The daily operations of a high-energy physics lab depend on all types of information including strategic plans, business and finance reports, scientific and engineering literature and human resources data. The Information Technology Division (ITD) manages and stores this information through our core business applications, custom applications, library and content management platforms.
On the application side, we support and customize solutions ranging from large, labwide applications, to small, niche systems, to collaboration portals and dashboards. We support the lab’s financial applications including critical operations such as payroll, budgeting, purchasing and employee timecards. We also support human capital management, asset management and environment, health and safety applications. We are continually modernizing our applications and services to improve the lab’s business processes by adding automation and digital, browser-based functionality. We provide easy-to-use business intelligence and reporting applications that help users at all levels of the lab view metrics and performance indicators and analyze data. We strive to eliminate any data discrepancies by establishing a single source of truth to standardize the data across our many applications.
We also develop and support custom applications that are critical for a wide array of functions throughout the lab, from safety, to end-user support, to cybersecurity. We developed a unique set of cybersecurity software tools that continually monitors our network and is capable of removing devices from the network that do not comply with our security policy. Another custom application we support is a public Fermilab app, which you can download through the Apple Store, that has information about the lab’s news, events and more.
ITD supports INSPIRE, the next-generation worldwide information management system for high-energy physics literature. We also record and maintain the lab’s 50+ years of history in the Fermilab Archives. We support the lab’s digital signage needs, WordPress users and content management platforms to facilitate collaborations. We manage important information through the Fermilab Library. The library provides on-site and off-site access to essential physics journals, databases, e-books, engineering standards and more, and can obtain additional resources through our connections with other institutions.
