News from the IT Service Desk

Since our last update we’ve welcomed a new Service Desk Analyst to our team. Like all our analysts, they are undergoing training to manage the wide range of complex services we support. Some queries are simpler for us to resolve than others, so just a small reminder that the information you provide in your service request or when speaking to a team member can make all the difference! 

In this update we share where to find answers to some of the most popular questions we receive, including logging in and resetting passwords. We’ve also included some useful service requests from our IT self-service catalogue. But first we wanted to tell you about Norman.  

Who is Norman? 

The central IT Service Desk is available to answer telephone calls 24/7 every day of the year, but if you’ve ever called us over a weekend or during an evening you may have been surprised by who you were speaking to.  

Norman, or Norman Managed Services, are our trusted service partner based out of Northumbria University in Newcastle Upon Tyne. Norman provide wrap around support for our Service Desk Team, ensuring that your telephone call will be answered at any time, day or night. 

Norman staff are specialists within our sector, collaborating with over forty other higher education institutions. Their impact extends far beyond the University of Oxford, going as far as supporting the University of Sydney in Australia! 

We work closely with the team in Newcastle so that they can resolve as many of your queries as possible. However, when complex issues arise, the team at Norman will always ensure that your query is accurately recorded and handed back to our team to assist further. 

So now you know who Norman is. Don’t be shy if you have an IT question out of hours, just call! 

Tips from the central IT Service Desk team 

Can’t log in?  

One of the most common reasons people call us is because they can’t log in to one of their accounts. If you accidentally lock yourself out or forget your password, you can quickly find out how to reset your passwords for centrally managed systems including SSO, CONNECT, HFS and more. Or you can give us a call to have your password and security questions reset.  

If you are a CONNECT managed desktop user and mistype your password more than three times, you can be temporarily locked out. Did you know that after 30 minutes, your account will unlock and you can (carefully) type in your password once more? If you can’t wait, use your security questions to unlock your account using the CONNECT password manager, or contact us by phone.   

For more guidance related to IT security and passwords visit the Oxford Secure page on the Information Security website. 

Popular IT self service requests   

The easiest way to request common services is to visit the IT Self Service Catalogue. You can use the search feature or browse through the forms to find what you need. Here are few useful service requests that you may not know about:  

• Create a Teams group or Room – We are often asked how to create a Teams Room, or why a new group can’t be created from within Teams. We can help! Just search for Create a Teams Room and Create a Nexus365 Team or Group and complete the service request form. 
• Missing email(s) – Have you been expecting an email that has not arrived? You’ve checked your junk and spam folders and it’s not there either? The service request you need is called Report a Missing Email.
• Telephony issues – search for Chorus to see our full range of telephony forms – select and complete the one that you need. 

Did you know?

If you haven’t used your SSO security question for a while, can you reliably remember your answer? Don't forget you can reset your question and answer at any time by visiting the Single Sign On management page and selecting option 4.