Halt outsourcing plans at the University of Nottingham

Please sign and circulate this petition to oppose the outsourcing of IT services at the University of Nottingham (UoN)

We call on the University of Nottingham to:

• rethink its proposal for a new IT operating model
• halt any outsourcing plans of IT services
• invest instead in IS staff training and upskilling as necessary.

Background

On 8 October, the University of Nottingham council supported UEB’s recommendation to outsource foundational IT services to an external company. ‘Foundational IT services’ are likely to include service desk, campus IT support (in person desk side support, AV support, student support), Windows and Linux administrators, data centre operations, HPC and network teams. The definition of what is ‘in scope’ might change over the next 12 months, but we estimate that about 125, or 50%, of information service (IS) staff will be confronted with redundancy or transfer to external contractors. The remaining IS staff will be restructured to fit the new model.

In light of the recent experience with Project Transform and the outsourcing of Campus Solutions to Infosys, we have no reason to believe that this new wave of outsourcing will be managed any better or is even necessary. The ongoing problems with Campus Solutions should be resolved first before even considering any further changes to the systems that feed into it. IS staff are still heavily involved in patching up the failures of Infosys, further outsourcing might well bring the institution to a halt.

University of Nottingham UCU

Halt outsourcing plans at the University of Nottingham

Please sign and circulate this petition to oppose the outsourcing of IT services at the University of Nottingham (UoN)

We call on the University of Nottingham to:

• rethink its proposal for a new IT operating model
• halt any outsourcing plans of IT services
• invest instead in IS staff training and upskilling as necessary.

**your signature**

1,537 signatures

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1,534 Johnathan Hudson Kentucky Saint Helena Pound
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1,529 Mason Gleason Wyoming Oklahoma
1,528 Rebecca Pouros California payment
1,527 J BOREHAM local government
1,526 Alan McShane Blackburn College Branch In solidarity with you!
1,525 Kieran McConaghy University of St Andrews Solidarity
1,524 Ellie Mallison Nottingham
1,523 Christine Bexton Graduate School
1,522 Peter Olayiwola Nottingham
1,521 Mahdi Alhendal United Kingdom Everything for the university’s team
1,520 Jo Leonardi-Bee University of Nottingham / Clinical Sciences building It is important that we keep our IT services in-house as this is the only way that local knowledge can be gained and used to promptly address issues
1,519 Timothy Card University of Nottingham
1,518 Laila Tata University of Nottingham/ Clinical Sciences Building Having known 3 good skilled workers leave the university largely due to previous change in contracts related to project transform I think outsourcing is damaging to morale, security, and devaluing of employees who have worked here for a long time. Cost savings cycle back to losses via loss of skills, continuity and what is really needed is strong internal leadership with a long term view
1,517 John Britton Nottingham university
1,516 Manpreet Bains Uni of Nottingham
1,515 Tricia McKeever Univerisity of Nottingham
1,514 Fiona Pearce Nottinghamshire
1,513 Alex Barker University of Nottingham I agree with the comments about campus solutions, it was a mess when it was introduced and appears to still have issues now.
1,512 Emma Wilson City Hospital I am an academic and you expect me to be responsible and accountable for the experience students get on my course and through my teaching. It is already quite difficult to get IT support because they are so overworked but at least they know what they are doing when they do come. How is outsourcing to a company who have no “care” and knowledge going to benefit the student experience in anyway ?
1,511 Chidera Nweze University of Nottingham
1,510 Vanessa Tasara University Of Nottingham
1,509 Pawel Rogowski University of Nottingham
1,508 Grant Howard University of Nottingham
1,507 Charlotte Clark UoN
1,506 Kateryna Zhyvitska University of Nottingham
1,505 Andrew Hallam Nottinghamshire keep our IT in house
1,504 Adam Clark University of Nottingham
1,503 Cornelia de Moot UoN
1,502 Vanessa Tsong University of Nottingham
1,501 Adam Lalani University of Nottingham
1,500 Sonu Pun University of Nottingham
1,499 Asha Khunti University of Nottingham
1,498 Hamish Heilbron Uni of Nottingham IT services are clearly underfunded and have been consistently disappointing during my time at the University. My face to face interactions with smart bars and other IS have been positive every time, so I can only suppose the wider issues with IT infrastructure are with resource allocation.
1,497 George Burns University of Nottingham
1,496 David Turner University of Nottingham
1,495 Simrah Khan The university of Nottingham
1,494 Adam Clay University of Nottingham
1,493 Penny Nichols University of Nottingham
1,492 Jill Owens KMC
1,491 Kate Ash-Irisarri University of Nottingham
1,490 Heather Page University of Nottingham
1,489 George Sullivan University of Nottingham Just another method to undermine the universities hard working staff, despicable.
1,488 Teresa Flowers Nottinghamshire
1,487 John Snowdon Newcastle University Every instance we've seen of outsourcing has ended in disaster. Why throw away decades of accumulated institutional knowledge from your staff and their collective sense of ownership to an external provider who is purely driven by financial gain? It is utter madness.
1,486 Ian Clark Newcastle University
1,485 Sue Waterston
1,484 Chris Moore University of Nottingham, SOLS
1,483 Fei Sang University Of Nottingham We do need IT-support to resolve all the IT problems, like firewall issue, IP issue, in a efficient way.
1,482 Nadine Holmes University of Nottingham
1,481 victoria wright University of Nottingham We run complex data acquisition and analysis platforms and regularly need the skills and technical expertise of the data centre and IT support staff, who regularly go above and beyond to help us get the most out of our systems.
1,480 Dave Churchley Newcastle
1,479 Daniel Giddins University Of Nottingham
1,478 James Pattison University of Nottingham
1,477 Lisa Warwick University of Nottingham
1,476 Elena Genova Nottinghamshire
1,475 Nick Stevenson Nottinghamshire
1,474 Molly Boiling University of Nottingham
1,473 Rachel Stevenson University of Nottingham I am a mature student at this university and have found the admin and student services to be below expected standards, forcing me multiple times to risk my job due to changing lectures, often at the last minute. They are also unhelpful and do not support those who are working whilst studying. There is no assistance for those who commute and useful info is hidden - to outsource would make this wors
1,472 Mat Rawsthorne University of Nottingham IS staff are skilled professionals, not identical replaceable units like photocopiers!
1,471 L Woods University of Nottingham
1,470 David Young University of Nottingham IT staff deserve fair working conditions & job security. Efforts to push through the outsourcing of IT services at UoN show that nothing has been learned from the series of technical issues in flagship software projects which have plagued the university in recent years. This effort appears to be a blatant effort to outsource problems caused by broader managerial failings and lack of foresight.
1,469 Daniel Fisher Nottingham Trent
1,468 George Swann University of Nottingham
1,467 Peter Haysom University of Nottingham
1,466 Tracey Potts University of Nottingham After the fiasco of Campus Solutions this university needs to start investing in its people
1,465 Louis Cotgrove UoN CLAS All the recent studies show that outsourcing IT reduces quality of service and will negatively impact student experience. Project transform is toxic
1,464 Ben Gormley Independent I worked at Notts when Project Transform first established. The first director was 'moved on' so was off to bad start. The general consensus was that it was introduced to reduce costs/staff. We coined the term 'Project Chop Chop' in view of this. The concern is Project Transform will sell its services to other Universities to help then brutalise staff numbers also.
1,463 Kathryn Medien University of Cambridge
1,462 Sara Jabbari University of Birmingham
1,461 David Bell Loughborough University Having studied and worked at the University of Nottingham from 2004-2013 I was regularly indebted to the excellent IT team. I've seen the damage outsourcing has done to services, reputation, staffing and costs elsewhere and urge Nottingham not to go ahead with these damaging proposals.
1,460 Stephanie Coen UoN Geography
1,459 Julie Montague Nottinghamshire
1,458 Josh Franks E.ON UK
1,457 Simon Breden University of Nottingham Enough.
1,456 Gianlluca Simi Canopy Insight
1,455 J Mitch WFP Library Removing employment from the local economy is a poor decision, doubly poor when there is no improvement to services to the customers ie the students
1,454 Valentina Anania University of Nottingham Outsourcing is a guarantee for service quality to plummet and it's ridiculous this option was even suggested. I'm not going to mention the ethical issues the move would raise because I am woefully aware of how little the University would care about that.
1,453 Joaquin Montalva University of Nottingham Solidarity with IS staff!
1,452 Odin Kroeger University of Vienna
1,451 Fatima Lopez University of Nottingham
1,450 Simon Ellis
1,449 Fabian Maier Nottingham university
1,448 Gabriella Cioce UK Solidarity
1,447 Joe Kearsey University of Nottingham
1,446 Harriet Perkins The University of Nottingham Outsource hardware not people
1,445 Tracy Leavesley University of Nottingham
1,444 Errolinda Ward University of Nottingham School of Life Sciences
1,443 Caroline Lloyd University of Nottingham
1,442 Jackie Kettlewell University of Nottingham Libraries Utter madness!
1,441 Maxine Fowler University of Nottingham
1,440 Chris Carter University of Nottingham
1,439 Gemma Bosson University of Nottingham Our current IT team provide an extremely valuable service to both staff and students, they are vital to maintaining daily operations, this move would unnecessarily threaten both staff morale, operational effectiveness and student experience.
1,438 Wendy Solis
1,437 Hilary Martin Medical School I feel our IT team's institutional knowledge is vital to enhance the service they provide and also have GDPR concerns re our personal data, research data, security of our intellectual property and sensitivities of collaborative research and conflict of interest with other institutions.
1,436 Marie Elaine Taylor Notts Former student Vital to keep IT SERVICES
1,435 David Valentine-Hagart University of Nottingham
1,434 Andrew Renault SoLS The big problem is that outsourced companies work to the letter of their contracts whilst in house staff work to provide the results the institution needs. This is seen over and over again with InfoSys which works to contract, and where it fails to deliver does the calculation as to whether the financial penalty is cheaper than fixing the problem.
1,433 Robert Markus Nottingham In house IT support is vital, and getting to know IT people and working together on problems improves well being too, having someone you know and trust is very important. Creates bonds, both personally and professionally. Importantly the IT team helping us already knows the history of our systems, therefore we get specific quick help when needed.
1,432 Marie Pardon Life sciences Outsourcing has been disastrous, we had very good IT services in house, with excellent systems for timetabling and finances designed in house (e.g. IMAT), which have been replaced by very ineffective ones.
1,431 Seema Bagia School of Life Sciences (SLIM)
1,430 Nicholas Blockley University of Nottingham These are critical systems that the University needs to take direct and full responsibility for.
1,429 Richard Barker
1,428 Ying Zhang CBS
1,427 Martin Schuermann University of Nottingham
1,426 Siobhan Loughna SoLS
1,425 Luisa Martinez-Pomares SoLS, QMC D40
1,424 Yvonne Mbaki University of Nottingham
1,423 Federico Dajas-Bailador Life Sciences
1,422 Deb Briggs School of life sciences
1,421 Tim Self UoN
1,420 Alex Rathbone University of Nottingham
1,419 Uwe Vinkemeier QMC, School of Life Sciences
1,418 Elizabet Rosethorne University of Nottingham
1,417 Monika Owen Not Applicable Outsourcing IT doesn't seem to have been successful so far so why continuing with it. The in house IT support is invaluable to resolve problems in the offices and the laboratories.
1,416 Rita Tewari University of Nottingham Outsourcing does not improve performance, delivery or productivity. Only people will leave. There should be respect for people who work.
1,415 Sally Cordon University of Nottingham IT support needs to be human, with real people able to visit your office or laboratory to help you to resolve the problem. Current IT help is one of the few remaining gems in the crown of Nottingham University - don't discard it.
1,414 Maria Arruda University of Nottingham
1,413 Matt Carlile University of Nottingham
1,412 Tracy Farr SoLS
1,411 Michael Garle University of Nottingham Out sourcing of IT would be a retrograde step. Most other industries (having outsourced over past 20 years) are now brining IT back in-house, both for cyber security reasons and efficiency in addressing IT problems as they arise.
1,410 Bernadette Hepworth Health and medicine/SOLS/Teaching Please do not outsource IT services to and external company
1,409 Dominik Siwek School of Life Sciences We need qualified University IT Technicians who know how the School runs and what the issues are. When an outside company is appointed then we will have as many problems as we have with printing services which are unreliable.
1,408 Alexander Tarr Life sciences
1,407 Rob Till School of LifeSciences
1,406 Fran Ebling School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham It is academic staff who bear the brunt of student dissatisfaction with the recent failings in outsourced IT; UoN senior management miss this point. In house IT systems eg Touchstone, Rogo can be customised to delivery exactly what we need, and seem to have far less problems than outsourced software and systems. Outsourcing is perceived as cheaper, but offers a poor service-what is more important?
1,405 Alex Truman Nottingham University
1,404 Boyan Bonev University of Nottingham Centralising IT has ralready disconnected applications from supprt and IT support has deterriorated in comarison to local IT teams. This is largely due to centralised management and operations subordinate to centralised criteria, not to end user-optimised delivery of service. Ouotsourcing will lead to a disaster with skeletal support for very basic functionality. And, this is beastly to staff.
1,403 Angus Brown University of Nottingham Given the current fiasco with Campus Solutions provided by Infosys it would be foolish to rely on this company to provide IT services.
1,402 David Onion School of Life Scienes, University of Nottingham, Nottingham
1,401 Francis Gilbert University of Nottingham Outsourcing just makes short-term gains for long-term problems. The cheapest long-term way to good IT is to staff and resource our own IT section.
1,400 Kevin Morgan Life Sciences
1,399 Ian Ward Derbyshire
1,398 Margaret Pratten Life Sciences
1,397 Alan Huett Life Sciences It is unclear to me that the primary reason given for considering outsourcing that "IT moves too quickly to keep up" is true, insofar as it relates to the functioning of the University. It seems to me that most of the business of the University can and is accomplished with fairly standard tools from large vendors e.g. Microsoft 365, Agresso etc.
1,396 Tamsin Majerus University of Nottingham Continued and increased outsourcing contradicts UoN's 2020 People Strategy commitment to put our People first: e.g. Attract, identify, develop and RETAIN high performing talent across all areas
1,395 Paul Dyer Life Sciences Very poor experience with Campus Solutions and Admissions Software provided by Infosys - both are inferior to previous software available.
1,394 sebastien Serres Derbyshire
1,393 Alistair Hume University of Nottingham Life Sciences
1,392 Karl Wooldridge UK
1,391 Steve Briddon University of Nottingham
1,390 Simon Dawson University of Nottingham I would have thought it self-evident that Infosys aren't fit for purpose re. Campus Solutions etc in the two years since they formed a 'strategic partnership', but for some reason, it makes sense to go further along this route? Absurd. Staff and properly fund an internal IT department please.
1,389 Helen Cunliffe University of Nottingham
1,388 Michael Beale Nottingham My wife, along with her colleges, is under threat from plans to potentially outsource her role. As someone who strongly believes in higher education and all the positive things it brings society as a whole I feel that she is being badly let down by this possible direction the University is taking. And the argument for it is short-termist and weak.
1,387 Luke Maiden University of Nottingham Outsourcing is a clear sign of disrespect and disregard from managers who have lost their humanity.
1,386 daniella taiwo university of nottinham
1,385 Emma Astle University of Nottingham
1,384 Hongwei Bao The University of Nottingham I highly appreciate the excellent work and continuous staff and students supoort provided by the university IT team.
1,383 Louise Ahern
1,382 Jenny Mackay University of Nottingham
1,381 Oliver Franiel UoN alumnus In virtually all organisations for which I've worked over the years, IT outsourcing only sounded good on paper. In the end, paying less for better service really is too good to be true.
1,380 Claire Henson
1,379 Heidi Marshall Medical School
1,378 Zarina Teli Cripps Dental Centre, University of Nottingham
1,377 Chloe Towlerton University of Nottingham
1,376 Victoria Whelan University of Nottingham Close the gender pay gap
1,375 James Matai University of Nottingham Listen to your employees already! They are the background of this institution.
1,374 Holly Rush Nottingham
1,373 Chris Brotherton Emeritus Professor Herriot-Watt University, University of Ulster, Senior Lecturer, Nottingham Univ. IT supports all strategic functions of our Universities. It is vital that management at all levels maintains firm control of its operations at all times.
1,372 Jonathan Albericci
1,371 Meryl Aldridge University of Nottingham (retired) Outsourcing is never an improvement. Are staff overpaid? I think not. So where is the contractor's profit going to come from?
1,370 Toni Read External Relations Considering the massive negative impact the project transform etc has had on the health and well being of university employees, i am shocked that this outsourcing is even being considered.
1,369 Rosie Thompson University of Nottingham I do not agree with the outsourcing and believe the university should invest in training IS staff.
1,368 Tamzin Grayson-Gaunt University of Nottingham
1,367 Tilde Resare university of nottingham
1,366 Roger Bartlett Emeritus UCL; former Special Professor, University of Nottingham This outsourcing appears inappropriate in most respects.
1,365 H Foss University of Nottingham
1,364 FEIRAN WANG University of Nottingham
1,363 Danny Lawrence retired member of the academic and former member of Council Please reconsider this policy. Outsourcing such services frequently leads to practical problems that are difficult if not impossible to resolve but, in addition, in this instance,the loss of goodwill amongst University staff in general is something the University cannot afford. Once lost it will never be recovered.
1,362 sylvia trtench retired University of Nottingham
1,361 Jonathan Silvey Nottingham As husband of a UoN member of the admin staff, I have had to listen for years to tales of how Campus Solutions has failed again and again. I note how many comments are in favour of the in-house IT staff.
1,360 Donna Palmer University of Nottingham this is a crucial university service provided to staff and students
1,359 alastair stuart University of Nottingham
1,358 Daisy Stringfellow University of Nottingham
1,357 Luisa Zanchi University of Leeds UoLeeds also down the same path... and it’s a nightmare. We have already lost all our best IT people. Stop IT outsourcing in the whole university sector.
1,356 Errol Morris Lakeside Art Centre Nottingham
1,355 Marta Aloi Nottinghamshire As member of Staff of Nottingham University, I cannot emphasise enough how injust and counter-productive this plan is.
1,354 Laura Sun University of Nottingham Has the University not learnt lesson from Campus Solutions outsourcing?
1,353 Amena Saber University of Nottingham I stand with University Staff.
1,352 Roy Howard
1,351 Karen Stevenson KMC Although I am in a different union I whole heartedly agree with you.
1,350 Sarah Green Nottingham
1,349 Ian Lowndes University of Nottingham
1,348 Jie Ke Chemistry I get excellent IT supports from our university's IT team because they know the requirements of our reseach projects need. I am not sure the external team will provide the same level of service we have.
1,347 Yu Qiong Chin University of Nottingham
1,346 Sophie Namey UoN
1,345 James Condliffe University of Nottingham I think outsourcing is another step undermining the workforce who’s single contribution is most fundamental to a university.
1,344 Cesar Rodriguez Nottinghamshire I support the UCU strike.
1,343 Gabriele Gaspard
1,342 Jensen Gibbs UoN - Student Services
1,341 Jonathan Shaw UoN Having been part of PT, then arbitrarily outsourced to Infosys, I rejoined the University in 2018, only to learn of these latest proposals. It beggars belief that the University is willing to risk its reputation once more even before the dust of PT has settled. Suffice to say I am not keen to repeat this experience, nor see anyone else put through such a demeaning process.
1,340 James Pilley University of Nottingham
1,339 Helen Rodgers University of Nottingham
1,338 Matteo Icardi University of Nottingham
1,337 Max Thorpe University of Nottingham
1,336 Behzad Talle University of Nottingham
1,335 Yufeng Li
1,334 Emma Taylor University of Nottingham
1,333 Jonathan F
1,332 Keith Burgess Nottingham
1,331 Esmeralda Bon
1,330 Emily Janes University of Nottingham Stop ignoring the views of staff and unions. The more you do the more impact it has, not only on their lives, but also the lives of us students.
1,329 Naomi Lockwood University of Nottingham
1,328 Olivia Shaw University of Nottingham As a student, I feel that the university is consistently letting down its students.
1,327 Sarah Smart UoN, Campaign Office I want to keep our in house IT support, not see it outsourced.
1,326 Krishnan Ganesh Department of Physics and Astronomy
1,325 Hannah Constantin University of Nottingham
1,324 Annabel Browne
1,323 valerie owens Nottingham University Chaplaincy The IT staff in SB offer an invaluable and excellent service that is irreplaceable. Their prompt, efficient and helpful service enables staff to work efficiently, and removes the stress of ongoing IT problems. I am hugely grateful to their service over many years and cannot imagine what it would be like to lose this great team of highly dedicated and experienced people.
1,322 Nigel Mongan
1,321 andrew` wilde University of Manchester This needs to be stopped at all universities
1,320 Richard Misell-jones University of Manchester Stop this madness we at Manchester are also going through this, and it's not to save money that is the usual excuse...
1,319 Pete Carlton CELE, University of Nottingham Please rethink this proposal. The in-house IT team are doing an excellent job. Why fix it if it ain't broke?
1,318 Chris Rumsey Nottingham Clinical Trials Unit, UoN Is the University shooting itself in the foot? Will any alternative outsourced provision actually come close in replicating what is currently provided by UoN IS. At the Nottingham Clinical Trials Unit we are heavily reliant on the support that UoN IS provides. This includes but also goes way beyond basic support for PCs and end users - business specific critical software and server platforms.
1,317 laura wilson University of Nottingham
1,316 Nicky Baker University of Nottingham, School of Medicine
1,315 Claire Jennings University Park
1,314 Monica Persson University of Nottingham The services provided by IT are excellent
1,313 Rich Thorne Student Services, University of Nottingham Whether or not outsourcing is a good idea in general, please hold off making any large-scale IT changes until the results of the last large-scale IT changes are working properly...
1,312 Karen Lawler Nottingham University
1,311 Margaret Hull Nottingham University UPC Out sourcing the IT, you be will loosing control over quality and services to both staff and Students. Putting money savings before quality and service, never works in a specialist area. Ends up costing far more to the University in the long run in reputation and then having to plough more money in to reach the level of quality and service required for staff and Students.
1,310 Andy Thomson University of Nottingham Have always expected better from a university and have been consistently disappointed. This will result in higher costs for a poorer service.
1,309 Nick Cox University Of Nottingham
1,308 Corinne Leighton Nottinghamshire This is a real kick in the teeth for our hardworking IS colleagues and will add even more instability to an already difficult working situation for all here at UoN
1,307 Clive Dixon Nottingham University If the service you get from the private IT companies in your home is anything to go by,I cant see the benefit of outsourcing.Plus,the disruption to procedures will not be worth it.
1,306 ANGELA SHONE UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM
1,305 Susan Sutherland Student Services, UP Central, Portland Building The current staff do an excellent job and are invaluable. I've seen outsourcing at other companies and the results have been poor at best
1,304 Gaynor Robinson University of Nottingham
1,303 Jessica Cormack University of Nottingham
1,302 Tracy Adair University of Nottingham
1,301 Yvonne Constable Student Services Portland Building We need to keep "in house" staff not sit waiting to speak to an unknown on a phone
1,300 Rachel Fox University of Nottingham
1,299 Alice Lill University of Nottingham
1,298 Aaron Lewis University of Nottingham
1,297 James Hetherington University of Nottingham The latest in a series of poorly informed, questionably motivated, decisions and one which is very likely to be an ongoing disaster for the University. There needs to be accountability.
1,296 Alexia Karantana University of Nottingham The team provide a service that required local expertise, know how and boots on the ground and could not be succesfully outsourced.
1,295 Wendy Sutcliffe University of Nottingham
1,294 Natalia Tsiva University of Nottingham, Libraries
1,293 Liz Doney University of Nottingham I object to the outsourcing of core services
1,292 Estelle Derclaye Univ. Nottingham I've always have had a wonderful service by our IT staff for the 13 years I have worked here, why should we change? If Prof Arrowsmith, a world expert on public procurement belirves outsourcing will make things worse, I'd be extremely concerned and careful. We will no longer have internal/full control over the outsourced services. Does UoN want even less staff and student satisfaction?
1,291 Kath Starr University of Nottingham
1,290 Leanne Cartwright Nottinghamshire Our team relies heavily on the support we receive from the our IT colleagues (Service desk staff and Campus support (IT West) I would be unable to run the Central Registration event without the support I receive each year from these teams. The assistance we require could not be provided by an outsourced IT provision.
1,289 Chris Norman University of Nottingham I cannot see any benefit to this idea other than saving cash, which makes it a dreadful idea. We will lose valuable service quality and insight from colleagues for no good reason.
1,288 Alex MacKenzie University of Nottingham
1,287 Kimberley Simms University of Nottingham
1,286 Rhiannon Harries University of Nottingham, UK
1,285 Faye Martin University of Nottingham
1,284 Rachel Haines Nottingham Clinical Trials Unit, School of Medicine
1,283 Esther Burden-Teh University of Nottingham The UON IT service is excellent - knowledgable, fast and friendly. Outsourcing puts this at risk! We risk losing committed and valuable staff, and are likely to end up with a poorer service.
1,282 Jayne Newham University of Nottingham The UoN IT services are excellent. I have worked here for 22 years and every issue I have had has aways been resolved in a timely and professional manner. As with most IT issues the user requires a fast response, which in my opinion has always been the case with the UoN. I worry that by outsourcing we will lose this excellent service we currently have.
1,281 Joanne Burkitt University of Nottingham
1,280 wendy Daunt University of Nottingham
1,279 Ritika Sharma NUH
1,278 Jane Evison University of Nottingham
1,277 Beth Norton University of Nottingham Does past experience tell us nothing? Outsourcing does not work. Value our IT Service please. Keep our IT Services in house.
1,276 Mickey Lewis University of Nottingham
1,275 Martha Jones University of Nottingham I'm completely against any plans to outsource IT services at the University of Nottingham. This will add to existing problems caused by Project Transform and Campus Solutions, which haven't been resolved.
1,274 Kate Garland University of Nottingham I object to the outsourcing of core services
1,273 Sebastian Moody Nottingham Clinical Trials Unit Keep it within the Uni!
1,272 Kirsty Sprange University of Nottingham
1,271 Lindsay Armstrong-Buisseret University of Nottingham I've worked in industry and seen the effects of IT services being outsourced, it was a complete and utter disaster that ended up costing way more than keeping it in-house. Don't make everyone's life a misery by outsourcing this essential service, it will end up with everyone being frustrated and wasting hours of staff time.
1,270 Charlotte Gidman University of Nottingham
1,269 Ann Lavin Business School Why outsource? Shouldn't we be developing the in-house IT department which in my experience has been excellent!. IT should be kept in-house!
1,268 Mara Ozolins University of Nottingham Outsourcing is likely to cost more in the long run, with poorer service because of lack of internal knowledge
1,267 Trish Hepburn University of Nottingham
1,266 carrie chalmers University of Nottingham Having worked in various corporate institutions the UoN IT helpdesk is the best I've experienced. They are incredibly knowledgeable, professional and friendly. Why try to 'fix' an issue thats not broken. Not to mention all the jobs at risk and insecurities that the IT staff must be feeling right now....
1,265 James Newson UoM Good luck resisting
1,264 David Cartwright University of Manchester
1,263 David Arimoro University of Nottingham
1,262 Moira Jenkins N/A People with these skills need to be nurtured and valued. They deserve security in their working lives.
1,261 John Smithee Peterborough, Fenland, & King's Lynn Unite Community Branch Member
1,260 Liz Silver NTU Studetn Support Services I work in a university and know how important IT support is to both staff and studetns. I also know how important it is for that IT support to be an integral part of the organisation needing the support. The work is best done by internal staff who work for the university and who understand how things work at the university and are part of it's workforce.
1,259 Marcus Dare University of Nottingham I think that this is truly awful news for our hard working IT colleagues. And i highly doubt that any external company will be able to maintain the same quality of service or care as much as our current IT department.
1,258 Sean Ince University of Nottingham
1,257 Margaret Whittingham Uuniversity of Nottingham Dermatology
1,256 Barbara Maston University of Nottingham
1,255 Gary Clarke University of Nottingham I don't want colleagues to be TUPE'd over to a private company & end up on worse terms & conditions. Keep this service in-house.
1,254 Laura Jarvis UoN
1,253 Jillian Rickly NUBS
1,252 Josh Malik Loughborough University
1,251 Sarah Woodcock University of Nottinghsm
1,250 Trish Limb
1,249 Cristina De Matteis University of Nottingham
1,248 Elizabeth Rawding School of Medicine UoN The IT team do a great job both on the phone and on the ground. Everyone in UoN relies heavily on the service they provide. This year we have seen the disaster with Campus, MyNottingham & timetabling leading to student disatisfaction and lots of apology emails from senior managers. Outsourcing IT will magnify these problems. Didn't UoN learn anything from Project Transform?
1,247 Marisela Mendoza nottinghamshire
1,246 Alex Musselwhite University of Nottingham
1,245 Helen Nicholls University of Nottingham
1,244 Lucy Sackville
1,243 Stephanie Barnard-Khan Nottingham \stop outsourcing! It is horribly inefficient and a nightmare to work with on the ground.
1,242 Richard Pearson Nottingham
1,241 Roger Bayston Academic Orthopaedics University of Nottingham We depend on IT services provided by people who know the systems, know our needs, and know the university. Vast collective experience of outsourcing of IT (and other services) shows clearly that it is a serious mistake and eventually has to be reversed, with considerable expense and loss of staff morale (and IT expertise as they will have left).
1,240 Laura Prescott University of Nottingham
1,239 Paul Leighton University of Nottingham
1,238 Sonia Gran University of Nottingham
1,237 Sarah Vickers UoN
1,236 Douglas Grindlay Notts A big mistake!
1,235 Doug Little University of Nottingham
1,234 Stefnee Lindberg University of Nottingham (yes, it still has campuses in Nottingham, UK-- for now!) How is it that outsourcing at Manchester is being touted as a success story? Outsourcing went so well there that a group of academics got together and wrote this book called "What a waste: Outsourcing and how it goes wrong" https://www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9780719099533/
1,233 Laura Dovey
1,232 Dan Duthie UoN, City Hospital One has to question UEB's ability to manage the University of Nottingham, given it's recent track record.
1,231 Kim Thomas University of Nottingham
1,230 Nicola Grime Jubilee Campus
1,229 Michael Pearce UON The University should conduct a poll of academic staff and students as to whether they actually want this change
1,228 John Holford School of Education, University of Nottingham This is an extraordinary - and promises to be an extraordinarily damaging - decision. It shows appalling disregard for colleagues. And (especially in the light of the disastrous experience with Project Transform), I have no confidence that it will enhance support for academic activities of any kind.
1,227 Rachel Newnham University of Nottingham
1,226 Linda Pycroft University of Nottingham, Dermatology I do not feel that outsourcing our excellent IT services would be in the best interests of our students or staff.
1,225 Shirley Connolly University of Nottingham I don't believe outsourcing is the solution and I don't think it will be managed well if it does go ahead.
1,224 Tamsyn Smith University of Nottingham The University should learn from previous mistakes!
1,223 Matthew Nilan University of Nottingham
1,222 Rachel Holmes
1,221 Selina Janagal
1,220 Vince Baxter UoN Education I feel we should use the skills we already have to maintain IT
1,219 Kay Walters University of Nottingham
1,218 Mia Bellusova University of Nottingham
1,217 Janet Wilmot University of Nottingham, School of Education
1,216 Jennifer Caddick
1,215 Tova Ostlund Nottingham
1,214 Emma Halford-Busby University of Nottingham
1,213 Lucy Baker UoN
1,212 Hannah Meir University of Nottingham
1,211 Lucy Noyes University of nottingham
1,210 Alice Nott University of Nottingham Outsourcing has not improved the experience of students but hindered it with timetables being created by people who do not understand the needs of students
1,209 Alice Haslam University of Nottingham
1,208 Heidi Winklhofer NUBS To enhance student experience and increase research output, we need our IS staff more than ever. Let's not see them as cost and instead treat them as a core asset.
1,207 Cherie Edwards Student Services Jubilee
1,206 Samantha Shinn University of Nottingham
1,205 Jessica Zemanek University of Nottingham Don't do it. We rely heavily on the IT team on site, they are quick to understand issues, respond and resolve them! Not a good idea.
1,204 Christine Fletcher University of Nottingham
1,203 Lorraine Loveridge University of Nottingham
1,202 Ken Starkey Nottingham University Business School It is crucial to educate university management in what are foundational services needed to support our educational mission.
1,201 Margaret McPhee University of Nottingham
1,200 Carol Hill University of Nottingham Campus is proof that we need knowlege with regards to our IT support
1,199 Alison Williams University of Nottingham Greenfield Medical Library
1,198 Rita Gohil Division of Psychiatry and Applied Psychology Not a good idea to outsource as it would mean loss of jobs for IT staff and we already have experienced IT staff with expertise in this area. It would be a money saving exercise that will eventually fall apart if carried out.
1,197 Angela Summerfield Division of Psychiatry & Applied Psychology I feel this decision needs revisiting at the very least. We have excellent foot soldiers with vast knowledge in the IT teams based here at the University. It would be a shame to destroy that with another high level decision that seems prone to backfire again.
1,196 Miriam Stanyon Institute of Mental Health
1,195 Catriona Hind Nottingham University
1,194 Louise Pettifer Nottingham University
1,193 Emma Woodward University of Nottingham
1,192 Mark van Rossum U Nottingham
1,191 Anshuman Chutani Nottingham University Business School
1,190 Sarb Hoskinson Loughbrough I have seen too many organisations outsource technology and infrastructure projects and seeing staff that has been dedicated leave or made redundant. Then needing this staff to come back and fix a bigger problem than when they left. Leadership needs to listen to staff and develop them and build a string team to then maintain what was implemented- in returning bringing down the Opex costs.
1,189 Jennifer Gordon Surrey
1,188 Thea Lawrence Nottinghamshire
1,187 Mari Hughes University of Nottingham
1,186 Sue Bingham UoN
1,185 Asya Alanazi Theology and Religious Studies
1,184 Sue Tempest NUBS
1,183 Rebecca Batty University of Nottingham
1,182 Karen Maltby Nottingham University Business School In my experience within 2 years companies have always reverted back to inhouse, I have never known outsourcing to work.
1,181 Susan Anderson Nottingham
1,180 Jinmin Wang University of Nottingham
1,179 Julia Merrill University of Nottingham
1,178 Sylvia Perkins Student Services, Business School North, Jubilee Campus.
1,177 Philip Van Krimpen Univeristy of Nottingham Outsourcing is an outdated concept, proven to be ineffective in both the private and public sector. No real attempt has been made to invest in the areas which are being outsourced, both in terms of training and infrastructure. The answer to this is not to simply throw it over the wall and hope another organisation can handle it.
1,176 Yi Ming Lai University of Nottingham
1,175 Sue Grimwood Greenfield Medical Library I do not feel this would be in the best interests of students or staff.
1,174 Sarah Turner
1,173 Beth Coyle University of Nottingham
1,172 Wilcoxson Gerrard University of Nottingham
1,171 Sadie Robinson
1,170 Lisa Doughty University of Nottingham
1,169 Sarah Speirs University of Nottingham
1,168 Boeles Boeles Rowland KU Leuven, Belgium
1,167 William Woods Beeston
1,166 Dave Parkin University of Nottingham Of course, outsourcing IT will be damaging to the University in both degraded service and expense forcing it though. But the people making this decision will jump ship before it starts sinking and of course their CV will call it all a great success
1,165 Mark Shotter Confetti/NTU
1,164 Gina Rogers Business School, Jubilee Campus IT is a vital part of every department,school for staff, students, teaching and to enable us all to work professionally.
1,163 Emma Thomson
1,162 Duncan McGuinness
1,161 Hannah Ryan
1,160 Craig Thomson Self employed Outsourcing costs more money, training offers better return of investment and control over issues
1,159 Lisa Lockhart
1,158 Rachel Williams West Bridgford My previous employer outsourced IT. Quality of service decreased. So much so, they have now brought it back in house. University would be wise to skip the outsourcing step, and instead focus on improving the in house service. For context, previous employer was multinational company with approx 7000 employees.
1,157 Else Panayi Greater London Stop outsourcing. Else
1,156 Jo Brewis The Open University
1,155 Mark Daintree Nottingham University Business School Outsourcing is only likely to increase costs, support complexity and service delivery time whilst reducing flexibility and support levels
1,154 Eva Parker School of Education, University of Nottingham
1,153 Tina Caunt
1,152 Muhammad Rafique County (optional)NUBS
1,151 George Parr Unversity of Nottingham, Civil Engineering (Retired) The dominant priority of a provider of outsourced services would be its own success, not the U of N's.
1,150 Fiona Moore University of Nottingham
1,149 Michael Thomson University of Nottingham
1,148 Dave Bicker Sutton Bonington Campus Is this wise? Service users think not. Will it go ahead? On past performance it will, expensively & ineffectually.
1,147 Marie Kowalski Jubilee Student Services
1,146 Alison Pilnick University of Nottingham
1,145 Teresa Frudd University of Nottingham
1,144 Carole Winson Nottingham University Business School Our current IT staff do an excellent job, we want to keep them!
1,143 Shelly Rigby University of Nottingham Not a good time to be outsourcing the IT dept
1,142 Bertrand Perrat UoN, Business School, N/LAB, Jubilee Campus
1,141 Insa Hartung
1,140 Alyson McLintock NUBS
1,139 Jackie Andrews University of Nottingham
1,138 Olga Tkachuk University of Nottingham Business School
1,137 Philip Bellamy University of Nottingham Outsourcing this service seems totally unnecessary
1,136 Rani Thanacoody Jubilee Campus BSN
1,135 Niamh O'Sullivan NUBS
1,134 Claire Palmer University of Nottingham
1,133 Alison Sinclair University of Nottingham Business School The University's new and old management is not learning. IT outsourcing is a way to avoid having to deal with the problems the institution started with Project Transform. It's Project Transform 2. Can management please support, not hinder the adoption of the new student record systems. Drastic changes to staffing do not demonstrate leadership, but they erode trust at a frightening speed.
1,132 Joanne Bagshaw University of Nottingham, King's Meadow Campus
1,131 David Gray Sutton Bonington Campus Quality of IT provision at SB is good; outsourcing is unlikely to provide the level of support required to do our job efficiently.
1,130 Simona Spedale The University of Nottingham - NUBS
1,129 Tessa Moore UoN Outsourcing hasn't worked with Campus. Why would it work with IT?
1,128 Joanne Hadley NUBS,Jubilee Campus, BS North Campus foundational IT support is too valuable to lose.
1,127 Frederique Bouilheres NUBS
1,126 Ja ryong Kim University of Nottingham
1,125 Camilla Palmer the University of Nottingham I support this cause.
1,124 Mark Bentley University of Nottingham
1,123 Tracey Bettinson University of Nottingham
1,122 Sophie Mills University of Nottingham/Business School Outsourcing core IT services would be a huge mistake, as IT support should be integrated within the business. I believe investment into IS staff training would be a much more favourable option.
1,121 Sarah Holt University of Nottingham, Department of Theology and Religious Studies The individuals whom I have encountered on The IT team are exceptionally competent and committed, compared to any I have met in other places. I find it hard to believe there can be a better calibre of employee elsewhere. To make half redundant and to outsource work cannot be for the good of clients within the uni like me (a postgrad student) or them. I heartily endorse this petition.
1,120 Kathleen Visser University of Nottingham
1,119 Anja Rohde University of Nottingham, Department of Archaeology and Classics
1,118 Svetlana Clark Modern languages Can anyone give a single example of outsourcing success?!?
1,117 Mark Anderson History/Humanities/University of Nottingham
1,116 Lydia Farina University of Nottingham
1,115 Soma Mukherjee Research & Innovation, University of Nottingham
1,114 Alex Bryne University of Nottingham
1,113 Arijit Mukherjee Nottingham University Business School
1,112 Hamish Forbes School of Humanities/Dept of Classics and Archaeology
1,111 Heather Davison School of Chemistry, UoN
1,110 Miki Kurose Nottinghamshire outsourcing
1,109 Naomi Harvey Nottingham University Vet School Outsourcing IT is a very bad idea. Please don’t.
1,108 Ting Chang University of Nottingham The in-house IT team has provided invaluable help to me and solved many problems. There is no reason to get rid of them.
1,107 Lewis Borck University of Missouri Please do not continue with plans to outsource university services to a private, for profit, company.
1,106 Minjia Chen Business school
1,105 Craig Shepherd University of Nottingham
1,104 Nigel Denoronha University of Nottingham The in house IT service has dealt well with my personal and teaching requirements. I am extremely concerned that outsourcing the service would significantly reduce the quality and flexibility of the service. In my previous role as an IT auditor I have personally seen the damage of such approaches in a number of large organisations.
1,103 Melanie Bhend University of Nottingham
1,102 Clare Simcock
1,101 David Morris NUBS
1,100 Kulwant Pawar University of Nottingham they provide valuable and timely support
1,099 Simona Mateut Business School
1,098 Sally Hibbert
1,097 Alexia Yates
1,096 David Achtzehn UoN, Business School
1,095 Laura Odila Schroeder University of Nottingham Outsourcing will not make things cheaper. We need strong in-house IT support on campus AND at every single department. People who care about the institution and can train grad-students working alongside them are important!
1,094 Gongtao Zhang University of Nottingham
1,093 Aditya Jain Nottingham University Business School Please think of the long term, this is not going to save the university any money, only cause more issues and as a result cost more in the future.
1,092 Elaine Jammali Business School I currently call upon the IT team on a daily basis. All are helpful, all are friendly, all are knowledgeable and are happy to help. Outsourcing this service would be inconvenient, bordering on useless. Who, from an external environment could possibly have the local knowledge essential to the smooth running of the service.What a daft idea
1,091 Sarah Wilson University of Nottingham
1,090 Simon Bishop Nottingham Outsourcing very frequently leads to unintended consequences and additional costs (financial and non-financial), not considered in the initial proposition. Large public sector organisations within our region have recently reversed outsourcing contracts at considerable cost following years of difficulties.
1,089 Laurie Cohen Nottingham University
1,088 Lara Bianchi NUBS
1,087 Gertjan Lucas Nottingham Unversity Business School
1,086 Aristeidis Dadoukis
1,085 Amanda Power University of Oxford
1,084 Tom Coogan Nottingham Unversity Business School
1,083 Tommaso Faccio University of Nottingham
1,082 Teresa Corcoran University of Nottingham I think internal staff are better placed to support the University - other proposals which have aparently led to cost savings (like project transform) seem to still be having long lasting impact of staff members who are trying to fill the gaps left by the new structure for the sake of the University reputation - outside of their job remit and in addition to their day to day roles
1,081 Thanaset Chevapatrakul University of Nottingham
1,080 Simon Parker Nottingham University Business School
1,079 Robert Pasley University of Nottingham This will just make things worse after a rather botched implementation recently
1,078 Jeannie Holstein University of Nottingham
1,077 Marek Korczynski University of Nottingham
1,076 Ian Forrest University of Oxford This move will degrade university staff conditions, and worsen the service for teaching and research.
1,075 Sian Webb University of Nottingham
1,074 Amanda Colclough University of Nottingham
1,073 Georgia Walker School of Education Such a helpful team; always on hand to offer assistance and support where necessary.
1,072 Brian Logan University of Nottingham
1,071 Nicholas Thom University of Nottingham On top of the Campus Solutions fiasco, this plan (if true) would only add to the madness. When will leaders learn to consult those who actually know things instead of believing figures quoted by administrators?
1,070 Mark Gallagher University of Nottingham
1,069 Jean-Xavier Ridon University of Nottingham
1,068 Amy Hurst University of Nottingham
1,067 Emma Swain School of Education
1,066 Phil Andrews Ex University of Nottingham
1,065 Gareth Gee University of Nottingham Outsourcing university services is always a bad idea. Outsourcing IT services is a terrible, stupid idea.
1,064 Gary Hunt University of Nottingham
1,063 Sarah Burton University of Nottingham
1,062 Tobias Bast University of Nottingham
1,061 Matthew Kinloch Dumbarton Oaks Research Library (Harvard University)/Austrian Academy of Sciences (Vienna)
1,060 David Matless School of Geography
1,059 Robin Vandome University of Nottingham
1,058 Ruth Dilly Queen's University Belfast
1,057 Ewan Dinwiddie
1,056 Helen Barrow
1,055 Heather Kirk Nottinghamshire
1,054 Dan Simpkins Nottingham Been there before with outsourcing in the past (to India - was a dissaster), fear if it goes ahead we'll lose a lot of excellent skilled ppl
1,053 Imogen Worrall University of Nottingham
1,052 Bindi Brook University of Nottingham
1,051 Adam Sharman University of Nottingham
1,050 Chris Gratton University of Nottingham
1,049 Mike Byrne University of Nottingham (now retired)
1,048 Maurice Hendrix University of Nottingham
1,047 MIRIAM MORGAN Nottingham College Not acceptable to privatise in this way
1,046 Nick Mount University of Nottingham
1,045 Scott Weightman
1,044 S Huggett UoN
1,043 Beatrice Wallbank University of Nottingham, PhD student The IT service in the university is excellent and friendly and there is no excuse for this outsourcing move. Evidence is building daily that outsourcing at Nottingham is harming its students, staff and the university as a whole.
1,042 Megan Doole University of Nottingham
1,041 Claire Taylor Dept of History A terrible idea. When has out-sourcing ever worked in a huge and complex organisation. I'm thinking NHS cleaners/porters, prisons, detention centres. Even outsourcing photocopying hasn't worked here! The IT services seems to be getting the blame for the Campus Solutions debarcle.
1,040 Nina Charami University of Nottingham
1,039 Louise Mullany University of Nottingham
1,038 James D University of Nottingham Universities are defined by the information contained and transmitted via their IT infrastructure more than most institutions. It is reckless to abrogate responsibility for such infrastructure. The experiment has been run with Campus solutions and the learning is readily apparent. Current IT support is excellent and responsive. External contracts that reward time not performance.are a disaster
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