Starting at noon Friday, Oct. 6 and finishing by 8 a.m. Monday, Oct. 9, the University of Colorado Data Center will move to a new state-of-the-art data center in the Anschutz Health Sciences Building.

While the CU data center’s physical components are being moved, all systemwide applications will be down. No data from HCM, FIN, CU-SIS, CU Marketplace and other applications will be available. A complete list of impacted systemwide applications is available in the Data Center Move implementation post.

The project — which includes physically moving more than 11 tons of equipment — will increase current capabilities, allow for new growth and provide better support for CU systems and infrastructure.

The UIS project was announced earlier this year following review and input from CU’s legal team and the CU IT Governance Committee and approval by CU President Todd Saliman and all four campus Chancellors. Multiple teams from each campus’s OIT, Information Security and Communications are working closely with UIS and IT partners to determine the systems and services that will be impacted.

“A project of this proportion would be impossible without the contribution of our partners on each campus,” said CU CIO Scott Munson. “We are incredibly grateful for our OIT partners — and how closely they are working with their campus communicators and leadership to ensure everyone is prepared for the 68-hour implementation window.”

What is a data center?

A data center is a specialized facility for housing computer servers and networking equipment, storage systems and power distribution units. Data centers play a crucial role in the modern digital landscape and are used by businesses, organizations and governments to host websites, applications, databases and other critical IT services. They provide the necessary infrastructure to ensure that these services are available, reliable, and responsive to user demands.

Even in the age of cloud computing, a data center provides the infrastructure required to run applications and manage and store data. 

How will the move impact you?

Most student data integrations as well as finance and human resources data integrations will be unavailable to upload or download data beginning at noon on Friday, Oct. 6, through 8 a.m., Monday, Oct. 9.

While campus-specific applications may be available, their integrations with system applications will not be live. Please plan your work accordingly around this planned UIS outage.

We encourage those whose business operations and services will be interrupted to inform their customers well in advance. Campus departments should refer to their OIT publications about the move’s impact and plan accordingly. 

Campus Data Center Move posts

• CU Anschutz
• CU Boulder
• CU Denver
• UCCS

What actions can you take to prepare?

UIS will take on the heavy lifting of preparing the new space and moving the equipment. You still have a role in the move’s success by preparing those who rely on your services for any interruption.

1. Add the Data Center Move to your Outlook Calendar.
2. Discuss with your team how business operations will be impacted during the implementation window.
3. Prepare communications on your website and in advance to your customers, so they know what will and won’t be available.
4. Plan to stop using systemwide applications — and those that use their data — and do not request reports well in advance of the cut-off at noon, Friday, Oct. 6, so that transactions and services are not interrupted.

Thank you for your cooperation as UIS completes this essential move. Please reach out to the UIS Service Desk with questions at 303-860-HELP (4357) or help@cu.edu.