October 2024 CIO Update
Happy Halloween (almost)! I look forward to attending Tech Fair on 10/30 and 10/31 and am excited to interact with colleagues I don’t get to see in person as often as I would like. For this month’s entry, I feature one service that has just launched and one service that is sunsetting (but also has a replacement).
Introducing RamsCentral: A New Era of Service Management at VCU
This fall, Technology Services introduced RamsCentral following the retirement of the previous service. This move to a modern service management framework allowed the ITSM Office team to enhance the service management experience for both analysts and customers. The new RamsCentral service supports the following processes:
- IT Request Management
- IT Incident Management
- IT Change Management
- IT Knowledge Management
- HR Case Management
- HR Knowledge Management
Besides a significant user interface update, the customer-facing portal also upgrades the customer experience with a streamlined and intuitive redesign of the IT Service Catalog, essentially a service picker for the customer. We moved from over 1,200 service items in the previous system to under 400 in RamsCentral at the time of launch. This is a better experience for the customer while leading to fewer misdirected tickets to analysts, promoting faster and more efficient service. The ITSM Office team is continuing its efforts to further simplify these options and improve user experience for the customer and analyst.
After launch, the ITSM Office addressed email routing issues that could not be tested pre-launch and completed a redesign of the email workflow. This new workflow is designed to promote consistent mail delivery and consumption. Additionally, the ITSM Office team implemented post-launch improvements in form design, team composition, and other features.
As we reach a stable state, the ITSM Office has several improvements and development efforts planned. The primary focus is the launch of Asset Management and the Configuration Management Database in RamsCentral , which is expected by the end of the year. The team will then work on Mobile Self Service, Mobile Analyst capabilities, AI enhancements, and improvements to Knowledge Management integration.
If you have any questions about RamsCentral, please contact the ITSMO at [email protected].
Decommissioning of Lon-Capa
After careful planning and consideration and with the help of faculty and key stakeholders, the decision has been made to decommission the Lon-Capa system. Lon-Capa has been used at VCU for many years as a solution for STEM learning needs, but in recent years it has been plagued by unyielding usage, support, and security issues. The decommissioning will take effect on July 1, 2025, with no new course creation requests accepted after the Spring 2025 semester.
Möbius, a cloud-based learning platform by DigitalEd, will replace Lon-Capa and will offer enhanced features for creating and deploying STEM course materials. Möbius will be accessible via Canvas and available to all faculty, staff, and students. Training and support for the transition will be provided, with details available on the go.vcu.edu/mobius web page.
Visit the Learning Systems blog for updates about the Lon-Capa decommissioning, and for any questions or assistance, the Learning Systems team can be contacted at [email protected].
As always, I am grateful to the Technology Services team and our colleagues across both campuses who work tirelessly to provide IT solutions and support to the VCU community.
Alex