Cloud Technologies
Connecting to the Cloud
In the era of “big data,” innovation has accelerated with the expanded use of cloud technology. While cloud computing has been on the rise for over a decade, there are still many barriers to moving from traditional, on-premise infrastructure to the cloud. Projects are often avoided or abandoned due to procurement and contracting difficulties as well as the effort required to learn new technology platforms and meet security requirements.
The Division of IT partnered with the top public cloud platforms to provide a flexible, secure and compliant cloud computing experience for the Texas A&M community. The Aggie Innovation Platform (AIP) provides access to Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud at no added overhead costs, and with the added benefit of a master contract, customized networking configuration, and campus identity management services. The AIP now provides Texas A&M with access to a simple-to-start, flexible, scalable, secure, and compliant place to create and innovate with minimal barriers or long-term financial investment risk.
Removing Barriers to Innovation
AIP’s mission is to remove or reduce as many barriers as possible to make it easy for Texas A&M researchers and campus IT professionals to take full advantage of what the cloud has to offer. Instead of managing servers and IT-related tasks, researchers can spend more time on their research. As the AIP service expands, it will continue to facilitate faster innovation and enable less risky experimentation.
Within the next several years, AIP will expand access to most of the services offered by Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and Cloudflare. Service access will be complemented with a complete set of commonly deployed resources (Infrastructure as Code, or IaC) available to the Texas A&M community — all geared toward saving time, reducing errors and increasing security.
Measuring Success
Moving forward, AIP will become a launching point for the Texas A&M community to innovate. Success will not only be measured by cost savings and time reduction, but with a greater number of high-value projects completed. Security of data and resources will also improve with baseline security defaults and more efficient compliance supervision. Thanks to AIP, Texas A&M will be able to reach new heights with the cloud.
Achievements
University Moves Email To Microsoft 365
The Division of IT, working closely with technology partners across campus, successfully migrated almost 40,000 mailboxes to Microsoft 365 Exchange Online. This move away from on-premise Microsoft Exchange will save $700,000 annually.
The move also gave users access to new integrated features and functionality of the Microsoft 365 platform. To support the migration, the Division of IT partnered with Microsoft to host an extensive series of live training sessions throughout the summer and fall semesters. Campus members still have access to recordings of each session.
Increased security was another bonus of the move to the cloud, as authentication was updated to Azure Active Directory. Now Microsoft’s AI analyzes logins for password spray and other identity-based attacks.
Texas A&M Embraces Cloud Services
Campus participation in Aggie Innovation Platform (AIP) cloud services (Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform) increased from 86 to 174 accounts, with a 725 percent increase in cloud spend over 2020. AIP’s governance, directory services and security control framework, gives the Texas A&M community a scalable, secure and compliant place to create and innovate with no long-term financial investment risk.
Microsoft Teams Replaces Skype for Business
Microsoft Teams is now fully available to campus for messaging, conferencing and collaboration. The tool replaced Skype for Business when it was decommissioned in October.
Approved Cloud Services Improve Compliance
The division improved a web page listing all cloud services that were reviewed and approved by use according to SAP 29.0103.MO.13 – Cloud Computing Services. The tool lists the date services were approved, the expiration date and the scope of approval.
Maximizing Value
Automated Account Requests Save Time, Money
Prospective Aggie Innovation Platform (AIP) customers can go to the IT Service Catalog and choose their cloud service. The service request asks for pertinent information and then a series of automated steps takes over. Ultimately, the customer receives an email with their access information and how to start using their new cloud resources. The amount saved per account created is approximately $500, and the automation will save the division over $44,000 each year.
AIP Server Images Save Time, Reduce Errors
The Aggie Innovation Platform (AIP) now has a Continuous Improvement/Continuous Development (CI/CD) pipeline to create server images that meet university security controls requirements and can be run on a diverse set of cloud environments. The resulting AIP-managed images are ready for customers to use within their linked Amazon Web Services (AWS) accounts, saving the one to two days and high error rates of building an image directly from the hardware. Images will be released for Azure and Google Cloud in the near future.
Microsoft OneDrive Saves University
Texas A&M University will save approximately $320,000 annually by not renewing the contract with the Syncplicity file sharing and synchronization service. The contract expired at the end of 2021 and account holders moved their files to other services, like Texas A&M’s OneDrive.
Cloud Makes Support Tool Possible
Exchange administrators are saving time using a new shared mailbox lookup tool from the Division of IT. The tool is running in the cloud on Microsoft Azure for only pennies per year. In the past, this same tool would have cost $500 annually to run on traditional virtual machines (VMs).
Partner Success
TBC uses Microsoft 365 for Remote Training
The Texas A&M Telebehavioral Care Program (TBC) used Microsoft 365 to train mental health professionals during the pandemic. As one of the only telemental health training programs in the world, the TBC was challenged with the task of maintaining support for their trainees who had to work from home.
Campus Collaboration Results in Innovation
IT representatives from across campus comprise the Aggie Innovation Platform (AIP) Technical Working Group and collaborate to remove barriers, helping researchers and IT professionals take advantage of powerful cloud technologies. Strengthening professional development for IT pros while reducing the burden of on-campus infrastructure and maintenance confirms the AIP platform and community approach will be critical to the future success and innovation of IT at Texas A&M. Read more about this collaborative effort.
