ICT Strategic Plan

This document is an executive summary for the redefined scope and departmental structure of the Directorate of Information and Communications Technology.

Based on this document, resources are to be added, re-designated and positioned as per their expertise, exposure and role.

This document is to be followed by an ICT Directorate strategic plan document containing an overall strategy of the directorate, emphasizing on a 5-year roadmap of the directorate which further breaks down into yearly roadmaps for every unit defined in the structure.

Any further change after approval of this document shall be defined in a new version which shall be disseminated to relevant stake holders of the organization

This document is property of Information and Communications Technology Directorate (ICT Directorate) and is NOT to be disseminated without explicit approval from the authority concerned

Mission

To facilitate world-leading research, teaching & learning and enhance the digital experience, through provision of sustainable and reliable IT solutions.

Vision

We will take a ‘user-first’ approach to deliver service excellence, staying agile to drive digital innovation, whilst keeping core assets safe and resilient.

Core Values

User First - Consider the user experience in everything we do Clear and Simple Communication - Committed to using accessible language and being transparent

Stay Secure - Be champions of good practice, proactively managing risks related to information technology

Equitable and Open - In our service provision and professional approach, providing access to our expertise and resources

Agile approach - Adopt a flexible operational approach and mind-set by anticipating and adapting positively to change

From provider to ‘partner’ - Develop a partnership approach to working, through close collaboration and integrated processes

Develop our people - Contribute to staff development, continuing to build capabilities and talents to deliver excellent service

ICT Strategic Plan Pillars

The ICT Directorate’s strategic plan is underpinned by four core imperatives:

Service Excellence Provide a responsive and user-centric service

Digital Leadership Engage leadership to exploit digital opportunities

Better Trust and Control Embed value, agility and scalability into operations

Develop our People Adopt a flexible approach and develop competencies

These imperatives are the framework for ICT’s strategic priorities, aiming to embed a user-first approach to delivery service excellence, transformed by leadership in digital technology.

Executive Summary

The Information Technology Department of DUHS is being transformed into Information and Communications Technology Directorate. This transformations entails revised and increased domain with a key focus on service excellence by the ICT Directorate. To ensure seamless delivery of services, the directorate is split into 4 key service areas and a dedicated unit for Governance and Quality.

1. Infrastructure and Services Unit

Infrastructure and Services unit will be responsible for planning & management of composite hardware, infrastructural resources and facilities required for the existence, operation and administration of an enterprise IT environment. Infrastructure unit will enable DUHS to deliver IT solutions and associated services to its staff and faculty at healthcare and academic units. Infrastructure and services unit is divided into system infrastructure, network infrastructure, telepresence and communications.

2. Operations and Maintenance Unit

IT operations determine the way an organization manages it’s IT resources including people, software, hardware and includes other IT support, such as network administration, device management, mobile contracting and help desks of all kinds. IT operations management and IT operations analytics help an organization refine the way that IT approaches services, deployment and support and help to ensure consistency, reliability and quality of service.

Areas of control for this unit are support, help desk and surveillance

3. Governance & Quality Unit

IT governance provides a structure for aligning IT strategy with business strategy. By following a formal framework, organizations can produce measurable results toward achieving their strategies and goals. A formal program also takes stakeholders' interests into account, as well as the needs of staff and the processes they follow. The responsibility of governance unit includes designing departmental structure, hierarchy and organogram. Governance will plan for IT goals and strategy, program capital and expenses budget, program benefits definition, program mobilization plan, candidate projects identification, consulting and staffing agreements. Governance provides centralized management of the Office of Information Technologies' budgetary, purchasing and human resources functions. This includes oversight, management, and strategic planning. This unit shall be working in close coordination with QEC.

4. Teaching & Learning Technologies Unit

The effective use of technology in education has changed the face of education and it has created more educational opportunities. Both teachers and students have benefited from various educational technologies, teachers have learned how to integrate technology in their classrooms and students are getting more interested in learning with technology. The use of technology in education has removed educational boundaries, both students and teachers can collaborate in real time using advanced educational technologies. This unit is responsible to develop or adapt

methodologies to achieve the goal to support teachers and students to reach out to each other using technology.

5. Business Application Development & Administration Unit

This unit is responsible to provide Information System centric solutions while emphasizing on research and development. The products would be used within the organization or can be implemented as a product at some other organization. Another crucial task of this department is to create opportunities where the department’s products can be presented to the world and a revenue generating stream can be generated for DUHS.

Current Structure

Proposed Structure

Infrastructure and Services Unit

INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES

Additional Director

Infrastructure and Services unit will be responsible for planning & management of composite hardware, infrastructural resources and facilities required for the existence, operation and administration of an enterprise IT environment. Infrastructure unit will enable DUHS to deliver IT solutions and associated services to its staff and faculty at healthcare and academic units. Infrastructure and services unit is divided into system infrastructure, network infrastructure, telepresence and communications.

Scope

 Responsible for the project initiation, definition, planning, execution, monitoring, control and completion.

 Prepare project Scope Document for new project.

 Work and coordinate with external groups, 3rd parties and vendors.

 Provide a summary of the schedule and budget for the project

 Respond to an RFP (Request for Proposal), complete with Deliverables, Timelines, Budget etc.

System Administration

Responsibility of system administration includes installation of new hardware or software, creating and managing user accounts, maintaining computer systems such as servers and databases, and planning and properly responding to system outages and various other problems. Other responsibilities may include light programing or scripting to make the system workflows easier as well as training computer users and assistants.

System Infrastructure Network Infrastructure Tele Presence Communications

Network Administration

Network administration is responsible for the day-to-day operation of inter-networks. Network Administration organize, install, and support an organization’s computer systems, including local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), network segments, intranets, and other data communication systems. This teams’ area of responsibility includes management and maintenance of switches, routers, firewalls, VPN gateways.

Network administration ensures that email and data storage networks work properly. Administrators also make sure that employees’ workstations are working efficiently and stay connected to the central computer network. In some cases, administrators help network architects design and analyze network models. They also participate in strategy discussions to acquire future hardware or software to upgrade their organization’s network.

Telepresence Unit

Telepresence unit comprises of videoconference unit, telemedicine unit, tele radiology unit and organization wide video presence. The technology supported in this position can be proprietary or open source for video conference and telepresence rooms, Google Hangouts, Skype, WebEx and other web or MCU based applications.

Communications Unit

Core responsibility for this unit is to establish, maintain and improve methodologies for the purpose of seamless communication within the organization and outside the organization. It may include various technologies but converged to a single point so that the end user gets a seamless experience.

Operations & Maintenance Unit

OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE

Additional Director

IT operations determine the way an organization manages its IT resources including people, software, hardware and includes other IT support, such as network administration, device management, mobile contracting and help desks of all kinds. IT operations management and IT operations analytics help an organization refine the way that IT approaches services, deployment and support and help to ensure consistency, reliability and quality of service. Areas of control for this unit are support, help desk and surveillance

Scope

 To take overall responsibility for all ICT systems, software, processes, hardware and equipment across the organization, including management and maintenance.

 Administer and monitor daily ICT operations.

 To ensure that IT systems of the organization are readily available for use by pupils, faculty and staff and to develop those systems to provide new, faster and better services for organizational users.

 Prepare reports and ensure optimal performance and maintain records of service level agreements for customers.

 Design, implement and ensure efficient maintenance and ensure compliance to all disaster recovery plans.

 Assist technical staff to check and ensure resolution of all issues to achieve all objectives.

 Administer all spheres of OC physical planning, provide security and backup for recovering systems.

 Determine availability of systems and IT network application process.

 Prepare and review all Service Level and Operation Metrics and KPI scorecards for service delivery.

 Administer and provide upgrade to systems and escalate issues.

 To train, manage and support any IT technicians in providing IT support and maintenance services to the organization.

 To coordinate and provide technical resource to support the Business Development Unit in the delivery of projects.

Support Unit

IT technical support officers are mainly responsible for the smooth running of computer systems and ensuring users get maximum benefits from them. IT technical support officers monitor and maintain the computer systems and networks of an organization. You could be installing and configuring computer systems, diagnosing hardware and software faults and solve technical and applications problems, either over the phone or in person.

Help Desk

A standard help desk offers a single point of contact for users to get assistance. Normally, the help desks handle requests by using help desk software, or issue tracking system, which enables the help desk operators to keep track of the user requests using a unique identifier, easily find solutions to common queries, prioritize cases.

The first-level is usually set up for answering probably the most common questions, or for offering answers that typically belong in a knowledge base or FAQ. If the help desk technicians cannot solve the issue at the first level, the issue is then transferred to the second level, which will have staff who are able to handle more complex queries.

Surveillance Unit

Core responsibility of this unit is to provide technical support for surveillance equipment across the organization. Primary goal of this unit is to ensure zero downtime for surveillance. Technology supported is primarily Samsung/Huawei and other brands IP/Analog CCTV equipment.

Governance & Quality Unit

GOVERNANCE AND QUALITY

Additional Director

IT governance provides a structure for aligning IT strategy with business strategy. By following a formal framework, organizations can produce measurable results toward achieving their strategies and goals. A formal program also takes stakeholders' interests into account, as well as the needs of staff and the processes they follow. The responsibility of governance unit includes designing departmental structure, hierarchy and organogram. Governance will plan for IT goals and strategy, program capital and expenses budget, program benefits definition, program mobilization plan, candidate projects identification, consulting and staffing agreements. Governance provides centralized management of the Office of Information Technologies' budgetary, purchasing and human resources functions. This includes oversight, management, and strategic planning. This unit shall be working in close coordination with QEC.

Scope

 IT goals and strategy

 Program capital and expenses budget and Program benefits definition, plus program outline.

 Candidate projects identification

 Program mobilization plan

 Consulting and staffing arrangements

 Design and maintain all IT processes according operation policies through standardization of methods.

Policy and SOP Monitoring & Evaluation

 Maintain and prepare all paperwork for various activities and provide performance backup to retrieve data in case of emergency.

 Prepare designs and evaluate all balancing functions as required by IT departments and other functional areas.

Policy and Standard Operating Procedure

Policies and procedures are an essential component of any organization. Policies address important issues, such as what constitutes acceptable behavior by employees. Procedures, on the other hand, clearly define a sequence of steps to be followed in a consistent manner, such as how the organization will respond to any policy violations. Utilizing both policies and procedures during decision-making ensures that employers are consistent in their decisions. However, these essential tools are rendered useless if employers neglect to adhere to them or effectively communicate them to employees.

Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E)

Monitoring and evaluation are critical for building a strong, global evidence base around deployed technology. It provides the only consolidated source of information showcasing project progress. It allows actors to learn from each other’s experiences, building on expertise and knowledge. It generates reports that contribute to transparency and accountability and allows for lessons to be shared more easily. It reveals mistakes and offers paths for learning and improvements.

It provides a basis for questioning and testing assumptions. It provides a means for organizations seeking to learn from their experiences and to incorporate them into policy and practice. It provides a way to assess the crucial link between implementers and beneficiaries on the ground and decision-makers. It adds to the retention and development of institutional memory. it provides a more robust basis for raising funds and influencing policy.

Teaching & Learning Technologies Unit

AND LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES

Deputy Director

The effective Use of Technology in Education has changed the face of education and it has created more educational opportunities. Both teachers and students have benefited from various educational technologies, teachers have learned how to integrate technology in their classrooms and students are getting more interested in learning with technology. The use of technology in education has removed educational boundaries, both students and teachers can collaborate in real time using advanced educational technologies. This unit is responsible to develop or adapt methodologies to achieve the goal to support teachers and students to reach out to each other using technology.

Scope

 Assess the areas where technology can assist

 Implement solutions with the help of stakeholders

 Assist stakeholders to fully benefit from the deployed solutions

 provide continuous improvement in the solutions deployed

Instructional Technologies

This team will be focusing on solutions that will assist the faculty in delivering learning material in the most efficient manner to the students.

TEACHING

Instructional Technologies Class Room Technologies Campus Technologies

Web Campus

CMS

Training & Coordination

DVTC

Classroom Technologies

This team is responsible to provide and support classroom technology and equipment. A variety of classroom technology, equipment, and support is to be offered to faculty and students to create learning environments and facilities across campus. Services shall range from audio and video resources, projection systems, assistive technology, and general classroom support.

Campus Technologies

Providing technology oriented solutions to manage campuses in a variety of settings and maintain a web presence of the campus is the sole responsibility of this team.

Training & Coordination

With all the technological implementation and projects, one has to keep in mind the refresher trainings of the users and also induction of new staff. This team’s core responsibility is to make sure that assets are to be developed which will assist in learning of the systems for faculty, staff and students. Maintaining regular training sessions is a key measurable task of this team.

Business Application Development & Administration Unit

This unit is responsible to provide Information System centric solutions while emphasizing on research and development. The products would be used within the organization or can be implemented as a product at some other organization. Another crucial task of this department is to create opportunities where the department’s products can be presented to the world and a revenue generating stream can be generated for DUHS.

The unit is to make sure that it’s team is able to work efficiently and this means making sure they have clear goals, both short term and long term and that nothing prevents them from doing their work. From the initial project scope to deploying the product out to customer sites.

Scope

 Responsible to scope out projects.

 Work with outside groups, 3rd parties.

 Respond to an RFP (Request for Proposal), complete with Deliverables, Timelines, Budget etc.

 Deal with internal projects, without a formal document system.

 Conduct research on technologies and provide real world implementable solutions

 Provide and angle of commercialization to an implementable solution

 Provide revenue generation from technology oriented solutions based consultancy to other organizations

Business Applications

Business Applications unit is responsible to provide solutions through information systems for organization’s business needs. The primary measurable indicator for this unit is to get a product out of the door. Deliver results to the customer or market and do everything necessary to achieve the required. In the instance where acquisition of an already made product might be a more feasible business case, the unit will be responsible to identify the correct product with input and coordination of relevant business users.

Research & Development

Research and Development unit is to provide practical and commercially viable solutions or products for use within the organization and to be made commercially available for acquisition by other organizations.

Technology Consultancy

This unit shall be working in coordination with ORIC and is responsible to showcase the technological products, implementations and advancements made by DUHS to the world and generate a stream of commercial activity which may help in revenue generation for the organization.

Healthcare SMART Technologies

This unit shall be working for Healthcare services to provide patient room technology including smart beds, infusion pumps integration with healthcare systems, telemetry, patient wearables, digital whiteboard for patient summarized data view, etc.

Submitted by: Approved by:

Syed Sohaib Shams Prof. Saeed Qureshi Chief Information Officer Vice Chancellor Dow University of Health Sciences Dow University of Health Sciences