CIO Monthly Note 10/31/2016

The Good & Bad of Being in the Cloud

Treeno & 25 Live

As most colleges have NECC has been moving key applications like Treeno and 25 Live to the cloud for the immediate savings in the budget and also the promise of improved disaster recovery and flexibility.

What is the cloud?

Well the nickname came from network diagrams which used a picture of a cloud to depict large networks.  These days “the cloud” refers to moving your software applications to a company connected to you via the Internet rather than installing and running software at your own place of business.  It can save organizations a great deal of money particularly when volume licensing comes into play.  The downside to the cloud is that we are dependent on these companies to respond and perform recoveries and upgrades for us.

We are currently experiencing problems with both of these services and the companies are working on resolving the issues as quickly as possible.  There is nothing our ITS staff can do for us other than relay updates as they come in from these cloud-based providers.

A Quick Information Security Reminder

Phishing continues to plague email users across the globe.  The attackers are getting more sophisticated making their messages and their false websites look more and more like the real thing.

1. Always look at links in your email messages to see where they are taking you.  If the address ends in .RU the link is taking you to Russia which happens to be the top source of attacks hitting NECC.
2. Remember NECC will never ask for your username and password through an email message.
3. If in doubt call the Service Desk at x3111

PACE (Partnership for Advancing Collaboration and Efficiency)

The PACE group was formed about three years ago and our CFO, Mike McCarthy, and I just attended a meeting this past Friday of PACE along with the CFOs and CIOs of our Massachusetts colleges and universities.  The meeting helped highlight additional areas we are investigating to share costs and ultimately reduce overall expenses for each of us.

Cloud computing is certainly at the top of the list as it can provide substantial cost savings and even enable more sharing of best practices as more of us move to the cloud.  We will continue to evaluate cloud services this year while also exploring new digitized services to improve the student experience through streamlined processes and communications.

As always I.T.S. strives to provide the best services at the best cost to the college.  PACE can certainly help us in this effort as we combine our needs and seek out volume licensing and purchases.

IT Master Plan

The IT Master Plan has officially kicked off with our first meeting of the semester last month.  The plan is being put together by a subcommittee of the IT Committee.  If you would like to learn more or participate please contact the IT Committee or myself.

As always if you have any questions about anything IT related please don’t hesitate to contact me.