ISU information technology services will soon begin its reorganization process, following results from a six-month study released in December.

One of the five main objectives highlighted in the study is the combination of four central IT service providers to form a single service group for the university, said John Kingland, director of telecommunications who helped conduct the study.

The different IT units, which are providing similar services, can confuse students when they are looking for help, said James Davis, chief information officer, who helped conduct the study.

One service group will make it clear where students can get information, he said.

The goal is to combine Academic Information Technologies, Administrative Technology Services, Instructional Technology Center and Telecommunications into one unit by July 1.

“That’s where a lot of energy is going to be focused immediately,” Kingland said.

Combining the units will allow IT to better coordinate services for the university and will give students and faculty better access, Davis said.

“They’ll have one place to go for information technology issues,” he said. “It will be very clear where they need to go for help and service.”

Several other key changes noted in the study include bringing new technology and services to Iowa State, having more communication with the campus community and setting clear goals for each section of IT services.

For example, one new service could allow people to log onto Net ID once and be automatically logged into other university pages without typing in a password again, Davis said.

The page they log onto would be a customizable portal, with different information available depending on the person’s preference.

Wireless services will also be expanded across campus, and personal Web space systems will be updated, according to the study.

The IT study used focus groups and forum discussions to look at the services provided at Iowa State and to determine the services that would be needed in the future.

“There are new needs and a lot of student, faculty and staff desires for IT going forward,” Kingland said.

“It’s an opportunity for us to refocus our skills and our resources for information technology needs of the campus for the future.”

The results of the study included 42 recommendations to improve IT services.

“Just think about what you do on a day-to-day basis — information technology is in how we communicate,” Davis said.

“It’s everywhere, and it needs to run efficiently and be up 24 hours a day.”