Otago's new IT Advisory team (from left) Grant Taylor, Nicola Walmsley, Mark Brunton and Luke Erickson.
Do you hope an IT solution can make work easier, need to resolve a long-standing issue or want to know who to contact about IT? Otago's newly established IT Advisory team is here to help.
This service has been created specifically to work with customers – University of Otago staff, managers and executives – to:
- Collaborate to understand their needs
- Match those needs to an IT solution
- Act as the customer's advocate and coordinator with the IT Services Division, to help deliver solutions that enable success at the University
- Share information about the IT services, solutions and benefits that are already available or could be obtained
- Help the IT Services Division define the strategic direction for IT services based on customer needs.
Each member of this internal customer relationship team has a portfolio:
Grant Taylor (Manager, IT Advisory) and Luke Erickson (IT Adviser) - Dunedin School of Medicine (DSM); Faculty of Dentistry, Otago Medical School (OMS); School of Biomedical Sciences (BMS); School of Pharmacy; School of Physiotherapy; University of Otago, Christchurch (UOC); and University of Otago, Wellington (UOW).
Nicola Walmsley (Manager, IT Advisory) – Otago Business School, the Academic, Human Resources, Financial Services and Operations Divisions and Foundation Studies.
Mark Brunton (Manager, IT Advisory) – the Humanities, Sciences, and External Engagement Divisions, Office of the Vice-Chancellor, Research and Enterprise and Otago Innovation Ltd.
Ms Walmsley says anyone thinking about technology for a new building, to use in their teaching programme or research project, looking at software to support the service they're delivering or generally wanting to know what IT Services provides can contact IT Advisory.
Mr Brunton says the University has a large and diverse range of software and IT services and people are not expected know everything that is available.
“Before the implementation of the Support Services Review, pockets of people did IT work within their own departmental budgets; now the budget is spread across the University and we have a more global view,” he says.
IT Advisory can also help with any IT issues that have been dragging on without a satisfactory resolution.
Day-to-day service requests, desktop support issues and urgent problems should still go to AskOtago – including requests for access to an IT service or software to be installed, a computer not starting or an unusual error message.
Requests to talk with a member of the IT Advisory team can also be made through AskOtago or by email to its.advisory@otago.ac.nz. The team is based at 51 Clyde Street and reports directly to IT Services Division Director Mike Harte.