A Framework for Information Technology Services at the University of California
(DRAFT - 6/3/2003)

Information technology, in its many incarnations, has become part of nearly all University activities.  The paper attempts to provide a framework for discourse concerning the various aspects of information technology and how they contribute to the University's mission.

In very general terms, information technology is built to enable the following capabilities for the people who comprise the University's extended community:
While there are specific applications and systems that provide these capabilities to the University, there are also enabling layers of infrastructure that must be in place before these capabilities can be provided.  The following diagram illustrates this layering of services.

It should be noted that all aspects of information technology in this framework require multiple types of resources, such as people, equipment, supplies, support contracts, etc.  This framework does not attempt to provide a link to the University's taxonomies for expenses and sources of funds.  It is intended, rather, that such a linking will be created for each of the layered services in the framework.

Graphical framework

Physical Utilities Infrastructure

The physical infrastructure is collection of cabling, conduits, power and air conditioning, equipment rooms, etc. that is required to support the network/computing infrastructure.

Network Infrastructure

This is the set of underlying systems that support communication among the components of information technology services.  Telephone systems, campus computer networks (including routers, hubs, etc.), and cable televisions networks are all examples of such infrastructure, as is the inter-campus CalREN2 network.  We have also placed the end-devices, such as telephones and computer workstations, at this layer.

Digital Assets

Digital assets are the broad set of digitally-encoded information resources that are stored, accessed, and/or manipulated by the higher layers of the framework.  Included here are databases of administrative information, research data sets, digital library materials, business documentation and correspondence, research papers, etc.  It is in this layer that the technical provisions for digital asset preservation exist; there are, however, significant organizational provisions (e.g., collection management, resource commitments) that must also be made to preserve the University's digital assets.

Middleware

Middleware refers to a set of software services that provide commonality among multiple applications, both for application developers and for end-users.  For developers, middleware eases the process of building applications by providing a common tool set.  For end-users, middleware provides common user interfaces for the middleware's functions.  Common middleware functions include tools for identifying end-users (authentication), deciding who may use which application services (authorization), providing a common interface to the institution's services (portal), managing the institution's information assets (content management), managing the routing of tasks through the University's organizations (workflow), and pooling distributed resources for computationally-intense tasks (grid) all fall into this category.

Productivity Tools

The productivity tools include word processors, spreadsheets, presentation tools, drawing packages,  etc. that are typically found on desktop computers.  They are shown shown here, despite the fact that they are typically are rooted in pre-electronic (e.g., paper-based) models of information.  As such, they do not contribute strongly to information technologies goals of enabling collaboration via electronic media, or the access, creation, and processing of electronic information.  They are included here, however, because these tools do contribute to some degree, and the support of these tools represents a large commitment of University resources.

Application Services

This is, by far, the largest collection of information technology services; they provide services that access, create, and process electronic information.  We have categorized these into the general areas of Enterprise, Instruction, Scholarly Information, and Research Computing:

Enterprise Administration

The Enterprise Administration applications are those that support the internal operation of the University.  They include applications to support such activities as payroll, benefits, human resources, financial management, student enrollment, financial aid, contracts and grants, etc.
Instruction
These are the IT services that support instruction.  They include applications, such as course management systems and online courses.  Also included here is the operation of instructional computing labs and human services to assist students with the use of their own computers.

Scholarly Information

Currently, most applications and services in this category are associated with digital libraries and development of digital information repositories.    Prime examples at the University of California include Melvyl, Counting California, and the Online Archive of California.  There are also a growing number of applications that directly support the academic process of scholarly communication, including electronic journals, electronically published monographs, and the eScholarship Repository.

Research Computing

These are services offered in support of research.  As such, they are highly varied, including specialized computing resources, both for very large computing tasks and for laboratory instrumentation.  It also includes a wide range of human and technology services in areas such as data management, statistical analysis, simulation, visualization, etc.

It should be noted that there are no sharp lines separating these categories.  Many applications and services span multiple categories.

Collaboration

Applications that support collaboration include electronic mail, list servers, voice mail, and calendaring systems.  There is also a growing number of web-based tools for implementing "collaborative spaces," which provide a variety of tools for managing the product of collaborative work, such as common storage space, revision control, discussion archives, etc.