The BTU adheres to a clearly-defined strategy in terms of integrating its information supply services. The point of departure here was a decision by the Committee of the University President and Senate to create the ICMC/IKMZ, which sought to unite and jointly manage existing facilities such as the library, computing centre, multimedia centre and administrative data processing. The Head of ICMC/IKMZ was charged with administering the various components of the IKMZ under the aegis of a single new BTU function and in line with the university’s overall strategic and operative approach to ICM (information, communication and media). This organisational milestone now serves as the basis for a comprehensive, progressive integration of all information supplying services (all ICM areas) at the BTU. The faculties were also involved in this process, and in a binding way with respect to communications networks, security and standard applications, as well as service applications. In the area of scientific ICM applications and technologies, binding guidelines and frameworks are agreed for each area and then further developed in a joint fashion and the ICM advisory board was thus instituted. This strategy was implemented by directly linking the Head of ICMC/IKMZ (CIO function at the BTU) with the Committee of the University President.

The ICMC/IKMZ is to be developed into a modern, high-performance training centre for I&C support of research and teaching, and to serve as the core BTU information management services. All centrally, and until now predominately decentrally offered I&C-services will be restructured within the ICMC/IKMZ and then integrated into the planned management concept. The ICMC/IKMZ’s future organisational model will be designed according to the following principles:

• set up an administrative and management structure with overall responsibility for the BTU’s I&C services and linking them directly to the university administration,
• purposefully eliminate any existing redundancies and concentrate on core competencies with explicit service orientation,
• break with traditional structures by promoting realistic prioritising and timelines for the necessary implementation steps and options,
• integrate the defined areas of responsibility to achieve highest possible synergies and transparent internal networking structures,
• heighten flexibility – it should be possible to quickly react to changes caused by the tremendous technological developments and then to introduce the necessary innovations.
• institutionalise links to the faculties, in order to optimally adapt services according to needs, as well as to effectively profit from existing BTU expertise in terms of further broadening our range of services.