University of Maryland Eastern Shore employees are benefitting from several technological changes across campus this fall, much of it happening at their desks.
As part of technical upgrades performed by the Information Technology department, UMES began working on a checklist of tasks including the campus-wide transition to the Windows 11 operating system, migrations from Google Workspace to Microsoft Office 365 and a new phone system, and the switch to a new printing system.
The printer and phone migrations were completed this summer, and the switch to Office 365 will be completed by Sept. 13. The upgrades will offer security and convenience.
“The main benefit is modernization,” said Mark Van Pelt, UMES’s chief information officer. “We want to be mobile-ready as a campus and allow people to have a more fluid way to work.”
The change to Windows 11, Van Pelt said, was necessitated by the impending end of support for the current Windows 10 operating system, while the conversion from Google to Office 365 and OneDrive was to provide better security for sensitive data.
In addition to the security benefits offered by Office 365, the switch will allow UMES faculty and staff to collaborate with researchers more easily throughout the University System of Maryland as UMES works to develop its own research network.
“This simplifies transferring of information and makes things easier,” Van Pelt said. “It makes us one big technological family.”
Along with the changes in work suites and operating systems, the old NEC office phones found on every desk were replaced with a new Cisco WebEx system offering added flexibility.
“You can use WebEx on pretty much any device – a mobile phone, iPhone, iPad, or your web browser,” said IT director Rob Lopez. “You can even take your office phone home and connect it to your Wi-Fi if you want.”
LaChanda Snead, the director of administrative computing at UMES, said the new system will be beneficial to employees working remotely because it ensures privacy when using personal devices.
“There was an issue about people doing their office work with their home phones and not wanting to share their personal numbers,” she said. “With WebEx being within an app, it’s like you’re calling from your desk with a campus extension, even if it’s on your cell phone.”
Lopez added that paired with the newly implemented e-fax configuration, recipients can receive and read their faxes through the WebEx system. There are also new color copiers and printers being installed that can allow users to print at available locations across campus.
In addition to the improvements in email, phone, fax, and printing, UMES is also transitioning to the cloud-based Workday system as part of the University of Maryland College Park’s Elevate program.
The switch to Workday, which will replace the institution’s previous payroll/human resources, financial, and budget systems as an all-in-one resource, is part of UM’s mission to transform its business processes for greater efficiency, and to ensure its data security and privacy meet all regulatory, compliance, and accreditation needs.
According to the UM website, implementing Workday’s finance and HR system is the first phase of Elevate, followed by a budgeting and forecasting module, and finally, a student-centered Workday system.
In preparation for the November 15 rollout, faculty and staff on the campus will receive weekly “Workday Wednesday” emails providing essential information on how to use the system while maximizing the program’s effectiveness.
“People need to be on the lookout for any correspondences that says ‘Workday’ or ‘Elevate’ coming from UMES or College Park,” said UMES controller Bonita Byrd. “It’s imperative that we start listening, looking and seeking the information.”
