Project Elements

A major architecture goal for the Next Generation Enterprise Web Services is to separate out public facing content from services that require a heightened level of safety and security. Such utilities could include services like online payment, robust survey tools, secure mail distribution services, and so on. The key distinction is that these services require a hardened infrastructure and sophisticate programming to ensure their stability. Rather than website owners trying to do these things on their own websites in an insecure manner, we are aiming to make available a secure service platform that site owners can leverage with confidence.

Elements will be our Secure Service Delivery Platform intended to satisfy the following:

1. A one-stop online location for faculty and staff members to access our services.  It will allow browsing and searching of services, and tracking and reviewing services that they use, as well as a place for us to engage and communicate key services.
2. A place to manage each service, as well as collect usage statistics and to consolidate billing information.  It aims to offer transparency to each service delivered.
3. A place to initiate troubleshooting.  Support team can utilize the Platform to identify account information and all associated service details.
4. A place to register existing service and new service.  Service managers can add an existing service to the Platform and existing users of the service can self-identity that they are one of the users.

In addition, Elements allow ITS to accomplish the following tasks with ease:

1.    Collect and issue billing information
2.    Send out service updates, maintenance information and make service announcements
3.    Let users sign up for new services or participate in beta programs
4.    And more

We invite you to visit this page for updates as we build out the solution, and if you are thinking about secure services you might need, we invite you to tell via the feedback form (link at the top of this page).