Information Services are excited to share the following technology updates and news taking place in early 2020: 

Update on refresh to the Print Service
Last year, Information Services announced a refresh to the University of Nottingham print service with the overarching aim of providing a leaner and more sustainable service. 

Since start of term last year, we have upgraded the underlying print service infrastructure, introduced a new print credits website (MyPrint) and simplified the print queues. The wide-format printing service has also been upgraded with the provision of 7 new devices. The new multi-functional devices now have ‘print and release’ functionality and we have located a wide-format printer in Hallward Library and Djanogly Learning Resource Centre for increased access to the service. 

We have started the process of replacing 238 printers with new faster devices. The first phase of the rollout has finished (with 72 printers replaced) and the second phase will take place during February.  

You can read more on the print service update via the Digital Network blog.  

Changes to File storage
This year the University will be moving away from current main data storage, (such as the Z: (Home), S: (Shared) and R: (Research) drives) and on to Microsoft OneDrive. Support is on offer for staff and students in migrating their data. 

From the end of January 2020, access to the existing personal (Z: drive) will be restricted to read only as the University starts to move away from the current file store. 

Staff and students already have access to 5TB of OneDrive storage through Office 365. Staff and students can migrate their data to OneDrive which offers greater flexibility, capacity and collaboration. It also provides a greater degree of security for storing our data. 

To help people migrate from using the Z drive to OneDrive, there will be a series of drop-in workshops throughout January. See Campus News for all dates, no booking is required just turn up.  

Further information on moving to OneDrive can be read in this Campus News article.  

Windows 7 end of life January 2020
This month sees the end of long-term support for Windows 7. Microsoft won’t provide any software or security updates after 14 January. This poses a security risk to the University, so it is vital that any users still using Windows 7 upgrade their PC to Windows 10.  

You can update to Windows 10 by using the self-service upgrade option. If you have any questions or require support, please contact your local Campus IT support team for help and guidance. 

Using a version of Office that is older than Office 2016? 
For Office 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2013, these products will be soon out of mainstream support. Microsoft will not guarantee access to Office 365 based services when old versions of Office are end of life.  

If you are using an old version of Office, we strongly recommend you contact Campus IT Support to discuss how to upgrade these products before May 2020. 

Upgrading to macOS Catalina
Apple computer users may be aware that a new version of macOS (10.15 Catalina) was released a last year. The update introduces changes that could affect the use of some key University software due to compatibility with the new system.  

With the December release of Catalina 10.15.2, we are now able to support the operating system upgrade for Mac users. We strongly recommend following some considerations before upgrading, please read the Digital Network blog for more information. 

New customer service platform coming soon
Last year a project was started to replace the current customer service platform (currently Hornbill Supportworks). The project has purchased a new Ivanti Service Management system which includes Change Management and Configuration Management Database (CMDB) features.  

This exciting and transformational project will also see changes to the way in which we offer and manage support for IT services at the University by offering a new and more comprehensive Self Service portal. This will replace the use of email as a means of submitting support requests and will enable greater automation, which will help to ensure a swifter and more accurate response and therefore improve the overall customer experience. 

The implementation of a Service Catalogue and new Self Service portal is expected to take place during March 2020. There will be more communications, guidance and training coming soon.

For further updates over the coming months, please check the Digital Network blog.