IT’s about innovation.
UAB is powered by will — but sometimes innovation benefits from a boost from technology. Research and work across campus inspire UAB IT to bring you solutions that fuel innovation — so that you can change the world with studies that can help cure Parkinson’s disease; funding for schizophrenia research; a tool that helps partner students and medical professionals to improve patient care.
Funding the future
Dr. Adrienne Lahti has been trying to crack the secrets of schizophrenia in her patients — and a new partnership with UAB IT research computing dramatically improved the speed at which she and her team can compare patients’ brain scans to unlock clues. The power of UAB’s supercomputer was a factor in helping her work earn $4 million to study schizophrenia.
Passion to help
At the heart of UAB Solutions Studio, says assistant professor Nancy Wingo, are “people with a passion to help people.” Solutions Studio has been connecting students, nurses and clinicians to solve patient-centered problems for years — and a partnership with UAB IT to create an online tool designed during an IT sprint may make those connections easier.
Sparking innovation
UAB IT’s mobile developers, not far out of college themselves, are working to match student need with innovation to create unique tools for the UAB app — including AskBlaze, a chatbot expected to debut in 2019 that can quickly answer academic, work and campus life questions.
$93,720,298
Amount of grant funding earned by researchers using the UAB supercomputer
24.5
Available CPU Compute hours on the Cheaha supercomputer
IT’s about connections.
Sometimes the simplest solutions can streamline your day — so you can get more important work done. Documents signed from any device, no matter where you are. A mobile app that allows you to take your desk phone with you. A collaboration solution so you can chat with co-workers on the go. Customer service that replaces your desktop in under two hours.
Sign anywhere, anytime
Financial forms for the School of Medicine can be complicated, with grant and account approvals needing several signatures before they are complete. But when those forms were created in the electronic signature tool DocuSign, turnaround time was cut in half. Now financial officers like Staci Johnson can track the forms, have signers complete their approvals electronically even when they are out of the office or out of the country, and keep complete records once all signatures are obtained.
Clear connections
UAB’s phone system has relied on traditional landlines for decades. But a state-of-the-art phone system is essential — particularly for the man whose job is to keep an entire campus safe. Assistant Vice President and Chief of Police Anthony Purcell’s department was among the first to receive new phones powered by a voice-over-internet system that will eventually replace all of the phones on campus. “I love the new phones, and they are really simple to use,” Purcell says.
Connecting opportunity
Understanding how everyone at UAB is connected — and bringing empathy to his role — are among the qualities that keep Allante Jowers one of the most productive employees on the AskIT help desk. And that’s opened up more opportunities for him to connect with IT customers. Opportunity isn’t something Jowers felt he had much of just two years ago, when he was working a dead-end job and trying to get back into school at UAB. But enrolling in a unique technology course gave him the push to get his life back on track.
43
number of new IT solutions introduced this year, some during IT sprints
17
Number of processes improved with DocuSign
< 3 days
Average timeframe for completing a DocuSign process
429
number of new phones installed so far in 2018
IT’s about security.
Security threats become more sophisticated every day, and UAB is matching those steps with new tools to help you safeguard your accounts; simplified policies that take the guesswork out of campus security standards; and reporting that helps UAB IT’s security professionals take out bad guys before they can dig too deeply into our systems. Without your help, UAB IT would not be able to accomplish its most important task: Creating a secure computing environment that helps all of us safely do our jobs.
Never change your password again
Short passwords that required changing every three months used to be the norm at UAB, but that system wasn’t keeping us secure. Now those who have signed up for UAB’s new 2-factor authentication tool, Duo, are doing more than protecting themselves and their personal information. They are protecting the rest of campus and its data. Their reward? Never changing their passwords again.
Cyber squad
In an interior room of the Rust Building, a team of cyber detectives monitors network traffic and activities, seeking intruders who wish to harm or steal our data. But often their eyes and ears are the students, faculty and staff who report suspicious activity. Their work, partnered with the information security liaisons across campus and a set of policies and roles that govern data helps build a protective barrier to secure UAB.
1,088%
Percent increase in the number of people who signed up for 2-factor authentication and never have to change their passwords again
7%
Percent of risk reduced when campus partners eliminated personally identifying information/Restricted records
25,000
Average number of threats blocked per day by new intrusion detection system
IT’s about commitment.
UAB’s IT Strategic Plan is built on seven IT imperatives, and achieving goals tied to those imperatives is the job of everyone in UAB IT. Because you helped write the IT Strategic Plan by giving feedback on your technology needs, you hold us accountable to our roadmap for success for all of campus.
Security
UAB’s most important IT imperative relies on a partnership of UAB IT’s security team, IT professionals across campus, and data stewards, not to mention every student, faculty member and employee who helps report suspicious activity.
What we’ve done:
Hired new CISO | introduced 2-factor authentication | streamlined policies | expanded the Security Operations Center | extended penetration testing of our networks.
Governance
Your technology ideas can help UAB fulfill its vision of creating knowledge that changes the world. Through governance, UAB IT wants to help you evaluate technology vendors to ensure they align with UAB’s security needs, with IT resources and alignment and with UAB’s strategic mission.
What we’ve done:
implemented a vendor assessment form to evaluate security risk of potential vendors | completed 20 vendor assessments | hired a director of IT governance and portfolio management.
World-Class IT
You need not only advanced technology but also world-class customer service, so that when something goes wrong, we fix it quickly, so you get back to work. UAB IT’s Desktop Services team earned a 2.5 customer service maturity score from industry leader HDI this year —but most important, reduced the time it takes to help fix your problems.
What we’ve done:
earned a 2.6 customer service rating — up from 0.8 in just six months | defined service-level agreements | aligned employee goals to IT imperatives and UAB priorities | introduced a new customer service portal | solicited customer feedback.
Partnerships
Technology helps power important research and inspire in the classroom. By partnering with you, we’ve been able to harness technology as a force for academic and research success.
What we’ve done:
upgraded the UAB mobile app | refreshed 22 new classrooms | hired a research computing AVP.
Business Value
UAB IT’s goal is to reduce costs, improve processes and generate revenue to help all of UAB.
What we’ve done:
implemented electronic signature tool DocuSign | lowered cell phone rates | migrated personal file shares to the cloud.
Data Driven Decisions
You need strong data to help make the best decisions for to advance UAB’s mission — data that shapes how we improve processes, foster research and retain students. We’ve introduced standardized methods for collecting and analyzing data and strengthened the policies that govern access to data.
What we’ve done:
implemented Tableau | introduced the Data Access Policy to protect who has access to Sensitive and Restricted data.
Community
UAB is helping build a strong technology ecosystem in Birmingham, and UAB IT is contributing to the city’s profile in the region and across the country.
What we’ve done:
Carver named chairman of Alabama CIO Leadership Association | Carver named chairman of Alabama Higher Education CIO Leadership Association | Carver sits on advisory boards for TechBirmingham and TechBridge | Extended the 100 Gbps network to Innovation Depot | been featured in Harvard Business Review for the second year in a row | introduced Blazer for Life email for alumni and former employees.
IT’s about progress.
When UAB IT introduces a new technology or service, you’re the winner. Campus needs are at the center of all we do, so our accomplishments are your wins.
Get Duo, never change your password again
Keep your UAB email address for life
Qualtrics survey tool available to all of campus
File migration to cloud offers greater flexibility
UAB app upgrades provide more features
Redundant fiber network keeps Nursing outage brief
New customer service survey tracks Desktop satisfaction
