Joel M. Smith, Vice Provost for Computing Services and CIO Carnegie Mellon University, USA University computing environments have changed dramatically and exponentially in the last 25 years. What started as isolated computers moved to networked infrastructures and now to complex information technology ecosystems. We should take the biological metaphor quite seriously. Managing ecosystems requires new strategies, ones that are very different than those used to administer more stable, centrally designed and controlled infrastructures. Our computing ecosystems evolve as faculty, student, and industry innovations are absorbed. Information technology systems now depend on very rapid feedback loops. If the feedback loops are ineffective, the computing and communication tools we choose to provide the university quickly become irrelevant to our core missions. Many innovations, e.g. e-mail, directories, course management systems, and digital learning tools, rapidly become "necessities," and then evolve into very different species. Unlike natural ecosystems, the IT ecosystem cannot evolve successfully without some external management. Nevertheless, top-down planning, uninformed by the diverse niches of use and innovation, will not work. Dr. Smith will suggest some strategies for managing information technology ecosystems. The strategies will focus on how to find and incubate feedback loops, learning how to find the balance between central services and individual innovations at the edge, and soliciting help from the entire university in the maintenance of the ecosystem. Dr. Smith will also discuss the complex roles and influences of digital resources on the core teaching and research roles of our institutions.

Abspielen | 31 Minuten 43 Sekunden | 107.77 MB