IT Services
IT Services consists of six teams responsible for delivering, developing, and securing the organisation’s IT infrastructure. Our mission is to provide the University of Essex community with ‘IT infrastructure that works for people,’ creating the essential digital foundation upon which education, research, and daily university activities thrive.
Our teams
AV Services team
Audio visual services manage and support technology that is in our teaching spaces around the University.
- Email avs@essex.ac.uk for event support discussions.
- Booking Portal: Equipment and room tech can be arranged via the Book IT for AV Services platform.
- IT Helpdesk Phone: +44 (0)1206 872345 (Extension 3220 for direct AV issues).
Cloud and Identity team
The Directory and Cloud Services team cover the 2nd and 3rd line support for the following elements:
- Microsoft 365 service administration
- Office 365 services (email & applications)
- Azure administration
- Single Sign On authentication
- Multifactor Authentication
- Hybrid Exchange 2016 Server administration
- Barracuda email security administration
- Box cloud storage administration
- Systems integration and development
- User account generation (staff & students)
- Patron record integration for Southend and Albert Sloman Library systems
- Mailing/user list/group administration
- Research Repository infrastructure and development
- Shibboleth authentication
Cyber Security team
Desktop Support team
Led by the Desktop Infrastructure Manager, Desktop Infrastructure Services create and support leading desktop infrastructure technology, enabling our staff community to work securely and efficiently wherever they may be. The team provide hotdesking and remote working technology enabling flexibility and enhancing productivity.
Networks team
Networks and Telephony deliver the network and telecoms infrastructure services that allow our people and services to talk to each other, stay securely connected, and be productive. This includes providing connectivity services and wifi to our lecture theatres and seminar rooms, staff offices, IT labs, and communal spaces. The Networks and Telephony team gives our community a global reach, enabling staff to connect securely remotely and be productive wherever they are.
Systems team
The Systems team are responsible for much of what underpins the University’s infrastructure and all the (mostly virtual) servers that support the many services available from IDS. We are also responsible for the Active Directory, Group Policy (which sets policies, controls access and delivers software) as well as license management and user/group management.
Our Lab Support team looks after the software delivery for all open-access rooms, whether that's teaching spaces, IT Labs or the Library, covering all three campuses. The team also manage and support the Software Hub, which is the University’s chosen software delivery platform and also acts as a single point (software catalogue) for all information about our software.
The Data and Backup team are responsible for the University's backup system. This includes restoring files that people have accidentally deleted with the main backup purpose being disaster recovery. We also manage the High Performance Computing (HPC) which is used across the University for complex number crunching, genome sequencing and other data-hungry tasks. Our key responsibilities are:
- Virtual and physical server management
- Lab and teaching space support
- Software Hub
- Software delivery supporting students and staff
- Cyber security and regulation of software installation
- Backup systems and data restoration
- High Performance Computing (HPC) management
