itsnews Another busy month has gone by and, despite the grey skies and wet weather during November; it’s good to see some light on the horizon as people have begun returning to work in IT Services following recent illnesses. A very warm welcome back to those who have been away.
Over the past month I’ve spent considerable time reviewing our spending priorities and plans with colleagues and discussing proposals for managing ITS’ budget over the next couple of years. One thing which has become very clear is the need to achieve a better balance between the amount we spend on replacement equipment this year and the additional resources needed to manage some of the major service developments which are required. We’re therefore looking at a number of areas in which additional temporary staff will be needed to develop our services as well as maintain and support them. There are some important developments coming over the next year (such as Office 365) and we need to ensure we have people in place to help us deliver these.
As well as “building capacity”, another major theme for November was “external review”. I took part in the QAA Institutional Review this month with other senior colleagues from the University’s support services and also took part in an external benchmarking study undertaken by consultants from Tribal. We await the results of both with interest.
By the time I write my next blog Christmas will be nearly upon us, so may I wish all my readers a very happy Advent !
John