NIH on Track with IT Consolidation—Phase II

The IT staff at your IC shares a goal with CIT—to make IT Consolidation at the NIH as smooth and transparent as possible. We are committed to eliminating unnecessary duplication of functions and infrastructure.

Through outstanding collaborative efforts, NIH has successfully met the goals for Phase I of the IT Consolidation. Building upon this success, we have moved forward as scheduled into Phase II.

As proposed by the NIH Administrative Restructuring Advisory Committee (ARAC)—and agreed upon by NIH and the Office of the Secretary, HHS—NIH must complete this next phase of IT consolidation by October 31, 2004. Effective implementation of Phase II will meet the expectations of the NIH Restructuring Plan prepared by the ARAC, as well as those of the HHS Enterprise IT Strategic Plan.

What Does Phase II Cover?

Areas of implementation in Phase II include:

•     Active Directory

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consolidate all NIH Active Directory user accounts into the single NIH.GOV domain

•     Networking, including Remote Access

	-	consolidate network management and monitoring
	-	consolidate dial-up and virtual private network (VPN) Remote Access Services
	-	provide NIH enterprise network infrastructure in new and renovated buildings in Montgomery County Maryland
	-	establish standards to govern future network equipment replacements and upgrades, leading to unification of network architecture

•     Video Teleconferencing

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restructure videoconferencing services so that CIT provides technology and infrastructure support (design, acquisition, installation, maintenance) while the NIH Office of Research Support (ORS) provides event planning, operational support, and content capture.

How Will Phase II of the IT Consolidation Affect Me?

IT Consolidation Phase II deals primarily with underlying IT infrastructure. Therefore, most changes will involve the interaction between CIT staff and IT personnel within the ICs, and will have little direct effect on users. All users whose Login ID's must change will receive separate and specific instructions.

When Will These Changes Take Place?

In some ICs certain areas of the consolidation have already been finalized. All major changes across all ICs are scheduled for completion by October 31, 2004. NIH will continue to refine systems and processes after the October 2004 deadline.

Whom May I Contact If I Have Questions or Concerns?

Further information is available on the NIH IT Consolidation web site. If you have questions, please contact your IC IT support staff. In addition, you may call Susan Chaffee, the NIH IT Consolidation Project Communications Lead, at 301-594-9501, or send e-mail to Susan_Chaffee@nih.gov.