Shared Infrastructure Services Programme Update - Michaelmas 2025

Technology workstream

Shared Device Management (SDM)

The Shared Device Management (SDM) project is looking to offer a new shared service for the management of devices, such as laptops and printers, across the university. With many teams using tailored, local solutions, there's significant opportunity to reduce duplication and share knowledge.  

The service, built using Microsoft Intune, aims to provide a new option for device management for IT teams across the collegiate university. The project adopts a shared approach, with the evolution of the service driven by user input from across the ITSS community. The delivery team and project sponsors, therefore, include representation from IT Services, Divisions, Departments and Faculties. 

What happened in Michaelmas 2025?

The SDM project encountered several challenges that prevented progression into the live environment, meaning early adoption testing did not proceed as planned. 

Key areas identified were: 

• Resourcing: capacity of delivery team needed strengthening, alongside a transition in product leadership that required the project team to be re-formed 
• Governance: recognition of the need for governance for both 
  • the related bigger picture of the Microsoft directory, device management and security technologies  
  • clear change processes for updates to the live Intune environment 
• Grouping: issues around group and access management required resolution before further progress could be made 

Learnings

These challenges have provided valuable learnings to reshape the SDM delivery approach and, more broadly, what operating a shared service delivery model requires. 

In response, work during Michaelmas term focused on the following activities to remove the barriers to progress: 

• Microsoft governance: a working group was setup to support SDM and other initiatives.  
• Intune change control processes: Identified the need for a Change Authorisation Board (CAB) for formal control of change management in Intune live 
• Re-forming the delivery team: the addition of Barbara Vardijan as Programme Manager (Technology) and David Freeman as Product Owner 
• Unblocking group management issues, enabling focus to define options to proceed 

These activities shifted the focus from delivery to learning, stabilisation and foundation-setting, particularly around shared principles and services. 

What’s happening next? 

Plans for Hilary Term focus on restarting delivery with stronger foundations in place. This includes: 

• unlocking the remaining blockers so development work can recommence 
• defining Release 1 and Release 2 scope for delivery 
• delivering Release 1 in the live environment 
• formalising membership of the Change Advisory Board (CAB) 
• running Release 1 with early adopters, with a particular focus on testing the Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) security model 

Networks Discovery Survey 

The Networks Discovery Survey is an exploratory initiative aimed at understanding the current network landscape across the collegiate University. This includes building a clearer picture of network performance, reliability, user experience, and any areas of potential risk where improvements may be needed. 

A short questionnaire has been designed to gather feedback on how well existing networks support day-to-day work, helping to highlight strengths and surface common challenges. 

What happened in Michaelmas 2025? 

The network survey content was developed and reviewed with Heads of Technology prior to wider circulation. 

What’s happening next? 

The network survey was circulated across the collegiate University at the beginning of Hilary Term. Once the survey closes, the team will: 

• review responses on connectivity, speed, and overall network experience 
• analyse feedback to identify risks, common themes, and improvement opportunities 
• use the findings to inform prioritisation and next steps 

People Workstream Initiatives

ITSS Induction Process 

SISP identified the need for a revised ITSS induction that goes beyond a simple welcome pack. The aim is to create a professional development programme that helps new IT support staff become effective more quickly, refresh knowledge for existing ITSS, and surface information about Oxford’s IT systems that can be hard to find.  

The initiative is developing a modular curriculum that can be delivered in stages over time. 

What happened in Michaelmas 2025? 

Progress focused on developing and refining initial induction content. The following modules advanced through draft and review stages: 

• orientation 
• networks  
• support  
• SSO / MFA procedures 
• introduction to Microsoft Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive for Business (ODFB), including quota guidance 

What’s happening next? 

The ITSS induction materials are approaching final review, with the expectation that they will be ready for publication on CoSy in the next phase. 

User Experience Workstream Initiatives 

ITSS Fast Track Access  

ITSS Fast Track Access aims to establish a clear and effective way for IT support staff to access infrastructure expertise within IT Services and other divisions, where this is expected to improve outcomes for staff and users. 

The initiative seeks to make it easier for colleagues in different parts of IT to connect with each other to investigate and address complex support and infrastructure issues. It will develop and test an operating model that supports timely access to specialist expertise. 

Objectives: 

• identify specific ITSS pain points where access to infrastructure expertise is expected to help 
• trial an operating model that enables this access for an agreed set of scenarios 
• evaluate the model and propose options for wider rollout 

What happened in Michaelmas 2025? 

Activity focused on shaping the initiative and ensuring ITSS input from the outset. This included: 

• engaging a Focus Continuous Improvement (CI) practitioner to provide independent guidance on structure and approach 
• initial engagement with a small number of ITSS to identify key stakeholders and inform further engagement 
• working with Heads of Technology to identify a divisional IT sponsor for the initiative 

What’s happening next? 

During Hilary Term 2026, the project will move into a diagnosis phase, engaging more widely with ITSS to: 

• understand the scenarios where fast-track access is most needed 
• explore current experiences of accessing infrastructure expertise 
• inform the design of a trial operating model 
   

Using Secondary Email address for SSO Activation and Reset Codes 

This initiative opens a new feature to ITSS within the IT Index. ITSS can now send SSO activation and rescue codes directly to users' secondary email addresses providing IT staff with a new, 

efficient communication option if the secondary email address exists with the user's record.  

What happened in Michaelmas term? 

The SISP team worked with the Identity Access Management (IAM) team to communicate the requirements for this update. The IAM team then completed development and testing of the functionality.  

What happens next? 

A demonstration of the extended feature was carried out in Hilary Team to a small representative group from within ITSS. This will now be followed by the release of this feature, which is currently planned during February 2026. Timely communications, along with a short quick reference guide will be sent out by ITS3 ahead of the feature release. 

User Lookup Tool  

The User Lookup tool is designed to provide ITSS read-only access to search for university staff records. It provides efficient retrieval of key user information on one screen using specific identifiers such as Barcode, Surname, First Name, and Username. This tool is intended for controlled use ensuring streamlined access to user data while maintaining stringent access controls. 

What has happened in Michaelmas term? 

An OSM service catalogue request was set up for ITSS to request access to the tool – information was shared within Divisional via the Heads of Technology.   

What happens next? 

Going forward ITSS can request access via the OSM service catalogue request.