A message from the CIO
Technology underpins nearly every aspect of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. From our campus in Madison to Extension offices across Wisconsin to research stations worldwide, our digital infrastructure supports the daily work of tens of thousands of students, faculty, staff and visitors.
Behind those technologies are teams of IT professionals working diligently to maintain and improve these essential services. Whether they are ensuring stable video conferencing connections, defending university resources from online attackers, answering tech support questions or managing the complex data storage needs for groundbreaking research projects, their knowledge and efforts are crucial to the university’s operations.
As we reflect on our division’s accomplishments in the past year, we must acknowledge those dedicated professionals who keep our operations running smoothly. Their work enables the teaching, learning, research, collaboration and outreach that make the Wisconsin Idea possible.
—Lois Brooks, chief information officer and vice provost for information technology
IT by the numbers
Together with our IT partners and colleagues across the university, a snapshot of our collaborative work:
Academic Technology
| ~45,000 | students using Canvas each semester in ~4,100 courses |
| 528,253 | Kaltura media items saved |
| 61,291 | tests proctored with Honorlock |
| $1.8 million | savings passed on to students using Engage e-texts |
Networking
| ~60 Gbps | average peak general internet utilization (faculty, staff, students) |
| ~130 Gbps | average peak research network utilization (researchers) |
| 18,753 | wireless access points on campus |
| ~90,000 | devices connected to UWNet on an average day |
| 95,465 | wired network ports (active) |
Gbps = gigabits per second
Research
| 1,222 | principal investigators & research groups using ResearchDrive |
| 5.26 PB | stored in ResearchDrive |
| 5.06 PB | in S3 Research Object Storage |
| 4.88 PB | messages delivered via university Google Groups (g-groups.wisc.edu) |
| 487 | labs (using 25 TB of data in 13,000 notebooks in Electronic Lab Notebooks) |
| 145 | cloud computing accounts |
| 150 | apps published on the Data Science Platform |
PB = petabyte (1 million gigabytes)
Employee engagement
| 81% | of DoIT employees completed the annual climate survey |
| 4.23 out of 5 | average overall engagement score |
| 4.39 out of 5 | average team & manager support score |
| 4.45 out of 5 | average score for learning & growth opportunities |
| 4.45 out of 5 | average score for team commitment to doing quality work |
Communications
| 2.3 million | page views on it.wisc.edu |
| 360+ | attendees at our 30th-anniversary celebration (in-person + virtual) |
| 203 | articles published on it.wisc.edu |
| 66 | newsletters sent to faculty, staff, students |
Cybersecurity
| ~550,000 | threats blocked per month using Palo Alto Next-Generation network firewalls |
| 573 | risk assessments completed by Cybersecurity’s Risk Management & Compliance team |
| ~23,000 | hours of coverage by 18 student staff |
| 400+ | security notifications sent by student staff |
Help Desk
| 1,754 | laptops loaned to students at no cost |
| 88,938 |
completed Help Desk cases (80,561 virtual: phone, email, chat, portals; 8,377 at the Onsite DoIT Help Desk) |
| 178 | hotspots rented to faculty, staff, students |
| 22 | contactless locker equipment pickups (mostly used for after-hours) |
| 346 | on-campus groups represented in the UW–Madison KnowledgeBase (KB) space |
Active Directory Migrations
16
departments migrated (18 more in progress, triple the adoption rate of last fiscal year)
WiscWeb
218
new websites added (108 for labs & research units)
Email gateway
| 1.7 billion | email messages secured by Proofpoint |
| 55.5 million* | total messages received from the internet |
| 37 million* | malicious messages intercepted |
| 4 million* | messages delivered via university Google Groups (g-groups.wisc.edu) |
| 1 million* | messages delivered via Eloqua (explore.wisc.edu) |
*From Sep 1 through Sep 14, 2024 (a snapshot of the 1st 2 weeks of the academic year)
User Services
| 617.54 TB | of email storage (including service accounts and group mailboxes) |
| 81,836 | @wisc.edu accounts |
| ~450,000 | active files daily on OneDrive |
| ~50,000 | active files daily on SharePoint |
| 822.83 TB | total storage on Google Drive |
TB = terabyte (1,000 gigabytes)
Key initiatives & advancements
In 2023-24, the Division of Information Technology (DoIT) made significant progress in enhancing UW–Madison’s technology infrastructure. We upgraded our networks, expanded computing resources for researchers, and simplified our systems and services to enhance collaboration among faculty, staff and students. These improvements support the university’s operations, strengthen security and promote innovation across campus.
Supporting ATP & ancillary systems
The data interoperability initiative provided the IT backbone for enabling the development, and future rollout, of the university’s Administrative Transformation Program (ATP) and Workday.
In July 2025, we will make the transition to Workday, enabling the Universities of Wisconsin to standardize finance, human resources and research administration processes at every university—with the goal of refocusing staff time on our missions of teaching, research and outreach.
Over the past 2 years, many DoIT staff members have come together with colleagues across campus to collaborate on expectations and develop a clear path forward for the 100+ ancillary systems within the division. Since the launch of this program, the team has created an atmosphere of partnership and cooperation to successfully:
- Direct data flows
- Mitigate security risks
- Foster system migration strategies
- Create training materials
- Develop effective messaging
This has been an extraordinary lift and each member of the team has worked tirelessly to ensure a smooth transition to Workday in July 2025.
Administrative Transformation Program
Smart Access
DoIT is exploring Zero Trust architecture to enhance campus security. Our name for this work is Smart Access, as we are striving to be smarter about providing the appropriate people with the appropriate access to tools that ensure success in their roles. The impact of this work will extend beyond DoIT. It will amplify the security posture for all of UW–Madison, creating a more secure computing environment for faculty, staff and students.
Generative artificial intelligence
UW–Madison is committed to responsibly harnessing the power of generative artificial intelligence to enhance teaching, learning, research and university operations. DoIT oversees university-wide generative AI services that provide secure enterprise tools—including Microsoft Copilot, Azure, Zoom and Webex AI meeting assistants, and more.
ResearchDrive upgrade
DoIT expanded ResearchDrive offerings, increasing free storage from 5 terabytes (TB) to 25TB per primary investigator and reducing additional storage costs from $200 to $120 per TB yearly. A new Research Object Storage solution provides 50TB of free storage per PI, with extra capacity at $60 per TB annually. These enhancements support diverse research needs at lower costs.
Active Directory Migrations
The Active Directory Migrations Project is a multi-year initiative to centralize the university’s distributed directory environments into one Campus Active Directory (CAD) environment.
Efficient & sustainable IT operations
Our services have become significantly more efficient through the strategic modernization of the university’s data integration infrastructure.
By “right-sizing” service eligibility, we have focused our efforts on units within the university, ensuring our resources are used optimally. We have proactively responded to major vendor-induced updates that impact services and rising contract renewal costs. These proactive measures ensure our services remain robust, reliable and ahead of industry changes.
Enhancing a culture of engagement, development & connection
Throughout the year, DoIT kept a steady focus on the well-being of the people who make up the division and the broader university community. DoIT’s new and ongoing initiatives and programs helped to build community, encourage professional development, increase accessibility, and foster an inclusive culture of belonging for the university’s students, employees and visitors.
IT Connects
IT Connects is a program sponsored by the Division of Information Technology that provides employee engagement and professional development. In FY24, IT Connects reached more than 2,700 UW–Madison information and technology professionals. Highlights for the year included:
- Our Women in IT and the Information & Technology Leadership Conference celebrating 10 years of programming
- A return to in-person activities by many groups, including a spring conference for IT professionals which drew over 500 attendees for 2 days of professional development learning and engagement
- A refreshed IT Mentoring program focused on pairing experienced and early-career professionals
- 174 people signing up for I&T Coffee Connections, our newest initiative connecting colleagues from across the university
IT Connects is successful because of caring and supportive IT professionals across the breadth of UW–Madison who offer their time, expertise and energy to provide impactful programming.
Office of Community, Climate & Engagement
DoIT’s inaugural assistant vice provost of culture, climate and engagement opened a new Office of Community, Climate & Engagement to lead division-wide efforts in strategic planning, goal setting and managing programs for employee equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging. By creating and enhancing a culture where everyone feels valued and welcome, we build an engaged and innovative climate focused on meeting the emerging challenges and opportunities at the university.
Since 2021, DoIT has partnered with Gallup to measure employee engagement through Pulse and Climate Surveys. These research tools help DoIT enhance engagement at organizational, team and individual levels, aligning with DoIT’s vision, mission and guiding principles. Here are some highlights:
Survey participation
DoIT consistently achieves strong engagement, often exceeding the 80% participation goal:
- 2024 Pulse: 81%
- 2023 Climate: 86%
- 2022 Pulse: 79%
- 2021 Climate: 87%
Engagement trends
Overall engagement mean improved from 4.01 in 2021 to 4.23 in 2023 (out of 5), with several survey questions showing notable gains.
Manager support
“My manager, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person” increased from 4.43 in 2021 to 4.59 in 2023, reflecting strong relationships and collaboration.
Team & manager support
In 2024, employees reported feeling supported by their teams and managers, with an average score of 4.39 (out of 5).
Learning & growth
“This last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow” rose significantly from 4.13 in 2021 to 4.48 in 2023, highlighting the success of development initiatives.
Quality work
“My team members are committed to doing quality work” received an overall score in 2023 of 4.45 (out of 5).
Digital accessibility
UW–Madison implemented a new Digital Accessibility Policy in alignment with UW system policies on disability non-discrimination. The policy promotes digital accessibility best practices, guides accessible technology design and procurement, and establishes a university-wide network of digital accessibility liaisons who amplify and advocate for digital accessibility best practices in their areas.
Digital Accessibility Policy Implementation Project
New computer kiosks for night shift workers
DoIT was pivotal in the successful initiative to install new computer kiosks for UW–Madison’s 2nd and 3rd shift employees, addressing a significant equity issue. This initiative, led by the university’s 2nd and 3rd Shift Issues Committee, involved collaboration across multiple university departments. The kiosks have been well-received, and plans are underway to expand access and provide basic computer training.
Kiosks for night shift workers
UW–Madison Profile
UW–Madison Profile aims to be our centralized place for faculty, staff, students and prospective students to manage their identity information. UW Profile brings data stored in many separate systems and resources together into one user-friendly place, allowing UW community members to easily update their name, pronouns and other personal information in UW digital services.
- 70,341 new users of the Profile app
- 23,021 users edited their “Name in Use” using the Profile app
- 10 digital services newly added to Profile app
CIO Virtual Office Hours
Chief Information Officer Lois Brooks hosts a virtual fireside chat series that brings together the IT community from across UW–Madison. These chats serve as a platform for building community, sharing information, open dialogue, personal development and collaboration.
DoIT’s 30th anniversary
In the Division of Information Technology (DoIT), our work has been at the forefront of the technological revolution. This year, we took a moment to reflect on our first 30 years together and how the journey has transformed us all. We also built a DoIT History website to tell our division’s story.