News

IT Update

Apr 14, 2016

Posted in: Uncategorized

By Gareth Griffiths

IT Support System

In February 2016, 81 new Work Orders were received into Track-IT. Of these, 80 are now closed (98% completion rate). Overall, we closed 103 Work Orders in the month. There are currently 39 open Work Orders.

Please, do not forget to email support@gdins.org for any IT-related requests. In the event that an email cannot be sent for any reason, you can also call any member of the IT Team, who will log the support Work Order for you.

Backups

We are in the process of rolling out a new backup methodology for the main sites. This backup strategy will incorporate backup devices from a company called Datto. The devices will backup automatically onsite first, and then synchronize to an offsite data location in Canada (to the cloud, as they say).

 

There are some neat benefits to these. Firstly, in the event of a server failure, the backed up image can be run virtually from the device itself; meaning minimal disruption to server processes. If running from the local device is not possible, the offsite image can be loaded remotely, or exported to virtual files to be loaded on a VMWare Server in another location. Also, the system can be restored using a USB disk to perform a bare metal restore to a new system.

 

To date, we have these installed at the Central Office and the 1003 22^nd Street West Building in Saskatoon, as well as in Prince Albert, and Regina. We are currently configuring the server agents and should be fully operational shortly. We are also installing at the Publishing Department Building, and awaiting a cabinet delivery before installing here.

Please remember, backups are important to make sure no data is lost. Any data stored outside of the shared drives (H:, S:, P:, etc.) is at risk of not being backed up. Please talk to IT regarding your backup options, and what we can do to help you.

Website

Overall, there were 25,136 Page views (19,340 Unique Page views) in January 2016. The website homepage saw 4,535 Page views (3,590 Unique Page views). Some highlights of activity are as follows: 18% of visitors viewed the home page, 12% clicked on What We Offer, 3% clicked on Contact Us, 3% clicked on Career and Employment.

In the interests of transparency, we are working on moving the Policy and Procedures over to the public website in the coming month.

Social Media Summary

Following are some brief stats from our Social Media channels in January 2016.

Facebook (www.facebook.com/gabrieldumontinstitute): Total number of people liking the page grew by 45 to 1,164. Total Engagements (number of links clicked, likes, or comments) was 1,879 over eight posts. Total reach of posts (number of people who saw a post in their feed) was 17,611 with 37,924 impressions (number of times a GDI page appeared in the news feeds of others). The most popular post was the La Loche Tragedy, reaching 5,600 people with 485 post clicks and 223 Likes, comments, and shares. Next was the Road Allowance Kitten, with 2,300 people reached, 301 post clicks, and 233 likes, comments, and shares.

Twitter (@gdins_org): 19 tweets earned 16,200 impressions. There were 39 new followers in the month, 34 mentions and 1,199 Profile visits. The top tweet was “gdins_org is hiring in Saskatoon, Regina and La Loche…,” earning 4,070 impressions. Top mention was “Perfect Opportunity…help us name our schools …” with 20 engagements. Top media tweet was “Never too early to plan for golf tournament” with 351 impressions. We currently have 631 followers.

EFT

Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) is now successfully implemented, with EFT batches being run from all main companies. Signing up for EFT will mean that suppliers and staff (for expenses) are able to get their claims posted directly to their bank account. The biggest advantage is that payments will be received faster and more efficiently. As well, there is reduction in costs, and lower environmental impact of cheque printing. This is an opt-in process. If you don’t request it, you will continue to receive cheques. Should you like to sign up for EFT, please contact Finance for the necessary form.

Closing Thought

A Roman walks into a bar and asks for a Martinus. “You mean a Martini?” The bartender asks. The Roman replies, “If I wanted a double, I would have asked for it.”

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