very distributed IT model . Baillio explains : “ We began to merge operations , from this distributed model across the three campuses to a systemwide approach .”
The University went from three CIOs to one CIO and merged teams from across the campuses to become systemwide groups and organisations . By centralising these teams , the university began to realise millions of dollars of savings , revamping how they approached technology purchases and IT processes .
When asked about consolidation of the CIO into one overarching role , Baillio states that it accelerated the decision making process : “ There was a lot of duplicative spending , a lot of decision making that was happening outside of a governance process . So we developed one group that provides governance for the system . The one CIO is responsible for developing strategy and the primary point of contact when looking at institutional risk of purchases . When we have one person to point to , and we have a governance structure , the process becomes more streamlined , making it easier to implement strategy and digitally transform .”
When the IT groups merged from the various campuses , they had over 300 maintenance contracts , requiring 300 different bills that the University was paying for , and some they had already bought . Standardising platforms reduced overall spend and reduced risk , but merging the teams was not easy . As Baillio explains , “ one group is accustomed to one software platform , then another group , another software platform . Which tool becomes the definitive tool that the team uses ? Or do we go with something completely different and in a different direction ?”
70 May 2022