Announcements

University IT is a collaborative partnership of the three IT units within Stanford’s Business Affairs organization, all dedicated to delivering world-class service and technological solutions in support of research, teaching and learning, administration, and healthcare.

The August issue of the University IT newsletter is now available.

On Sunday, July 20, University IT completed round two of the Zimbra email and calendar migration to Microsoft Office 365. 1,882 accounts were migrated to the new email and calendar service. The departments and units that were migrated include:  Business Affairs; Dean of Research; SE3 (and postdocs); and a small group of other Stanford affiliates.  

To find out when your area migrates to Office 365, visit the Office 365 service page.

University IT is a collaborative partnership of the three IT units within Stanford’s Business Affairs organization, all dedicated to delivering world-class service and technological solutions in support of research, teaching and learning, administration, and healthcare.

The July issue of the University IT newsletter is now available.

In forming University IT just over a year ago, our goal has been to provide the most seamless experience that we can for clients across campus. To further increase our operational effectiveness, efficiency, consistency, and integration, I am creating a University IT Shared Services unit to provide non-technical shared support. 

I’m pleased to announce that Sam Steinhardt will become the Assistant Vice President for University IT Shared Services, effective Monday, June 15, 2015. Sam will report to me, and will join the Office of the CIO.  

The University IT Shared Services organization will include:

• Finance, led by Molly Reynick
• Vendor Management, led by Tracy Yuan
• Business Partners, led by John Freshwaters
• Communications, led by Jim Knox
• Service Management, led by Kathy Pappas Kassaras

Combining the Financial and Vendor units will create greater efficiencies with respect to the management of University IT financial resources. Bringing the Business Partners and Communications units together will continue to develop a single voice to the Stanford community. Service Management will help create consistent systems and processes across University IT. The University IT Finance function will continue to have a secondary reporting relationship to Noel Hirst, Assistant Vice President for Business Affairs Finance and Facilities.

Sam has worked closely with clients to simplify business operations and to consolidate campus spending. He recently led a team of eight leaders from across University IT to better align the three organizations of Administrative Systems, the Information Security Office, and IT Services. To this new role, Sam brings business savvy, strategic perspective, and a dedication to continuous improvement.  

Please join me in welcoming Sam to his new role. 

Randy Livingston
Vice President for Business Affairs and CFO

Dear Stanford mobile device user community,

During a planned upgrade to Stanford’s Mobile Device Management system (AirWatch) on the morning of May 22nd, your mobile device may have been disconnected from Stanford email, calendar and contacts. We apologize for this, and we assure you that no data has been lost.

You will need to re-enter your Stanford password in order to reload the data to your mobile device. It may take a while to fully resynchronize your data, so we recommend connecting to a WiFi network to expedite the process. You can re-enter your password on Apple devices under: Settings --> Mail, Contacts, Calendars --> Stanford Mail --> Account --> Password.

If you need additional assistance, please contact the Service Desk at 725-HELP (4357) or submit a help request at helpsu.stanford.edu.

Google released Chrome 42 last week, and as users have upgraded, they've seen a warning about the SSL certificates installed on a number of Stanford websites. A red X and line appear in the lock icon and "https" of the URL.

This warning is displayed for certificates that are signed with an older encryption algorithm. It is not an indication that there's a current security problem with the site or certificate—this is Chrome's way of encouraging more rapid adoption of stronger encryption.

While new certificates that Stanford issues are signed with stronger encryption methods, issues with some older operating systems and applications prevent University IT from deploying newer certificates across all sites right now.

In the meantime, this specific warning in Chrome 42 and later versions can be safely ignored. For more information about this warning and the reasons behind it, please see this post from Google's security blog.

If you have any questions, please submit a HelpSU request.

University IT is a collaborative partnership of the three IT units within Stanford’s Business Affairs organization, all dedicated to delivering world-class service and technological solutions in support of research, teaching and learning, administration, and healthcare.

The March issue of the University IT newsletter is now available.

The hardware tokens for two-step authentication have arrived.  First round of distribution is underway at specified locations.  Beginning March 2, 2015, the tokens will be available for pickup at the ID Card Office now in Tresidder Union.  For more information on two-step authentication, visit:  twostep.stanford.edu.

This is a notification that the Drupal community will stop releasing updates for Drupal 6 sites about three months after the release of Drupal 8, which is likely to be released in the next year. University IT will continue to test and provide updates to Drupal 6 sites through the upgrade tool as long as the Drupal community releases them. While University IT will not support any new Drupal 6 installs through the Collaboration Tools Installer, University IT will not take down any existing Drupal 6 sites.

University IT strongly recommends upgrading to Drupal 7 soon and not waiting until after Drupal 8 is released. Stanford faculty, staff, and students who are interested in starting a Drupal site are encouraged to use Stanford Sites, a self-service tool for building Drupal 7 websites.

For more information on navigating to Drupal 7, see Moving From Drupal 6 to Drupal 7.

Effective December 5, 2014, University IT will no longer support or offer WebEx licenses. Current WebEx users are encouraged to use BlueJeans, which is provided at no cost to all faculty, staff, and students.

After December 5, 2014, the Stanford University WebEx site will no longer be accessible.

Please contact Gino Piccardo at WebEx if you want to obtain a department license.

The appearance of Stanford WebLogin will be changing in December 2014. The new WebLogin screens can be previewed from the WebAuth What's New page.  

University IT is a collaborative partnership of the three IT units within Stanford’s Business Affairs organization, all dedicated to delivering world-class service and technological solutions in support of research, teaching and learning, administration, and healthcare.

The November issue of the University IT newsletter is now available.

University IT is a collaborative partnership of the three IT units within Stanford’s Business Affairs organization, all dedicated to delivering world-class service and technological solutions in support of research, teaching and learning, administration, and healthcare.

University IT has just launched a new website and newsletter.

In early September 2014, current Amazon Web Services (AWS) account holders should have received an email directly from AWS, on Stanford’s behalf, informing them of the new Enterprise Agreement negotiated between AWS and Stanford University as of May 2014. Learn more.

Effective Aug. 1, the university will begin issuing Stanford ID cards with a new look. While the change will not affect those with existing cards, IDs issued to new employees and new students arriving this fall will look distinctively different. The changes have been made to ensure that the cards conform to Stanford's updated wordmark and visual identity system.

“Because this card appears slightly different from existing cards, we would like to make sure all campus departments and services are aware of the change, to limit confusion over the legitimacy of the new cards,” said Jay Kohn, director of card services.

For those who are eligible for the Go Pass, the new design accommodates space on the front of the card for that sticker.

ID cards with the old design remain in effect unless the card is lost or stolen. Replacement cards will continue to cost $20. When a replacement card is issued, it will reflect the new design.

ID Cards are issued by the Campus Card Office. For more information, visit the Campus Card Services website or call (650) 498-CARD or (8-2273).

New standards mean SUNet users can choose passwords that are short but complex, or longer and less complex. Most campus users will be prompted to update their passwords in the coming weeks.

View full article on Stanford News

Apple Inc. has released updates for Mac OSX 10.7, 10.8, and 10.9 to address a critical security problem. Stanford's Information Security Office recommends that you update your Mac OSX systems and iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touch devices as soon as possible to protect your personal privacy and security, as well as to protect the university's data.

On April 4, 2014, Mac OSX systems that are not up-to-date will have the update pushed to them automatically. Please restart the system to complete the installation. For instructions and additional information, visit the Secure Computing web site.

On April 14, 2014, compliance rules in MDM will be updated to no longer allow insecure versions of iOS 6 and iOS 7. Please update your device today.

For more information, go to securecomputing.stanford.edu.

Stanford University has decided to suspend operations, where feasible, during the winter holiday season. In support of this decision, most groups within IT Services will be closed from end of day Friday, December 20, 2013 through Friday, January 3, 2014. Normal business operations will resume on Monday, January 6, 2014 at 8 a.m.

Services to both hospitals and the clinics (SHC and LPCH) will continue as normal during this time, and staff will be available to provide the expected levels of support.

The majority of IT Services offices will be closed. A small number of staff will be on hand to support university offices that must remain open. These staff members will provide operator services, monitor and support critical applications, process high-priority service orders, and provide priority response to urgent HelpSU requests. Please note: You may experience longer-than-normal response times during this period.

For University departments needing work orders to be completed before winter close, please submit your request no later than December 9, 2013 for Data Center orders or December 11, 2013 for telephone orders. We will make every effort to complete orders received by those date on or before December 20, 2013. Orders received after those date may not be completed until on or after January 6, 2014.

Complete details regarding IT Services support and staffing plans during winter close are available at: itwinterclosure.stanford.edu

The Team for Improving Productivity at Stanford (TIPS), coordinated by IT Services, is celebrating its 25 year anniversary.  Join us for the celebration on July 10 at 9am in Paul Brest Hall!  For more information, visit:  tips.stanford.edu

The business process for sponsoring SUNet ID changed on April 2. Previously, it started with the person who needed a SUNet ID, but now the sponsor begins the process. Learn more and try the new system today.

AFS disk quota has increased to meet campus needs. Individual user quota went from 2 to 5 GB, group quota from 500 MB to 4 GB, department quota from 2 to 4 GB, and class quota from 1 to 2 GB.

Over the winter closure, IT Services upgraded to CS Gold 6. Building managers can access the new version at csgoldweb.stanford.edu. 

Most IT Services units will close on Friday, December 21 at 5 p.m. and re-open Monday, January 7 at 8 a.m. More information at itwinterclosure.stanford.edu.

Do you have visitors coming to Stanford? For access to the internet, just point them to the new “Stanford Visitor” network. Sponsorship no longer required!