Hello readers and welcome to this new series! At the end of every month a blog post about teams from different sections of Applications will be released to get to know more about the variety across departments, so expect the next post at the end of April all about a team in Project Management. Running in a sort of FAQ-style dialogue, the blog post is essentially written by members of the team to get the best information across! There is a mix of work-related and more fun and social questions to get a flavour of each team. It is great to get to know more about the personalities and work of each team and I hope that you will enjoy reading these posts.

What does the Enterprise Data Services team do?

The team takes its name from the key role it plays in delivering and supporting a range of services that provide users with access to enterprise data sets. There is certainly a lot of variety in what we do! As well as running the Business Reporting and Analytics service – which is the umbrella service for well known tools such as BusinessObjects and Power BI – our remit also includes Visitor Registration, Identity Management, Event Booking, and other University-wide systems such as Onetrust (a data protection system). On top of all that, we are also involved in developing exciting new services around APIs (the HR Data feed for Schools) and the Enterprise Data Warehouse. We list Business Objects, Power BI, and Qliksense.

How does this work connect with other Application sections?

We are tightly integrated with other teams within Apps. We all work together to ensure the smooth daily delivery of our services, and we collaborate on projects too. A key area of our joint working is Incident Management. As a team, we work closely with Production Management to resolve incidents to do with technical aspects of our services.

Are there any upcoming projects the team is excited about?

Yes! The Replacement Visitor Registration System will be launching soon, giving opportunities to use new technologies in a different way.

Are there any favourite topics of discussion among the team?

Especially in the regular catch up meetings, food, family, and travel, among others, are favourite topics!

Are there any special/hidden talents within the team?

If you could take a guess, how many cups of tea/coffee/hot chocolate does the team get through on an average day?

10!

In a word what makes Enterprise Data Services great?

Diversity!

Our team brings together individuals with a range of skills, backgrounds and perspectives which fosters a very creative team environment. 😁

If you wish to get in touch…

The ‘Incidents and Service’ requests go to The Helpline. But if you just want to get to know them more after reading this, then general chats with team manager Susan Cooke and service managers Andrew McFarlane, Rob O’Brien and Irfan Khan are always welcome!

Welcome to the Monthly Staff Series for Applications! / Information Services Applications Directorate Blog by is licensed under a