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by Ilee Rhimes

The country's current economic situation presents public research universities with many challenges and opportunities, but these can be considered two sides of the same coin. In the face of budget cuts, Ohio State is challenged to maintain the momentum achieved in making technology a transforming agent in its administrative, teaching, research, and service arenas. Such a situation incites creativity and leads to new opportunities. We currently face five pressing technology challenges (or opportunities in the making).

Meeting customer expectations in tough budget times

Students, faculty and staff expect more time- and place-independent technology services and a robust technology infrastructure with integrated and Web-based Enterprise-level systems. Their anticipation must be met with inventive strategies for leveraging existing resources and identifying new ones.

Expanding and protecting network access and technology resources

The data network must be ubiquitous and yet adequately protected from viruses, spam, and cyber-terrorism. To secure our information technology assets and processes and the university's privacy and productivity, we must develop effective models and approaches to better manage data network capacity, use, and costs and at the same time provide access for the special needs community.

Supporting and advancing e-Learning on campus and at a distance

Our challenge to sustain and nurture e-Learning requires a multi-faceted approach: providing faculty with resources, training, and support to develop and integrate engaging technologies into teaching and learning; upgrading and maintaining classrooms and academic venues with appropriate technology; ensuring that faculty delving into distance learning are aware of the cost and time for development, maintenance and delivery; providing distance learners with the special resources, technology and services they need; developing and revising policies to promote the use of technology for resident and distance learners; and finally, developing effective new approaches to intellectual property issues and ownership in a world of global knowledge repositories and high-speed access and capabilities.

Growing enterprise-level systems

We must continue acquiring, reengineering, upgrading, integrating, and Web-enabling mission critical enterprise-level systems to carry on the business of the university. In addition, we must seamlessly integrate highly complex, enterprise-level course management systems that touch all members of the university community. For such endeavors, we need a talented and productive information technology workforce. The critical skills required for enterprise systems remain scarce, which constrains the university's ability to consider potentially superior information technology options, causes project delays, and results in higher costs from the need to augment with external consultants and staff.

Ensuring effective business continuity planning

Following the tragedy of September 11, attention has been focused rightly on the ability of higher education's technical business infrastructure to survive both natural and man-made disasters. Ohio State's data center disaster recovery plans are already in place, but we are still challenged to develop effective information technology business continuity plans, processes, and recovery procedures that include the entire university.