General Questions
- One IT is a campuswide initiative to modernize, secure, and align UCLA’s digital operations in support of the university’s mission and overall excellence. This effort is central to Goal 5 of UCLA’s Strategic Plan, which focuses on strengthening institutional effectiveness and operational efficiency.
- Led by Digital and Technology Solutions (DTS), One IT brings together decentralized IT functions into a coordinated model that promotes consistency, reduces risk, and improves service delivery across the campus.
- This effort is not just about reorganizing IT; it is about positioning UCLA for the future, with the right infrastructure, tools, and workforce to support digital equity, accelerate innovation, and operate more efficiently at scale.
- Through phased implementation, One IT will help the university unlock new opportunities to invest in its academic mission, protect its digital assets, and deliver a seamless technology experience for faculty, students, researchers, and staff.
- One IT supports UCLA’s efforts to become more secure, efficient, and responsive in how IT services are delivered.
- It reduces fragmentation, improves governance, and ensures more equitable access to digital tools and support.
- The initiative also positions UCLA to better support teaching, research, and public service with a coordinated IT foundation.
UCLA’s current IT environment has evolved over time into a highly decentralized structure, with more than 40 separate IT units, 10 campus data centers, and over 70 independently managed networks. While this distributed model provided flexibility, it has also introduced challenges that affect service quality, operational efficiency, and institutional risk.
The decentralized state has led to:
- Increased Cybersecurity Risk – The lack of unified infrastructure, standards, and oversight creates vulnerabilities across the university. As cyber threats grow more sophisticated, a fragmented security posture places institutional data and operations at greater risk.
- Inconsistent Service Delivery – The user experience varies widely across departments, with uneven levels of IT support, responsiveness, and capability depending on location and resourcing.
- Duplicative Systems and Spending – Multiple units are operating parallel systems for functions such as ticketing, storage, endpoint management, and collaboration tools. This fragmentation creates redundancy and limits the university’s ability to invest in scalable, modern solutions.
- Barriers to Collaboration and Innovation – A siloed environment slows down cross-campus collaboration and makes it more difficult to roll out university-wide tools, analytics, or digital services to support faculty, staff, and students.
- Limited Transparency and Governance – Without a campuswide view of IT operations, it is difficult to make data-informed decisions about investments, staffing, or service strategy.
One IT addresses these issues head-on by creating a coordinated model that improves service consistency, reduces risk, and makes better use of UCLA’s talent and resources. It is a foundational step toward delivering secure, equitable, and modern digital services that meet the evolving needs of the university.
The One IT initiative is grounded in several core goals:
- Strengthen security and reduce risk by modernizing and unifying infrastructure and cybersecurity practices.
- Improve service quality through scalable platforms, consistent service levels and streamlined support.
- Enable innovation and research through advanced technologies, cloud capabilities and improved data services.
- Promote equity by providing more consistent and accessible digital experiences across all units.
- Optimize financial resources by aligning IT investments with campus priorities.
- Provide a strong platform for faculty working at the frontiers of emergent computational technologies.
The initiative will occur in three phases:
Phase 1: Consolidation (September 2025)
- IT Unit Leads, and by extension their teams, will formally report to DTS while maintaining a dotted-line connection to their original units.
- This structure provides both central coordination and continuity of local support.
- No immediate changes will be experienced by faculty, staff, or students.
- To support a stable transition, IT-related hiring and spending will be reviewed by a cross-functional committee prior to approval.
- Governance structures and communication channels will be launched to keep stakeholders informed.
Phase 2: Rationalization (Projected timeline: September 2025 – June 2026)
- DTS will work closely with IT leaders from across the campus to assess UCLA’s current systems, tools, personnel, and contracts. This collaborative effort will create a clear picture of where we are today.
- Using these insights, DTS will engage campus stakeholders to develop recommendations for a future-state IT organization and operating model. The design process will be inclusive and aligned with the diverse needs of our academic, research, and administrative communities.
- Recommendations will be reviewed and approved through governance bodies.
Phase 3: Transformation (Projected timeline: July 2026 – October 2029)
- In the final phase, UCLA will begin implementing the appropriate changes to build a modern, scalable shared services model for IT.
- This will include rolling out standard tools, such as ticketing systems and endpoint management platforms, to improve consistency, quality, and responsiveness.
- The transformation will also help expand campuswide access to modern, reliable technology, strengthening both equity and innovation.
- Ultimately, this work will allow UCLA to fully realize the Digital Campus vision, creating a more secure, connected, and forward-looking university.
October Town Hall Frequently Asked Questions
During this first phase of One IT (through June 2026), there are no layoffs or reapplications planned. Everyone will keep their current positions and continue supporting the same schools or departments they do today. The main change is who you report to on paper — IT staff will start reporting to Digital Technology & Solutions (DTS) instead of their individual departments, but day-to-day work stays the same. If your role is expected to change later, you’ll be informed directly and well in advance.
One IT is designed to stabilize IT operations across campus by unifying systems and funding models. This will create secure, sustainable positions with clearer career pathways and professional development opportunities.
This effort builds on lessons learned from previous reorganizations at UCLA and other R1 campuses. One IT is phased intentionally, focusing on improvement before expansion.
You’ll start to see benefits such as:
- Better cybersecurity and fewer outages
- Faster response times and consistent service standards
- Transparent communication and feedback opportunities
For now, very little changes in how you get help. You’ll continue submitting tickets to the same support teams. Over time, support will become more coordinated and consistent, leading to faster responses and clearer service standards. In-person and after-hours support will remain available where needed.
Departments will retain flexibility and input in how their IT needs are met.
- Local IT experts remain in place
- Specialized systems are respected
- Departments continue to shape shared services implementation
One IT centralizes coordination and standards — not creativity or decision-making.
Departments and staff will help define shared services, identify where flexibility is needed, and guide how implementation proceeds. Local expertise and leadership remain core to the process.
DTS leadership understands that many IT professionals have experienced frequent changes, leading to fatigue and uncertainty. One IT is different — it’s focused on stability, collaboration, and long-term investment in people and technology.
We’re taking a deliberate, transparent, and inclusive approach, with open communication, shared governance, and stronger connections among IT teams. Regular town halls, office hours, and listening sessions give staff real opportunities to share feedback and stay informed.
Most importantly, people are at the center of this initiative. We’re prioritizing professional growth, respect for expertise, and a culture of openness and collaboration to help rebuild trust and strengthen UCLA’s IT community for the future.
The initiative is guided by a governance structure that includes the Academic Senate, Change Leader Network, and Goal 5 and One IT governance groups. These groups will provide ongoing feedback and help shape priorities.
Each department has developed unique systems, relationships, and ways of working that are vital to supporting faculty, research, and students. The real strength of UCLA IT lies in the people who understand how things work locally, and One IT is structured to protect that expertise.
DTS leadership is collaborating closely with the Academic Senate and the soon-to-be-launched Change Leader Network to carry forward academic and research-specific knowledge into the new shared services model.
IT Consolidation Leads (ITCLs) and IT Unit Leads have been chosen from within UCLA’s existing IT community. These leaders bring first-hand knowledge of their units’ systems, teams, and needs, ensuring that local expertise shapes every step of the transition.
During the Consolidation and Rationalization phases (2025–2026), each unit’s IT environment — including staff, systems, and services — will be carefully documented and mapped before any changes occur. This ensures that nothing critical is lost or overlooked.
Success will be tracked via:
- Service response times
- Security improvements
- User satisfaction surveys
Progress will be shared in regular reports and dashboards on the One IT website
Faculty input is integral through:
- Shared governance and consultation with the Academic Senate and Change Leader Network
- Collaborative design to define IT needs and priorities
- Ongoing engagement through town halls and open forums
- Academic alignment ensuring IT improvements directly support teaching and research
One IT strengthens UCLA’s ability to teach, research, and innovate by providing modern, reliable, and secure technology. It unifies IT teams and systems to:
- Support research and teaching with advanced tools and data services
- Protect research and institutional data through stronger cybersecurity
- Ensure consistent, equitable IT support across all schools and departments
A shared governance model ensures that implementation decisions reflect the needs of UCLA’s academic and research community.
One IT is designed to strengthen—not limit—academic innovation by providing a secure, flexible, and modern technology foundation for teaching and research. It will:
- Protect academic freedom and research data through stronger cybersecurity
- Expand access to modern tools like AI, cloud computing, and high-performance storage
- Make cross-disciplinary collaboration easier
- Maintain flexibility so specialized systems can stay local when needed
Faculty input through the Academic Senate, One IT Governance, and Change Leader Network ensures that decisions always reflect academic and research priorities.
One IT is about transforming operations to make UCLA’s IT investments more effective and impactful. Currently, UCLA operates more than 40 separate IT units, 70 networks, and 39 email systems. This level of fragmentation creates duplication, inefficiency, and unnecessary costs across campus. By unifying our IT operations under One IT, we can:
- Reduce duplication of systems and services
- Streamline vendor contracts
- Strengthen cybersecurity
- Make smarter, more coordinated technology investments
Research computing is a core component of One IT. The initiative aims to expand secure, scalable research infrastructure, reduce duplication of systems, and increase access to advanced computing and data management tools for all faculty.
Yes. We will continue the existing close collaboration with the VCR’s organization and individual PIs/researchers with compliance requirements for research to provide support. Through One IT, we will have the opportunity to strengthen research computing enclaves which will address many of the heightened regulations by design.
Centralization actually strengthens security by allowing UCLA to standardize protections, monitor threats holistically campuswide, and reduce vulnerabilities caused in-part by fragmented systems. One IT’s unified infrastructure will help to identify, prioritize, and reduce risk and also improve response times to cyber incidents.
One IT will create a foundation for innovation at scale. By modernizing infrastructure and cloud capabilities, UCLA can more effectively adopt emerging tools such as AI, data analytics, and automation, all while maintaining proper governance and data security.
Maintaining operations and avoiding system interruptions is at the center of how we will transition services, products and systems. Each transition goes through its own discovery and validation process to ensure continuity. Systems are only consolidated when alternatives are tested and proven stable and all changes are coordinated with our community to ensure we minimize interruptions.
The phased approach to One IT has been designed to ensure continuity is prioritized during this transition. In the initial phase, no operational changes have occurred, and local IT staff have been empowered to continue providing support for their services. As we rationalize and transform services, mission critical operations and services will be identified and we will follow our rigorous IT change management and business continuity practices in partnership with campus to ensure the availability of services.
- The next One IT town hall will be scheduled for Winter 2026
- In the meantime, unit leaders will continue to receive targeted updates based on readiness and planning progress.
STAYING CONNECTED
- Visit the One IT website for news, resources, and the project timeline
- Email oneIT@ucla.edu with questions or feedback
- Attend upcoming office hours or town halls (dates to be announced)