Dean B. Krafft
Director of Library IT
Cornell University
In the fall of 2010, Cornell University began implementing a “reimagined” model for delivering information technology (IT) services on campus, based on a set of recommendations developed with significant input from Bain & Co., a global consulting firm. Cornell is now three years into the process of creating a much more integrated and collaborative IT organization, and the university is starting to reap some major benefits from doing things very differently.
This talk will describe the significant changes that have taken place in IT service delivery, IT governance, and providing IT software solutions at Cornell, from the perspective of both the Cornell University Library and the campus as a whole. In some cases, Cornell adopted the recommendations of Bain and the original re-imagining process, and in other cases, it deliberately chose different approaches. The presentation will include an analysis of the organizational, cultural, and operational changes that have taken place in IT over the past three years, outlining both the successes and the remaining challenges. Finally, the talk will include a brief look at Cornell’s recently completed IT Strategic Plan, which seeks to “guide prudent reallocation of our IT investments from utilities to academic differentiators” while providing stable and efficient utility IT services. The IT@Cornell model of “intentional interdependence” within the university and seeking the best services and collaborations available from the outside world should be of significant interest to many educational institutions facing similar IT challenges.
https://www.cni.org/topics/user-services/reimagining-it-at-cornell-university/
http://www.cornell.edu/reimagining/it-review.cfm
http://www.it.cornell.edu/cio/index.cfm