Source: Alexander Müller
The IT Service & Security Management (ITSSM) department plays a key role in the establishment, control and further development of IT service management processes and security processes in the IT center. The processes support service provision, service operations, IT security, reporting and support. In the following blog post, we take a closer look at the department’s areas of work.
The Development of IT Service Management in the IT Center
Since the introduction of IT Service Management (ITSM) in 2010, the IT Center’s processes have become increasingly professionalised. By establishing processes and structures and introducing the roles of IT manager and service manager, the foundations were laid for efficient ITSM. With the establishment of the ITSSM department in 2022, a further significant step was taken to manage ITSM processes in a targeted manner and focus more strongly on security aspects. One example of this focus is the introduction of multi-factor authentication at RWTH Aachen University, which significantly increases the security of IT systems.
ITSSM: The Core Services and the Three IT Managers
The ITSSM department tackles a wide range of challenges, which can be divided into four main areas:
Incident and change management:
This involves the fast and effective resolution of faults in IT operations and the coordinated implementation of changes to IT systems in order to ensure stable operations. The IT Manager Operations, Susanne Kubiak, is responsible for the incident and change management processes at the IT Center. She ensures that changes are controlled and implemented according to defined processes in order to minimise disruptions and incidents. She also manages the entire ticket life cycle and ensures that user enquiries are processed efficiently.
Service development and service level management:
This area focuses on the development and further development of IT services and the coordination of service level agreements. The IT Manager Services at the IT Center, Andreas Gubernat, manages the further development of the IT Center’s range of services for RWTH internal and external users. He is responsible for the service level management and demand management processes, further develops the service catalogue, takes care of price calculation and draws up the service level agreements in collaboration with the respective service managers.
Reporting:
Reporting provides transparent insights into the performance of IT services. It provides important key figures to optimise the services and processes. Security scan reports are also provided.
Security and emergency management:
This area is dedicated to protecting the IT infrastructure from threats and ensuring that action is taken quickly and effectively in the event of security-critical incidents. ITSSM is responsible for managing certification projects and implementing the requirements of BSI basic protection (Federal Office for Information Security). The IT Manager Security at the IT Center, Nicole Wießner, is responsible for IT security. She coordinates the investigation of security-relevant incidents and ensures a transparent presentation of the IT infrastructure and its dependencies. She implements the security concept and provides quarterly reports on the security status at the university. The ITSSM department is also responsible for emergency management, with the aim of ensuring that services are available without interruption in the event of an incident. The BSI Standard 200-4 is applied here.
IT Management for the IT Center
The department also works closely with various internal and external partners, including the Central University Administration of RWTH Aachen University, the Security Operations Center, committees and staff representatives, the German Research Network (DFN) and the ZKI Association.
Responsible for the content of this article is Jelena Nikolic.
Leave a Reply