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Advancing the Cloud-First Strategy

CITS continued its multi-year effort to modernize infrastructure and reduce reliance on traditional data center technologies.

Key Achievements

• About 94% of UMB servers operate in the cloud.
• 135 additional on-premises servers eliminated in FY 2026.
• 50% improvement in cloud network performance following infrastructure upgrades.
• Multiple legacy platforms and services were retired (Solaris, NetBackup, eduRoam domain).
• Cloud cost-optimization measures were implemented with greater than 60% cost reduction through security system consolidation and vendor transition.

Infrastructure Consolidation

• Continued our transition from VMware to Hyper-V for virtual computing, creating a shared virtualization environment in collaboration with SOM and A&F Facilities while reducing licensing costs and improving operational efficiency.
• Campus security camera system updated to Alta Avigilon to eliminate expensive on-premise hardware with cloud native cameras.
  • 100% of campus security cameras were made operational following this modernization initiative.

Network & Communications Modernization

Significant investments were made in campus connectivity and communications.

Highlights

• Replacement of campus network core infrastructure.
  • Improved resiliency, in most cases doubling connection speeds between buildings and out to the internet and private clouds.
• Firewall consolidation and modernization.
  • Improved our cloud connection performance by nearly 50%.
  • Transitioned to a new vendor reduced cost by over 60% and eliminated 3 physical firewalls to reduce unnecessary footprint and additional costs.
• Wireless network unification with the School of Medicine.
  • Reduced complexity to manage
  • Reduced hardware with a reduction in licensing and support costs
  • Improvement in user experience is expected.
• Transition from legacy telephone technologies toward cloud-based Microsoft Teams Calling.
  • Major technology upgrade for telecom from Primary Rate Interface (PRI) to Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).
  • This was a critical step to moving telephony to fully cloud-based, enabling replacement of legacy Verizon contract with a modern Lumen solution.
  • Migration from Cisco Webex Calling to Microsoft Teams Calling is underway; expected to be completed in 2027.
    • A full modernization of all telephony services and total replacement of on-prem solution with an all cloud-based solution.
  • Custom web applications were developed to support Strategic Planning, Middle States Accreditation, A&F process enhancements (General Accounting, Tuition & Fees, Grants & Contracts, PDPs, UMB Food Pantry, Funding Requests), Building Access (Public Safety) and Enterprise Risk Management.
  • Partnered with Facilities (Design and Construction/Operations) to coordinate IT and audio/visual needs for spaces (new and renovations).

Collaboration & Governance

CITS engages with campus鈥憌ide committees and working groups to guide resourcing, goal鈥憇etting, and prioritization. These groups include:

• UMB IT Stakeholder Committee
• School/CITS IT Leaders Committee
• Information Security Collaborative Committee
• IT Help Desk and Customer Services Working Group
• AV/IT Working Group
• Azure Virtual Desktop Working Group
• Video Conferencing Advisory Committee
• Education Technology Steering Committee
• Future鈥慠eady Student Administrative Systems Steering Committee

Protecting university systems, research data, and institutional information remained a top priority.

Security Operations

CITS continued to enhance its security posture through:

• Monthly security collaboration meetings with campus stakeholders and attend monthly security meetings for all USM systems.
• Weekly vulnerability assessments.
• External vulnerability scanning of Internet (public) facing systems with Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
• Comprehensive risk assessments of cloud and on-premises environments.
  • On a waiting list for CISA to conduct a security assessment for the campus, hopefully Q3-Q4 2026
• Currently transitioning SSL certificate process from Sectigo to CertiNext
• Completed a campus risk and security assessment with a focus on 3rd party (external cloud-based) systems.
• Completed a System Security Plan (SSP) for the SRE as required when a research project involves handling Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), Federal Contract Information (FCI), or other sensitive federal data subject to cybersecurity requirements.
• Coordination with School IT groups to leverage existing campus security tools (SCCM) for Vulnerability Management.
• Developing mobile device management (MDM) strategy and associated policies to address potential audit issues and strengthen IT security for university owned as well as faculty and staff owned (BYOD) devices
• Conducting comprehensive risk assessments and strengthening compliance frameworks (including emerging requirements such as CMMC)

Security Improvements

New Capabilities

• Implemented Insider Risk Management using Microsoft Purview.
• Enhanced Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), leveraging Machine Learning and behavior analytics.
• Improved SSL certificate lifecycle management.
• Expansion of vulnerability management initiatives.

Regulatory & Audit Success

• Successfully completed a third consecutive Office of Legislative Audits review with only one minor discussion item.
• Supported multiple Active Directory audits.
• Advanced preparation for CMMC and evolving compliance requirements.
• Conducted 2026 Mandiant penetration testing for all external facing systems and limited internal VPN systems

Expanding Secure Research Computing

The Secure Research Environment (SRE) continued to grow as a critical platform for research involving sensitive and regulated data.

Accomplishments

• Expanded staffing to sustain SRE growth and technical capabilities.
• Increased access to AI-enabled research tools.
• Supported both standard and high-performance computing workloads.
• Advanced secure data ingress and egress capabilities.

REDCap Growth

• CITS expanded enterprise REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) services across UMB and 网红爆料 College Park.
• UMB migrations continue
• SRE-REDCap introduced for use with sensitive data workflows.

Impact

• More than 550 active researcher users.
• More than 115 research projects.
• More than 275 REDCap users in secure research workflows
• Enhanced security controls.
• Free training and support for researchers.

Future Research Vision

Looking ahead, CITS plans to further expand collaboration with:

• 网红爆料 Medical System (UMMS)
• Institute for Health Computing (IHC)
• 网红爆料 College Park (UMCP)
• Morgan State University
• 网红爆料 Baltimore County (UMBC)

Modernizing Enterprise Applications

Several major technology modernization projects reached important milestones.

Human Capital Management

The new Oracle HCM platform, Quantum One, entered final testing in preparation for launch in the Fall 2026.

Student Experience Portal

CITS implemented Ellucian Experience (student portal)

• Delivers a unified, modern student experience
• Integrates data from Banner, DegreeWorks, TouchNet, and other student systems.

Intelligent Learning Platform (ILM)

• Modernized and automated real-time data  between Banner and Blackboard
• Provides a more robust, accurate, and timely student data exchange.

Philanthropy Advancement

Implementation of Blackbaud CRM for Advancement (replacing Ellucian Advance)

• Moved into final deployment stages
• Go-live is planned for mid-September 2026

Other Notable Deployments

• Migrated from standalone, on-premises Achibus space management system to the cloud-based Space module of the AssetWorks platform, making it fully integrated with the Facilities Management AIM system.
• Completed the campus-wide rollout of the eDisclose (Cicero Conflict of Interest) module, expanding it beyond the School of Medicine
  • Unifies and strengthens compliance oversight.
• Expanded Jira as an enterprise platform for managing projects, testing, and prioritization, improving visibility and standardization across enterprise application initiatives.

CITS supported instructional innovation through:

• Blackboard Ultra migration planning.
• CRM Recruit expansion.
• Poll Everywhere integration with Blackboard and Zoom.

Customer Service Improvements

SysAid Deployment

• Completed implementation of the SysAid help desk platform, expanding its use beyond School of Medicine and FPI.
• Improved service delivery and customer support across schools and administrative units.

Building a Data-Driven University

FY2026 marked significant progress in analytics, reporting, and governance.

Data Governance Program

CITS established:

• UMB's first Data Governance Committee.
• Formal data stewardship roles.
• A multi-year governance roadmap.

The committee identified 22 initiatives aimed at improving data quality, consistency, and institutional effectiveness.

Reporting & Dashboard Improvements

Major enhancements included:

Student Success

• Expanded student reporting to include degree progress tracking data so the 4 schools Degree Works now have improved capabilities to more efficiently identify the students’ progress towards degree completion.
• Enhanced and modernized the Final Grade Reconciliation process with new dashboards that notify coordinators via email of missing grades and associated courses.

Middle States Accreditation Activity Support

Per the Middle States accreditation collegial recommendation to strengthen data standards and integrity, the analytics office has:

• Designed a data governance program
• Completed the formation of UMB’s first data governance committee (DGC)
  • Formal identification of data stewards, and a roadmap of data governance activities to improve the use of data and efficiency across central and school offices.    
  • DCG members have identified 22 initiatives and associated outcomes to achieve. Enhanced

Financial Operations

• Modernized and substantially improved Tuition and fee reporting.
• Fulfilled the IPED ACTS reporting requirement for tuition and financial aid.
  • The requirement was issued by the Department of Education with short-term notice and only 6 months to complete.
• Support for the successful migration to Oracle EPM by creating the necessary data feeds from quantum financials, improving budgeting and planning capabilities.

Research Administration

• Executive dashboards for grants administration (Kuali).
• Will build the requisite data assets and associated capabilities to facilitate an improved indirect cost model for research activities as a key initiative for UMB’s funding model workgroup.

Analytics Training

CITS launched a formal training program enabling departments to perform self-service reporting while reducing reliance on spreadsheets and improving data security.

Establishing AI Governance

UMB took major steps to ensure responsible adoption of Artificial Intelligence.

AI Governance Framework

The university created:

• An AI Governance Policy.
• AI usage guidelines.
• An AI Ideation Steering Committee.

These efforts provide a foundation for responsible AI use in six AI task forces

• Education
• Student Services
• Research
• Clinical care
• Administration efficiency
• Community engagement

AI Adoption Across Campus

Key Accomplishments

• 100+ faculty/staff engaged through AI task force participation.
• Microsoft Copilot Chat made available to students and employees.
• Broad adoption of Microsoft 365 Copilot within productivity tools.
• Multiple AI Prompt-a-Thons conducted.
• Launched AI at UMB website (/ai/)
• AI-enabled security camera capabilities introduced.
• Enterprise AI platform (NebulaONE) deployed.
• Research Collaborator Chatbot implemented and shared with UMB faculty.

What's Next

Planned 2027 initiatives include:

• Launch of an AI Program of Excellence.
• Development of AI-powered chatbots supporting all major university mission areas.

The next year will focus on five major initiatives:

• Expand AI Across the Institution: Developing practical AI solutions, governance, and support services.
• Enhance Research Computing: Growing SRE, HPC, REDCap, and cross-institutional partnerships.
• Strengthen Cybersecurity: Advancing risk management, compliance, security monitoring, and CMMC readiness.
• Deliver Enterprise Modernization: Launching HCM, Student Portal, and Blackbaud CRM while modernizing additional enterprise platforms.
• Improve Campus Technology Services: Modernizing networking, telephony, safety technologies, analytics, and customer support services.