‘Innovative IT collaboration wins national award
Saint Mary’s University, on behalf of Nova Scotia’s 11 higher education institutions, has been selected as one of three finalists to receive a prestigious national award.
The 2018 CUCCIO Collaboration Award - presented by the Canadian University Council of Chief Information Officers - recognizes initiatives that promote collaboration between institutions, campuses, faculties or departments within the higher education IT sector.
Nova Scotia Higher-Ed IT Shared Services (HISS) was formed in 2014 when 11 institutions agreed to share IT services to improve service delivery and manage costs.
Together, the group successfully implemented cloud-based Microsoft Office365 across eight institutions -- the first province-wide implementation of its kind in Canada. Last year, the group was recognized for this work at the Canadian Association of University Business Officers (CAUBO) annual conference in Ottawa with the Canadian Quality and Productivity Award.
The CUCCIO award recognizes the achieved benefits of knowledge sharing between institutions and increased efficiency from the on-going collaboration of shared services. By 2019, Nova Scotia institutions will have avoided costs exceeding $950,000, with additional savings and efficiencies projected from future IT Shared Services projects.
Upcoming priorities for the group include moving ahead on shared network architecture and cyber security standards.
Congratulations to Vice President Finance and Administration, Gabe Morrison, the ITSS Senior Director, Perry Sisk, and the ITSS team, for taking the lead in the initiative at Saint Mary’s and to our partner institutions for being a shining example of collaboration!