Response to the suggestion box

An anonymous suggestion was recently submitted online regarding tech updates and workday disruptions:

Mid-day updates that force shutdowns disrupt the workday; tech updates

Can we please not have IT updates that force restart pushed to our computers in the middle of the workday. It’s a huge disruption especially when in meetings, even with the opportunity to delay it by 4 hours (my first alert popped up at 9 a.m. when I was in a meeting, I delayed it the max 4 hours and then had my whole computer shutdown in the middle of a Zoom call).

I understand they’re important and have to happen, but it’s just incredibly frustrating to be kicked off in the middle of a workday.

Mary Taylor, M.Tax., CPA, senior vice president for operations and finance, responded: 

The frustration is completely understandable, especially when the restart happened in the middle of a Zoom call. That is certainly not the experience we want, even though the restart itself is an important part of keeping our systems protected.

We do need to maintain the current deployment approach. Security updates often address known vulnerabilities, and delaying installation can unnecessarily extend the period in which University computers remain exposed. Applying these updates promptly is consistent with industry security best practices.

Our hybrid work environment also makes traditional evening or weekend maintenance windows much less effective because many laptops are powered off or disconnected during those times. The middle of the work week gives us the greatest opportunity to reach devices while they are connected, with the four-hour deferral providing a large window for users to finish active work and restart at a more convenient point. 

We know that approach will not prevent every interruption, but it strikes the best balance between providing users flexibility and ensuring security updates are applied promptly.