ITS Q1 2021 Accomplishments

Information Technology Services (ITS) is proud to highlight its 2021 first quarter accomplishments. Despite continued work from home, ITS continues to provide excellent customer support, bring important projects to fruition and improve the underlying infrastructure and security that supports the campus’ IT needs.

COVID-19

• Spotlighted free Campus Recreation Group X Fitness Spring Classes and SF Build's COVID-19 Vaccine Informational Webinar on the SF State Mobile App
• Updated the COVID-19 mobile screening app to meet Cal/OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health) changes

SECURITY

• Completed investigation of the SolarWinds compromised server activity and found no evidence of a breach at SF State
• Completed migration of Associated Students Inc’s (ASI’s) Event Management Server into the ITS Data Center, closing an outstanding security audit finding
• Decommissioned existing SolarWinds servers and cancelled existing contract. Selected StatSeeker software to replace SolarWinds monitoring feature 
• Deployed Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) to ITS, Student Affairs & Enrollment Management (SAEM), and Student Health Services (SHS)
• Deployed Security Questions on the Gateway app
• Deprovisioned over 11,000 fake student accounts identified by ITS team members
• Handled 714 Individual compromised email accounts and 309 Technology Acquisition Review (TAR) requests
• Set up Microsoft Defender for Identity on the Campus Active Directory

2FA FOR FACULTY

• Completed the Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) Faculty Project; all faculty accounts were onboarded
• Established Twilio services for 2FA faculty rollout support
• Provided call and support services for 2FA for faculty and mailed out Duo hardware tokens
• Published an end user video on generating a Duo bypass code in the event a 2FA device is lost/stolen or inoperable

STUDENT SUCCESS

• Completed first phase of student email consolidation project; new students will get @sfsu.edu email instead of @mail.sfsu.edu
• Coordinated OnTheHub license updates to extend free Windows software to SF State students
• Updated Class Schedule to include new Bichronous (on-demand and real-time) learning mode

ACCESSIBILITY ADVANCES

• Identified and procured alternative 2FA tokens for accessibility that can also be self-configured
• Implemented Disability Programs and Resource Center (DPRC) accessibility improvements for Drupal 8
• Resolved accessibility issues in Gateway Redesign and set up Single Sign-On

UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS (UC)

• Migrated 455 phone lines (out of approximately 4,700 lines) and 12 groups to the new Avaya system, including training and support. As of the end of Q1 2021, 18% of the campus has been migrated. Check out https://its.sfsu.edu/projects/unifiedcommunication for all UC updates
• Ported all of the main campus phone numbers and emergency 911 lines over to the new Unified Communications System
• Trained key campus users on the Avaya system that manages automatic call distribution (ACD) and large volumes of incoming calls

STUDENT MEAL PLAN DEVELOPMENTS

• Completed hardware setup, network wiring, testing of order printing and processing, and mobile ordering for City Eats project
• Completed Meal Plan integration with Housing’s customer relationship management system (CRM) StarRez Cloud
• Completed Mobile meal ordering for the Dining Center

INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS

• Completed 2nd floor Liberal & Creative Arts (LCA) Wireless Access Point setup
• Completed Campus Communications project to architect Blackboard Connect for mass email communications
• Completed data integration from Campus Solutions to Fundly
• Completed migration to the new Amazon Web Services (AWS) Storage gateway for offsite backup
• Completed OnBase and DocuSign integration
• Disabled insecure protocol RC4 in Campus Active Directory
• Imaged and deployed 7 laptops to SHS as part of SHIMS v2.0
• Implemented Outlook Directory improvements to display Emeritus and Community Member roles
• Moved ServiceNow updates to production to enhance TAR, Web hosting, iLearn help and AT equipment requests
• Provided support for Property Office with Xerox device refresh
• Reviewed, racked, and cabled Network Video Recorder for LCA surveillance system in the ITS Datacenter
• Set up University Police Department (UPD) in Active Directory & SCCM
• Updated and published the Online Directories Practice Directive
• Updated SCCM to allow managed laptops to access the Software Center and receive updates when not connected to the campus network
• Upgraded 150 Wireless Access Points in the Humanities building
• Upgraded ServiceNow from the New York version to the Paris version
• Upgraded the Airwave application used for monitoring the campus Wi-Fi network
• Upgraded the faculty.sfsu.edu server

CAMPUS COST SAVINGS

• Completed renewal of the O365 Office licensing that saves $15K annually over the prior license

STUDENT HOUSING UPGRADES

• Automated StarRez to assign and email residents voucher codes and connectivity instructions upon check-in
• Completed the StarRez Cloud Migration project
• Integrated door system with the customer relationship management system (CRM) StarRez’s Cloud
• Upgraded the server that manages the residential Wi-Fi network

COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE

• Hosted the Information Security Working Group Communities of Practice and discussed updates on security projects, Security Awareness, and the new Data Hygiene Project
• Hosted the Service Management Community of Practice attended by campus IT providers, Procurement, HR, Housing, Bursar and Library

KNOWLEDGE BASE IMPLEMENTATION

• Launched the ServiceNow Knowledge Base and trained IT subject matter experts 
• Trained the ITS Service Desk on ServiceNow Knowledge Management