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Published Quarterly All rights reserved by the Office of Information Technology.Spring 2020FROM THE CTOSPRING 2020In this issue: From the CTO – Page 1-2 Cloth Face Covering Distribution – Page 2 Student Computer Checkout Availability– Page 3 Accessibility Resources for Office 365 –Page 3 Amazon Connect for Help Desk CallCenter – Page 3 COVID-19 Brings Challenges and SupportLike all of you, I have been adjusting over the past monthto our shared new reality, in which the mandate of socialdistancing drives new patterns of daily life. It feels likea very long time since I last attended an event, shook ahand, or worked in my office at the ROC. Phone calls, emailand Teams have replaced in-person interactions. And, likeeveryone in our community, I am finding new ways to forgeand sustain the human connections that are so essential tous all, even while the current global health crisis has forcedBrian Dourtyus physically apart. Student Gaming Opportunities ThroughOIT Labs – Page 4 Help Desk Statistics – Page 4 Help Desk Customer Corner – Page 5 OIT Launches New Website – Page 5 Save the Date for the OIT Forum– Page 6 Follow us on Social Media – Page 6 Ganymede Computing Hours At a Glance– Page 7 Dr. Jerry Perez Named NSF CybersecurityTrusted CI Fellow – Page 7 Digital Transformation Creating NewAdministrative Access Catalog – Page 8 OnBase and PeopleSoft Integration forFinancial Aid Process Underway– Page 8 Cloud Migration Readiness – Page 9 UTD Upgrades from Skype for Businessto Microsoft Teams – Page 10 OIT Upgrading Telephony from Avaya toTeams Voice – Page 10 Getting to Know Our Team:Bryan Sherwood – Page 101To all of our customers and partners, these long weeks have been an intense and excitingtime of rising to – and supporting each other through – countless challenges that were onceunimaginable. Words cannot adequately express the admiration I feel for the determination andingenuity with which each of you have tackled the enormous tasks of assisting the students,faculty and staff that we serve with connectivity demands, moving instructional resourcesonline, other new tools and strategies, and much more.For all of us in OIT, the adjustments to our work lives began even before the COVID-19pandemic. As you are aware, Frank Feagans has been in a fight against leukemia. Althoughhe is physically unable to be involved in many day-to-day operations while he undergoestreatment, he has stayed connected, while we continued forward with the many projectsand progress that were established through his vision. I have been honored to serveas the day-to-day leader of OIT in Frank’s absence, and will continue to do so until hishealthy return.I have been extremely pleased with the Microsoft Teams migration, which we began priorto the campus-shutdown. The tools offered by Teams have been invaluable in helpingfaculty and staff continue the University’s mission by supporting both administrative andacademic functions. Work continues with the migration of the telephony system after asuccessful migration of OIT, including email to Microsoft 365 EXO. Early adopter migrationsfor ISO, ATEC, and ETS are underway as well and I’m hopeful we will have equipment instock soon to start moving the rest of campus. In addition, our team has been instrumentalin providing computer resources to students in need, as well as working collaborativelywith departments across campus to make sure that no student or staff member is leftwithout the resources, tools, or finances that they need to be successful in their work andstudies.(Continued on page 2)Questions or comments? Email assist@utdallas.edu call: 940.369.5500/Toll-Free 855.868.4357Questions or comments? Email: assist@utdallas.edu OIT Helpdesk: 972.883.2911

The newsletter for the Office of Information TechnologyFROM THE CTO(Continued)Our executive leadership team is in near-constant video, IM,and phone contact as we develop plans and contingenciesfor the coming months and the next fiscal year. Frank hasstayed involved as well. We continue to engage both internaland external resources to validate and expand on theseplans. UTD is incredibly fortunate to have such a strongand supportive leadership team, all the more so during thisextraordinary time. And we are enormously grateful for theleadership of President Benson and his Cabinet, who haveBrian Dourtyworked tirelessly to support our students, faculty and staff inthis time of crisis – and done so in a way that has unified us and made us stronger.As a reminder to our team, this is a marathon, not a sprint, and we need to set our pace.It’s going to be a long time before we understand what the new normal is. For now, it’s onestep after another, one day at a time. Please remember to be positive, kind, creative andresourceful. Try to find new ways to connect, to encourage each other, and to find joy inthese difficult days. We will get through this together, as one UTD!Respectfully,Debbie Greszler, Production SupportManager, left, and Pedro Morales, WebDeveloper, right, have both contributedto the UTD “Mask a Mask” project.Brian DourtyChief Technology OfficerOIT COVID-19 RESPONSE PROJECT UPDATES Cloth Face Covering DistributionMany UT Dallas employees must remain on campus in order to continue fulfillingessential functions, such as providing dining services to the students remaining inUniversity Housing. In response to the face mask shortage, volunteers across campushave launched the “Make a Mask” project. The project aims to provide two reusable,washable face covers to employees who are regularly on campus for their job duties.OIT graphic design student assistant,Maham Hussain, created the “Make aMask” artwork to promote the project.22The Office of Information Technology’s own Debbie Greszler, Production Support Managerand UT Dallas Staff Council member, was instrumental in collaborating for the project.To read more about the efforts being made on the Make a Mask project, visit .Questionsor comments?Email:assist@utdallas.edu OIT Helpdesk: 972.883.2911Questionsor Questionsor oll-Free940.369.5500/Toll-Free855.868.4357

The newsletter for the Office of Information TechnologyOIT COVID-19 RESPONSE PROJECT UPDATES Student Computer Checkout AvailabilityUT Dallas is committed to providing a safe and healthy learning space for its students tocontinue with their education during the coronavirus pandemic. As part of our efforts tomake the transition to online learning as smooth and seamless as possible for studentsin the UTD community, the Office of Information Technology distributed a limited number ofcomputers that can be borrowed at no cost for the remainder of the semester.The computers are available to currently enrolled students who do not have a deviceavailable to complete coursework. Should you know a student who may need a computer,please have them complete the Student Computer Check-Out Form. Accessibility Resources for Office 365All customers in the UT Dallas community were upgraded to Microsoft Teams for instantmessaging and collaboration. In addition to the tools that Teams provides, there are alsohelpful accessibility resources for the features within the Office 365 applications for ourcustomers with low or no vision, and those who are deaf and/or hard of hearing.The Client Services team was on handto facilitate loaner computers to UTDstudents who did not have a deviceduring the Covid-19 shutdown.With more than 1 billion people in the world with disabilities, there is no limit to whatpeople can achieve when technology reflects the diversity of all those who use it. OIT iscommitted to making its Electronic and Information Resources (EIRs) accessible to ourcustomers with diverse abilities in the UT Dallas community.Where can I find information on Office 365 accessibility?OIT has created an Accessibility Resource for Office 365 page to provide importantinformation for visual impairment and deaf/hard of hearing resources for Office 365. Inaddition, Microsoft also has a dedicated accessibility website that serves as a portal forfinding their help resources for accessibility and a Student Emergency Fund processcreation as another response. Amazon Connect for Help Desk Call CenterThe Innovation, Cloud and Platform team collaborated with the Help Desk to bring theAmazon Connect Contact Center into production to allow staff to receive off-campusphone calls. Amazon Connect is an easy to use omnichannel cloud contact center.The upgrade to Microsoft Teams provideshelpful accessibility resources for thefeatures within the Office 365 applicationsfor users with low or no vision, and thosewho are deaf and/or hard of hearing.3122Designed from the ground up to be omnichannel, Amazon Connect provides a seamlessexperience across voice and chat for the UT Dallas community. It includes one set oftools for skills-based routing, powerful real-time and historical analytics, and easy-to-useintuitive management tools – all with pay-as-you-go pricing, which means Amazon Connectsimplifies contact center operations, improves agent efficiency, and lowers costs. You canset up a contact center in minutes that can scale to support millions of customers.Questionsor comments?Email:assist@utdallas.edu OIT Helpdesk: 972.883.2911Questionsor Questionsor oll-Free940.369.5500/Toll-Free855.868.4357

The newsletter for the Office of Information TechnologyCUSTOMER SERVICE & IT BUSINESS AFFAIRSLabs Student Gaming Opportunities Through OIT LabsThe Customer Services & IT Business Affairs team manages three labs on campus, as wellas providing printing capabilities, workstations and equipment checkouts and support attwo additional lounges and several kiosks. In addition, the labs host a number of gamingevents and tournaments for UTD students. Below is a closer look at some of the gameshosted by the labs: Rocket League – seven events with more than 25 participants each League of Legends (LoL) – three events with more than 40 participants each Soul Caliber – 1 event with more than 15participants Overwatch – 1 event with more than 15participants Nintendo Switch – Super Smash Brothers – 2eventsClient ServicesThe Marketing, Communications and Help Desk StatisticsBelow are some statistics that the OIT Help Deskachieved during the months of February and March.Events team launched a new socialmedia campaign to show how Cometsacross the UTD community are keepingconnected with one another.Shannon Cepica, Assistant Vice Presidentof Customer Services and IT BusinessAffairs, leads the most recent OIT Forum.4122March 2,828 calls (average 91/day) 832 web chats 1,725 email inquiries Average interaction with the Help Desk is 8 1/2minutes. Help Desk answers over 94% of calls within 20seconds. Assisted over 1,570 faculty/staff and 1,688 studentsFebruary 2,048 calls (average 71/day) 537 web chats 1,417 email inquiries Average interaction with the Help Desk is 6 1/2 minutes. Help Desk answers over 93% of calls within 11 seconds. Assisted over 802 faculty/staff and 1,749 studentsQuestionsor comments?Email:assist@utdallas.edu OIT Helpdesk: 972.883.2911Questionsor Questionsor oll-Free940.369.5500/Toll-Free855.868.4357