Leon Etherington , CIO of Sheffield Hallam University , explains how he handles the challenges inherent in maintaining strong and consistent IT Services used by over 35,000 people
The world of technology can be challenging to traverse , and even more so in an environment like higher education . At Sheffield Hallam , technology is seen as an essential utility , like gas , electricity , or water ; the University ’ s mission to transform lives depends on this technology utility being uninterrupted . With zero appetite for disruption in technology services , how does the University meet the need for potentially disruptive change against the fluctuating needs of 31,000 students and 4,000 staff ? This is a question Leon Etherington , CIO at Sheffield Hallam University , has worked to address .
Technology is ever-evolving , and students expect to attend university using the very latest developments ; this year , some students begin their academic careers by accepting a place offered by the university via Facebook . But the breadth of underpinning technology services in any university is huge : “ There are some 700 academic courses taught here , with each course has its own technology demands . These range from standard AV equipped classroom , to a techenabled Art School , to advanced games development labs and industry-leading tech in health , sport and science schools .
“ We need to roll out hundreds of teaching and learning software packages across thousands of machines every year , used in around 400 classrooms , covering two campuses with two Libraries . So in terms of the challenge , it ’ s about making sure that everything works every day for everyone .”
This requires absolute consistency , regardless of how other industries may operate .
68 September 2017