OFFICE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

What OFFICE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY does

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) is the centralized IT department of The University of Alabama, a public state university in Tuscaloosa. OIT delivers technology infrastructure and services to the university's students, faculty, staff, and researchers through a portfolio that includes the myBama portal, Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, Copilot), Okta single sign-on with multi-factor authentication, Cisco cloud-hosted VoIP, Ellucian Blackboard Ultra LMS, Banner and Workday administrative systems, Adobe Creative Cloud, Keeper Security, and high-performance research computing (UAHPC). Its technology stack is built almost entirely on third-party enterprise platforms; OIT's role is integration, governance, licensing administration, custom application development (EDAS), and operations across dual data centers with documented disaster recovery capabilities. There is no proprietary software product; differentiation comes from depth of integration with institutional systems and from operational reliability (e.g., disaster recovery exercise completed in under six hours, 750+ faculty websites migrated, ~4,000 courses on Blackboard Ultra).

OIT is funded through The University of Alabama's institutional budget and does not generate commercial revenue. Core services — Office 365, Okta Verify, OneDrive (250GB per user), Adobe Creative Cloud, and 70+ software packages — are provided at no direct cost to UA community members under campus-wide licensing agreements. The only direct charges are optional departmental add-on licenses (Microsoft 365 Copilot at $200/year, Teams Premium, Power BI Premium, Planner/Project Plan 3). Distribution is internal: self-service web portals (myBama, software downloads), an in-person IT Service Desk at 125 Gordon Palmer Hall, phone and email support, and embedded enterprise system integrations. Leadership is headed by Vice Provost and CIO Mike Shelton (effective December 2024), with supporting directors in Customer Relations, IT Operations Support, and Information System Security, and a newly established Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer role (Aaron Wright). The strategic posture through 2024–2026 centers on infrastructure modernization (Okta Verify replacing Duo, VoIP cloud migration, Blackboard Ultra cutover), AI evaluation and pilot deployment, and operational resilience.

Name

OFFICE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Legal name

The University of Alabama Office of Information Technology

Website

https://oit.ua.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1831

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Office of Information Technology is the centralized IT department of The University of Alabama, providing integrated technology infrastructure, enterprise systems, and support services to the university's students, faculty, staff, and researchers through institutional licensing and in-house operations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education IT Services

NAICS

Computer Facilities Management Services (541513), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Computer Training (61142)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374)

akta.pro primary industry

Managed IT Services & On‑Site Field Support (Helpdesk, Break/Fix, IMAC) (EDAEAHAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) & OCR Automation (HDAEAHAC), Digital Experience Monitoring & Management (DEX/DEM, AIOps for EUC) (BPAEAIAF), Document Capture, Scanning, OCR/ICR & Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) (HDAEAGAD)

Keywords

• Higher education IT services
• University technology support
• Campus IT infrastructure
• Enterprise IT operations
• Learning management systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Tuscaloosa

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) is the central IT department of The University of Alabama, providing enterprise technology infrastructure, software licensing, cybersecurity, communications, learning management, and IT support services to students, faculty, staff, and researchers on campus. Its portfolio spans Microsoft 365 productivity, Blackboard Ultra LMS, Banner administrative systems, cloud-hosted Cisco VoIP, Okta SSO authentication, high-performance research computing, and a 70+ software catalog delivered at no direct cost through institutional licensing. OIT operates dual data centers with documented disaster recovery and serves as the institutional technology backbone for teaching, learning, research, and operations.

Product overview

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) at The University of Alabama operates as a centralized IT department providing comprehensive technology services across the university. The portfolio consists of multiple core systems and modules: the myBama portal as the primary gateway for students, faculty, and staff; Banner as the university's administrative backbone for student records, HR, and finance; K2/Everest for process automation; Workday for HR and finance coordination; and AiM for asset management. Communication and collaboration are delivered through Microsoft 365 (including Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, and Copilot AI), Cisco VoIP (migrated to cloud-hosted platform), and Blackboard Ultra for learning management. Security is provided through Okta Verify (authentication/MFA replacing Duo), comprehensive Cybersecurity Services, and tools like Zscaler and Valimail. Research computing is supported through the UAHPC high-performance computing environment. Additional services include instructional technology (CIT), software distribution (70+ packages including Adobe Creative Cloud), network/Wi-Fi infrastructure, database administration, and project management. OIT serves as a unified platform providing integrated services that connect Banner, Workday, Blackboard, and Microsoft 365 applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• myBama University portal providing students, faculty, and staff access to Banner systems, course registration, student records, financial information, and campus services, with dark mode and mobile-responsive design.
• Microsoft 365 Suite of productivity applications including Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, and PowerPoint, provided free to students, faculty, and staff through the Microsoft Campus Agreement site license.
• Blackboard Ultra Learning Management System for online and hybrid course delivery, including the Anthology AI Design Assistant for course content creation; available to UA faculty and students.
• Okta Verify Mobile authentication app providing two-factor authentication via push notifications, passcodes, or biometric scan, required for all UA students, faculty, staff, and applicants; replaces Duo as primary MFA solution.
• Cisco VoIP (Dedicated Instance) Cloud-hosted Voice over Internet Protocol phone system migrated from on-premise hardware to Cisco Dedicated Instance platform, including call manager, voicemail, and contact center capabilities.
• Banner University's primary administrative system for student records, HR, and finance operations, with OIT performing upgrades and maintenance.
• Workday HR and finance system for managing employee data, stakeholder coordination, and integrations with external systems including Banner.
• K2/Everest Process automation system for electronic personnel action forms, MVR forms, educational benefit forms, and other administrative workflows, recently upgraded to Version 5.9.
• AiM Asset management system for UA operations including AiM Mobile and all reports/interfaces, with OIT performing server upgrades and maintenance.
• OnBase Document management system for workflow processes, transitioning to Okta SSO login in June 2026.
• Adobe Creative Cloud Design and creative software suite available to all UA students, faculty, and staff, including 85% of Adobe Stock content and Firefly generative AI features.
• IT Service Desk Technical support services for students, faculty, and staff, available in person at 125 Gordon Palmer Hall, by phone, and by email.
• Cybersecurity Services Comprehensive security services including threat prevention, incident reporting, phishing protection, and security awareness training, managing tools like Zscaler, Cisco Umbrella, Valimail, and Okta Verify.
• Research Computing (UAHPC) High-performance computing environment supporting researchers at The University of Alabama with computational resources for academic and research activities.
• Network & Wi-Fi Services Campus-wide internet connectivity via eduroam and UA-Xfinity networks, including certificate management and troubleshooting for seamless Wi-Fi access.
• Instructional Technology (CIT) Center for Instructional Technology supporting faculty with Blackboard LMS, Panopto video platform, and training resources for effective teaching technology integration.
• CampusPress WordPress-powered web hosting platform for faculty websites, migrated from Weebly, offering university-branded templates and accessible design.
• Database Administration Services Enterprise database management services for UA systems including Oracle Database Management and SQL Client support.
• Custom Development Custom application development services for campus departments, including the Enterprise Development and Application Support (EDAS) team for building and maintaining campus applications.
• Email & Collaboration Comprehensive email services including student email, faculty/staff email, affiliate email, secure email, and cloud storage on Microsoft 365 infrastructure.
• Project Management Office Project management services and guidance for campus technology initiatives and implementations.
• GIS Services Geographic Information System services including ArcGIS Pro support for spatial data analysis and mapping.
• Telecommunications Services Voice and data communication services including VoIP phones, mobile device management, and telecom infrastructure.

Quantifiable outcome

• Disaster recovery exercise completed in under 6 hours (planned for weekend)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration24 records

AI capability14 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• MicrosoftcoreTechnology or IntegrationMicrosoft is the primary technology partner providing Office 365, Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, Copilot AI, and other enterprise tools through a Campus Agreement site license. OIT manages Microsoft licensing for all UA students, faculty, and staff.
• AdobecoreTechnology or IntegrationAdobe Creative Cloud is provided free to all UA students, faculty, and staff through campus licensing. Adobe offers regular updates, security patches, and educational pricing through the partnership.
• CiscocoreTechnology or IntegrationCisco provides the cloud-hosted VoIP platform (Dedicated Instance) for campus phone systems, having migrated from on-premise hardware in June 2025. Includes call manager, voicemail, and contact center applications.
• OktacoreTechnology or IntegrationOkta provides Single Sign-On (SSO) and Okta Verify multi-factor authentication, replacing the previous Duo security platform. The platform consolidates login experiences across campus systems.
• Ellucian (Blackboard)coreTechnology or IntegrationEllucian provides Blackboard Ultra LMS, the university's primary learning management system. All courses are transitioning to Ultra by Spring 2026, with approximately 4,000 Fall classes using the platform.
• CampusPresssupportingTechnology or IntegrationCampusPress provides WordPress-based web hosting platform for faculty websites, migrated from Weebly. Over 750 faculty sites were transitioned to meet accessibility and cost requirements.
• Ellucian (Banner)coreTechnology or IntegrationBanner is the university's primary administrative system for student records, HR, and finance data. OIT performs regular maintenance and upgrades to Banner and related systems.
• Keeper SecuritysupportingTechnology or IntegrationKeeper Security partnered with OIT to provide free password management software (Unlimited plan) to all UA students, enhancing digital security and data protection.
• Kofax (K2/Everest)supportingTechnology or IntegrationK2/Everest process automation system used for many UA processes including electronic personnel action forms, MVR forms, and educational benefit forms. Regular version upgrades performed by OIT.
• ZscalersupportingTechnology or IntegrationZscaler Internet Access (ZIA) provides cloud-based security for routing internet traffic, deployed to OIT staff devices for always-on protection and threat prevention.
• Cisco UmbrellasupportingTechnology or IntegrationCisco Umbrella cloud-based security tool helps block malicious traffic on managed devices, blocking websites based on categories and known threat lists.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Instructure (Canvas): Canvas LMS competes head-to-head with Blackboard Ultra in higher education. Comparable LMS product category, target market (universities), and instructional-technology integration scope to what OIT supports through CIT.
• D2L: Brightspace LMS is a direct Blackboard Ultra competitor serving universities and K-12. Comparable learning management focus, similar AI-assisted course design features, and identical buyer persona to OIT's Blackboard deployment.

Broad incumbents

• Workday: Provides the HCM/finance platform that OIT is integrating with Banner. Comparable enterprise application footprint, university customer base, and large-scale integration requirements that mirror OIT's Workday coordination work.
• PowerSchool: Major K-12 and higher-ed SIS and learning platform provider; competes with Ellucian and serves overlapping university administrative and instructional technology needs similar to OIT's portfolio.
• Microsoft (Education): Provides Microsoft 365, Teams, OneDrive, and Copilot that form OIT's core productivity stack under the Campus Agreement. Largest single vendor relationship and functionally the productivity backbone of the university.
• Ellucian: Provides Banner (UA's core SIS), Blackboard LMS, and other higher-ed administrative systems that OIT deploys and integrates. Direct upstream vendor whose products define much of OIT's enterprise stack.
• Cisco: Provides the cloud VoIP Dedicated Instance platform, Cisco Umbrella security, and eduroam networking infrastructure OIT operates. Same network/telecom category and same university IT buyer.
• Okta: Provides the SSO and MFA layer OIT is standardizing on (Okta Verify replacing Duo). Same identity-and-access category, same campus-wide deployment model, and direct vendor relationship to OIT.

Others

• Zscaler: Provides ZIA cloud security that OIT has deployed for OIT staff devices. Comparable zero-trust networking category and direct vendor relationship supporting OIT's cybersecurity stack.

Emerging players

• Anthology (Blackboard parent): Parent company of Blackboard Ultra and provider of the AI Design Assistant OIT is deploying in ~4,000 courses. Direct overlap with OIT's instructional technology roadmap and AI-in-LMS strategy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/OITatUA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ua-office-of-information-technology

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about OFFICE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY