planning and creating an information technology infrastructure: one branch campus experience from...

Planning and Creating an Information Technology

Infrastructure: One Branch Campus Experience from the

Middle East

Planning and Creating an Information Technology

Infrastructure: One Branch Campus Experience from the

Middle East

Dr. David J. AyersmanChief Information Officer

Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar

Dr. David J. AyersmanChief Information Officer



Overview

1. About Qatar and Education City

2. Problem Statement (Challenges for a new CIO in the Middle East)

3. Description of Activities (Projects and Solutions)

4. Next Steps

5. Importance and Relevance to Others


1. About Qatar and Education City

• Location

• Population

• Government

• History

• Change

•Safety

•Qatar Foundation

•Education City

•Mission

•Partners


Qatar• Smaller than Connecticut

• Pearls, Fishing, to LNG

• Population (885,359 est.); 80% in Doha; 30,000 before 1950’s; mostly ex-patriots

• Arabic is primary language; English widely understood

• Per Capita Income

• *Mobiles = 716,800


Middle East

• centrally located

• 300 miles to Iraq

• 140 to Iran

• enter by air or water or through Saudi by land


Historical Development

• 1868 to 1971 (British Protectorate; Ruled by Al-Thani family)

• 1930’s discovery of oil and LNG

• 1950’s infrastructure began

• 1995 bloodless coup (founding of Education City)

• 2001 border disputes resolved


Doha, Qatar


Rapid Development


Terror?

• Doha Player’s Club (March 19, 2005)

• Very low crime

• Compounds

• US Military Presence


Education City

• 2500 acres, private, nonprofit, multi-institutional

• generous funding by Qatar’s ruling family

• student body (and faculty/staff) diversity (regional)

• Al-Jazeera children’s channel, hospital, science and technology park, RAND corporation, QA, ABP

• future partners?


Mission• Qatar Foundation’s mission is to prepare the

people of Qatar and the region to meet the challenges of an ever-changing world, and to make Qatar a leader in innovative education and research.

• To achieve that mission, Qatar Foundation supports a network of centers and partnerships with elite institutions, all committed to the principle that a nation’s greatest natural resource is its people. Education City, Qatar Foundation’s flagship project, is envisioned as a center of excellence in education and research that will help transform Qatar into a knowledge-based society.


Education City

• 1997 Virginia Commonwealth University (arts)

• 2001 Weill Cornell Medical College (medicine)

• 2003 Texas A&M University (engineering)

• 2004 Carnegie Mellon University (computer science and business)

• 2005 Georgetown University (foreign service)


2. Problem Statement• Challenges for a new CIO in the Middle

East


Initial Questions

• CIO Responsibilities?

• IT Staff Expertise (new staff; to be determined)

• Budget and Procurement Process?

• Cultural and Environmental Factors?

• Communication (VCU, QF, vendors, clients); Dec in Richmond

• IT Dependency on QF? (Quality of Service?)


Additional Factors

• Mission and Strategic Direction?

• Culture (hours of operation, formality, familiarity, meaning of agreements, work week)

• 7,000 miles and 8 time zones (4 common hours with main campus!)

• Staffing (high turnover, expertise, personalities)

• Assessment of Needs


VCUQ IT (2005)

• 50% Macintosh

• unix server?

• no wireless

• dependent upon QF IT for network, email, etc.

• no admin access to main campus IT services

• no asset management?

•no classroom technologies

•no media services

•no trouble ticket system

•ineffective relationships with QF IT and VCU

•lack of policies/procedures


VCUQ IT Staff 2005VCUQ IT Staff 2005


3. Description of Activities

• Projects and Solutions


Needs Assessment: Priorities• Gain Familiarity and

Understanding

• Expend Current Budget in 4 Months

• Create Inventory

• Acquire Infrastructure (servers and data/electric)

• Service-Level Agreement

•Web Site (gain access; become autonomous)

•Standardize Equipment

•Provide Wireless

•Create Identity (qatar.vcu.edu)

•Classroom Technologies and Atrium

•Create VCUQ Network


Procurement Challenges• QF or VCU?

• VA Restrictions Apply?

• Sole Source or Competitive Bids

• No flexibility in budget

• On-site Maintenance and Warranty Needed

• Main Campus Contracts Not Recognized

•Export Agreements Vary

•Changing Procedures?

•Changing Personnel

•Retailers 20% Surcharge?

•Who are the Vendors?

•Agreements with Vendors*

•Follow-up, Follow-up


4 Months for Initial Scope Document?• In January 2005 I contacted one of the companies that my predecessor told me about who

seemed capable of performing the technology enhancements that we needed for our classrooms. I invited them to campus so we could develop a scope document based on the technical expertise and approximate the costs that would be associated with this project which they could provide us. The budget at that point was known but an accurate estimate of the cost for the project was not yet known.

• On Feb 1, 2005 I met with representatives from Almana and Partners to discuss the VCUQ audiovisual needs. We toured the 6 classrooms that needed renovations and S. Parameswaran (Systems Engineer) and Mohan Kumar (Sales Executive) took notes and asked questions. They agreed to submit a quote to me that would reflect their estimate for the equipment and installation. No quote for this project was ever received by me from Almana and Partners.

• At the end of February, I met with Mansoor Mopari and his partner from NEST Middle East Co. W.L.L. to discuss the VCUQ audiovisual needs. We toured the 6 classrooms that need renovations. Mansoor and his colleague agreed to submit to me a quote that would detail the equipment that would be needed, the cost of that equipment, and the cost of the installation of the equipment. No quote for this project was ever received by me from NEST Middle East.

• On March 22, 2005 I met with Victor Mettry from TechnoQ to discuss the VCUQ audiovisual needs. We toured the 6 classrooms that needed renovations. Victor agreed to submit to me a quote that would detail the equipment needed, the cost of that equipment, and the cost of installing that equipment. In early April, I received a quote from TechnoQ.


Procurement Improvements

• corporate card for online purchasing

• re-shipping from main campus

• recognition of sole source vendors

• localization for PO

•increased spending limit

•increased minimum for multiple quotes and capital items ($300 to $2500)

•budget request to allocation (flexibility for purchasing)


Projects

• Service Level Agreement

• Planning

• VCUQ Domain Transition Project

• Classroom Enhancement Projects

• VCUQ Web Site

• Atrium Project


Service-Level Agreement

• None (since 1997?)

• Scope of Responsibilities

• Performance Indicators

• Performance Expectations

• Signatures

•The value of this document was greater as a symbol of cooperation than as a formal contract.


VCUQ Domain Transition

• Acquire Infrastructure

• Approval from QF IT

• Extensive Coordination and Assistance with Main Campus IT

• IP Range, Firewall, NAT, Domain Registration, etc.

• Migration of Email (no messages lost!)


Atrium Project

• Only large-venue area in Education City (+450)

• Video Displays (16 50” DSP, 7 42” Plasma)

• 5.1 Sound, 4 video cameras, lighting, 2 podiums

• DVD Recording

• IP Video-conferencing


Atrium 1 of 5


Atrium 2 of 5


Atrium 3 of 5


Atrium 4 of 5


Atrium 5 of 5


General Colin PowellGeneral Colin Powell


Classrooms (12)

• Ceiling-mounted video projector

• Teaching station with networked computer

• Sound; Lighting; Multi-region DVD

• Motorized projection screen

• *Motorized window shades


Communication

• Teleconferencing (2 speaker phones)

• Video-conferencing (2 Polycom systems)

• Email Forwarding and LDAP Updates

• Identity (qf.org.qa versus qatar.vcu.edu)

• Committees and Projects

• On-Site Visits (CIO, Procurement, etc.)


IT Organizational Changes

• creation of Student Apprentice positions

• division of responsibilities

• new positions (to be filled July 2007)

• new services offered


VCUQ IT Staff 2007VCUQ IT Staff 2007


VCUQ IT (2007)

• 50% Macintosh

• 400 computers (185 students, 105 faculty/staff)

• wireless

• independent of QF IT for network, email, etc.

• admin access to main campus IT services

•3-year computer replacement cycleclassroom technologies

•media services

•trouble ticket system

•effective relationships with QF IT and VCU


4. Next Steps


New Projects

• Building Expansion Project

• Telecommunications (VoIP)

• Curricular Integration

• Further Integration with Main Campus

• SCT Banner

• Email?


Areas to Improve

• Communication with VCUQ Senior Leadership

• IT Staff Skill Areas

• Application of Existing Technologies

• Exploration of New Technologies

• New CIO for FY 2007-2008


5. Importance and Relevance to Others


Unique? Challenges

• Procurement Issues?

• Cultural Expectations (Work, Schedules, Communication)

• Relationships with CEO, CFO, CAO?

• New Facilities?

• Policies and Procedures?


Being CIO in Qatar

• Challenging and Rewarding

• Cultural Understanding and Respect

• Leverage Relationships to Achieve Business Goals

• Make Adjustments (Pace of Projects, Procedures, and Hands-On Leadership)


Related Information

• Dr. Tim Chester, CIOTexas A&M University in Qatar

• Educause Quarterly, Number 2, 2005

• http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/EQM0528.pdf


Thank You!

• [email protected]

Copyright David J. Ayersman, 2007. This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the author.

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