Advancing IT Alignment

In FY2026, the Division of IT forged its first IT alignment partnership with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), laying the groundwork for broader alignment with other areas across the university.

Across the university, many small IT offices duplicate services that are already offered at the enterprise level. Virginia Tech’s IT alignment initiative is creating a coordinated approach to these interconnected services, combining the scale, consistency, and efficiency of enterprise service delivery with the specialized expertise and relationships enabled by having IT professionals embedded in colleges and units.

By better aligning IT strategy, resources, services, and investments, the university can:

Reduce duplication and costs through enterprise contracts, shared services, and coordinated service management
Strengthen cybersecurity and consistency through common standards and oversight
Create capacity for mission-focused work by enabling college IT teams to concentrate on specialized academic, research, and operational needs
Expand collaboration and professional opportunities across the university’s IT community

In its first year, the CALS partnership generated savings for reinvestment by moving software purchases to existing enterprise agreements and identifying opportunities to manage appropriate core services at the enterprise level. Over time, this approach can create greater capacity for college or institute IT teams to focus on specialized work that directly supports their unique teaching, research, and operations needs.