Deploying the Unit Information System across the Institution via the Integrated Technology Action Group: One University's Experience

Currently there is a problem with information management at many major post secondary institutions. Information was historically acquired, stored and maintained in silos such as Human Resources, Materials Management, Departments or Faculties, Information Technologies centers, Administration units etc. With the arrival of Enterprise Solutions such as People Soft® or SAP®, situations improved because some of the information from silos was loaded into the central repositories and associated data marts. The benefit of information concentration is unfortunately negated by removing the information from its authoritative owners, who should be able to maintain the information as part of their daily routine. This paper argues that a committee represented by IT experts from all faculties can successfully justify to the senior management the necessity of investment into ideas or projects deemed worthy by the IT experts on campus. This argument will be illustrated using one of our large projects, UNITIS, an enterprise level solution for managing unit information across the whole organization.