ASITS to Modernize IT and Cybersecurity

Best-in-class information security is a University of Arizona priority. The University administration has approved a major program to modernize and secure information technologies. These improvements will provide a competitive advantage and will help to boost the overall university IT infrastructure and reputation.

University Information Technology Services (UITS) is rolling out the projects under the Accelerating Secure IT Services project (ASITS) program. This large-scale effort will reshape and strengthen IT operations, security, and service by addressing dynamic security threats and reduce risk throughout the University. The program aims to migrate all campus managed IT infrastructure to the UITS secured managed network by June 2025.

“By leveraging the scalability of the UITS-managed services, we can protect our data and systems from cyber threats while ensuring that our community can carry out their work with minimal disruption,” explained Susan Legg, Executive Director of Infrastructure Technologies at UITS. She added, “We are committed to working closely with our stakeholders to ensure the success of our program and to maintaining a secure and supportive IT environment for our students, faculty, and staff.”

Benefits of the program include:

• Modern technologies that provide greater security and data for the campus community and the University
• A secure network that ensures access enforcement via authenticated users and devices
• Management and refresh of departmental employees’ desktops, laptops, and tablets through Technology Lifecycle Care
• Cloud hosting—via Amazon Web Services—to campus units who move data off local servers

The transition of colleges and divisions within the University is currently underway with UITS staff working closely with campus units to provide the support necessary to migrate their infrastructure. The first milestone of the project—submitting inventory of managed network and infrastructure services via the Transition Planning Toolkit—was successfully completed and is a key resource to help further the migration planning of services.