Shared IT Services (SITS) continues to innovate amid the struggles of the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 order to limit on-campus operations and embrace social distancing meant transitioning much of WashU’s workforce to work from home, creating logistical and technical challenges for the team. For migrated departments, WashU IT was able to deploy laptops quickly, users had a single point of contact for support, and university-wide software roll-outs allowed staff and faculty to continue serving customers, students, and patients during this time.
In June, the SITS team reported on innovating IT for WashU this summer. In the current modern technology environment, our IT tools have evolved to remotely transition machines from their legacy environments to the modern Accounts domain.. By using this remote transfer process, Shared IT Services can save time and reduce physical interactions with WashU users.
WashU IT has been working to develop tools and processes to transition off-campus machines for users working from home. After extensive testing, we are now able to perform workstation transfers from your existing domain to the ‘Accounts’ domain remotely while users are off WashU campuses. Users with machines that are eligible for the off-campus remote transfer process will be contacted by a Shared IT Services Implementation Lead to schedule their virtual transition to Shared IT Services. Changes for users will mainly include updating the SCCM client, introducing anti-virus, Beyond Trust, and advanced cybersecurity tools. Users targeted for a remote transfer will receive a virtual “Day 1” experience with a WashU IT technician and be provided quick start training guides to ensure a smooth transition to the new WashU IT environment.
SITS has continued discovery efforts in the Arts and Sciences Department on the Danforth Campus, and will approach the transition of the Department of Arts and Sciences starting in October in 2 key areas; Administration and University College. Additional Arts and Sciences divisions are currently in the discovery stage and will be added to the implementation schedule in the coming weeks.