Please note that due to the University upgrading its IT infrastructure, iSurvey will be unavailable to both admins and participants from 3-6 January 2012.
This will affect all IT services including email, blackboard and eFolio.
See the email below from Malcolm Ace for further information:
———————-
Dear All,
I am writing to inform you about the planned major Data Centre outage in January 2012. Importantly, this work will mean that many of the University’s core IT services and applications will be unavailable between 3 and 6 January 2012.
We have reached the point where, very soon, the power supply to the Data Centre in Building 54 will not be adequate to meet the requirements of an ever increasing IT load. In June 2011 University Executive Group agreed that the necessary work to upgrade the power supply should be carried out in early January 2012.
The University recognises and understands that any IT outage has a significant impact on our ability to work and provide services to our students and others. However, we have also to recognise that unless the essential work is completed, we will not be able to guarantee IT services across the University in the near future.
We have evaluated whether the work can take place at other times, but our dependence on a number of external contractors as well as our own staff means that the risk of undertaking the work during, for example, the Christmas public holidays and the University closure period, is too great. Given all of the other pressures on the University’s work, this is the ‘least worst’ time for disruption.
All students and staff will be affected by this essential work. In order to keep you fully informed, a website has been created to provide you with as much support and information as possible. This website will be frequently updated and we will also remind you about this event in the weeks leading up to the Christmas break. The website will give details of the very limited range of services which will remain available. Please visit the site at:
www.soton.ac.uk/infrastructure
I am sure that your Line Managers will be talking to you about local arrangements for the outage.
Malcolm Ace
Chief Operating Officer