Roles of the IT Center

The IT Center offers various services for different groups of people. These services vary depending on the target group, which affects, for example, their ability to be integrated into university processes or the degree of customization. As a result, the IT Center's tasks in providing these services also differ.

The IT Center acts in three different roles here. While the main focus used to be on providing services for RWTH (role as IT Service Provider for RWTH), technological developments and the changing IT landscape at universities in North Rhine-Westphalia and Germany have now added further tasks: providing cloud services to RWTH users and providing services for the university community outside RWTH.

IT Service Provider for RWTH

As the central IT service provider for RWTH, the IT Center provides services for RWTH members, most of which are tailored to university-specific processes and linked to other RWTH-wide services. The infrastructure for these services is usually provided locally at RWTH.

Cloud Intermediary

The IT Center offers a range of services that are operated and provided by other providers (e.g., other universities or public cloud providers). In its role as a cloud intermediary, the IT Center supports the integration of these cloud services into university processes in order to make them available to members of RWTH.

IT Service Provider for the Community

The IT Center provides services for other universities, for example, as a service provider data center in North Rhine-Westphalia or nationwide in the context of NHR or NFDI. The services can also be used by members of RWTH, but are usually not specifically tailored to them.

banner with symbolic images representing the roles of the IT Center: cloud intermediary, IT service provider for RWTH, IT service provider for the community Copyright: © IT Center
Roles of the IT Center: Cloud Intermediary, IT Service Provider for RWTH, IT Service Provider for the Community

What are the differences between the roles?

The role in which a service is provided has an impact on the characteristics of certain features. These include support, customization, operation, further development, and integration capability:

Attribute IT Service Provider RWTH IT Service Provider Community Cloud Intermediary
Support

high coverage by RWTH / IT Center

high coverage* low coverage
Customization high medium low
Operation high vertical integration high vertical integration low vertical integration
Further Development of the Service controlled by RWTH controlled by the community controlled by providers
Ability to Integrate Into Other RWTH Services/Processes good medium low

*possibly in cooperation with partners and participating universities