 
• The OIT will reach level 3 of the ITSM maturity model – University-wide standards will provide guidance across all services.