Every piece counts
At UAB, every piece of the puzzle makes a difference to the whole picture. UAB IT is proud to be part of the campus puzzle, connecting technology with the groundbreaking research and robust academics that make UAB unique. Our role is to provide the foundation pieces that allow creativity and innovation to thrive. We’ve been tracking technology contributions to the puzzle for the past 10 years, and some pieces fit quietly behind the scenes — strengthening the campus network with essential upgrades, aligning systems with the new campus brand, and refreshing servers and infrastructure. Other pieces click into place through collaboration, a core value at UAB: partnering with departments whose ideas need our technology support to complete the bigger picture. Together, we make the puzzle whole.
UAB IT plays supporting role in strategic initiatives
With UAB launching campus-wide strategic initiatives designed to accelerate research and student success, UAB IT is a part of the powerful collaborative puzzle working toward shared goals. Igniting Data Insights, led by Tom Brannan, senior vice president for advancement and strategic initiatives, and Curtis A. Carver Jr., vice president and chief information officer, helps connect key pieces by creating a unified data ecosystem that supports both the SUCCESS Initiative and the Research Strategic Initiative.The Technology Alignment and Collaboration Committee, formed by UAB President Ray L. Watts and Dawn Bulgarella, CEO of the UAB Health System, is designed to fit pieces together, identifying and unifying technology strategies across the campus and health system, improving collaboration and optimizing technology investments.
Among the successes so far:
Partnership of security staff, campus
UAB IT's security team strengthened its Security Operations Center staff this year, adding key pieces to expand our capacity to respond to threats. In fact, this year UAB IT has reduced the time it takes to respond to a phish by an average of 88 percent, or down from about 26 minutes per phish to 3 minutes per phish. But as one UAB employee's phish tale tells us, the UAB community is the most important piece in completing the puzzle to stop scammers from infiltrating campus.
Read the Full StoryInnovate Together
UAB is uniting technology talent from across the university campus into a new UAB IT, creating a comprehensive department that continues to be focused on empowering the UAB community with world-class technology resources and customer service.
Quotes from around UAB about the transition
After the transition to central, I felt that it was time for something new but wanted to stay within the department. With the Innovate Together project I was able to confidently move into a new role, which has expanded my skills.
Mat Thompson
CAS Desktop to UAB IT Systems Analyst INFRA-APPS
I've enjoyed the move into central IT. In my previous role, it was a one-to-two-man department. Now, there is more support and a wider variety of tools to access. I enjoy having the ability to focus on more IT centered jobs.
Harold "Joey" Jones
Optometry to UAB IT Client Services and Support
The transition from distributed to central has been smooth. Now that we are in UAB IT, we have access to more tools that help solve tech problems in a more timely manner.
David Childers
Collat School of Business to Desktop Support Services
Teamwork key to research computing, data success
Supporting researchers on campus through technology and collaboration continues to be a cornerstone piece of UAB IT’s mission. By connecting the right pieces through partnerships across the organization — including the hospital — UAB IT has been able to improve performance, lower costs for research surveys, and begin a project that adds another critical piece: improving storage capacity and functionality.
UAB IT small part of new Blazers' journey
Whether you realize it or not, UAB IT is an important piece of your Blazer journey — fitting into place long before you step foot on campus.
Read Full Story
2025 by the numbers
100 Wins
To accomplish 100 technology wins every year, UAB needs all of its innovators across campus working together to make academics and work life better for everyone. In the past 10 years, UAB has amassed more than 1,300 technology wins, from small achievements to transformative projects. See the full list of wins.
UAB Introduces new Information Technology Acquisition Policy
UAB digital landscape reflects UAB branding changes
GitHub now available for academic use
Box AI launched for enterprise use
New data labels in Microsoft encourage safer file storage
Microsoft Fabric showcases new ways to understand data
Infrastructure team expands to help power Innovate Together project
