Ohio State Azure Readiness Checklist

We want to ensure your Ohio State Azure onboarding experience is positive.

This checklist outlines the major steps you must take to acquire an Ohio State Azure Subscription. Learn more about the full service on our Ohio State Azure Services page. Each step has a series of action items to complete to meet university requirements and to facilitate a smooth transition.

The checklist outlines the following:

  • Communications with your local IT Staff/Security Coordinator
  • Acknowledgement that data processed and stored in Azure will adhere to The Ohio State University’s institutional data policy
  • Acknowledgement of the shared responsibility model for the use of the Ohio State Azure Service.
  • Use of OTDI Azure Administrator accounts
  • Enrollment in BuckeyePass (Duo)
  • Requirement for multiple Owner roles at time of Azure subscription request
  • Requirement for an approved requisition before your subscription begins
  • Tips for budgeting before you get the requisition approved.
  • Making your request

     

Prepare to open an account.

  1. Talk with your college or department IT staff and Security Coordinator. These critical resources can support your success in using the Ohio State Azure Services. IT staff and Security Coordinators can:
    • Make you aware of any additional requirements your college or department has in place for use of cloud services;
    • Help to identify the appropriate security risk controls that must be put in place for your use case and type of data; and
    • Help determine if a university security risk assessment is required.
  2. You must read the Ohio State Azure End User Agreement and make sure your fully understand your responsibilities when using the service. You must accept the End User Agreement terms and conditions when making your request
  3. Enroll in BuckeyePass (Duo) if you have not enrolled already. Access to Ohio State Azure administrative account requires multi-factor authentication (your Ohio State name.#a@osu.edu and password and BuckeyePass).
  4. Any Azure administrator, regardless of the level of access or role you provide to others from within the subscription, is required to utilize an OTDI Administrative Account. These will be known as “Azure Administration Accounts” with the format of  name.#a@osu.edu. Please click the following link, Ohio State Azure Services Administrator Management, for Azure additional information on this requirement. The requestor and the required additional “Owner” of the subscription can request Azure account administration privileges. Note: Annual IDP training is required for requesting a new Azure Administration account or renewing an existing one.  Please complete this training before requesting your Azure Administration Account (http://go.osu.edu/idp-enroll).
  5. The Azure subscription request requires that there be at least two administrators in the “Owner” role. We will assign the requestor one of those “Owner” roles and the requestor must provide the name of a second administrator to fill the “Owner” role. The requestor can optionally add additional administrators with the roles of either “Owner”, “Contributor” or “Reader”.  Read more about Azure roles on the Azure built-in roles page. The name.#a@osu.edu account MUST be created for EVERY administrator that you add to that role. You must designate these administrators before requesting a subscription.
  6. Azure Role-Based Access:
    • REQUIRED: You must have at least two people with “Owner” access to the subscription to help ensure an owner is reachable in the event of a security incident. All “Owners” must be a current Ohio State faculty or staff member. You MUST request a name.#a@osu.edu account for EVERY administrator that you add to that role. You must designate these administrators before requesting a subscription.
    • OPTIONAL: You can add other Ohio State employees that you would like to have access to your subscription to help on a project, grant or collaboration. You can add faculty, staff, student employees, graduate students, post docs, and graduate assistants as administrators within your subscription. You can add contractors if they have a sponsored guest account. Administrators within your subscription are responsible for following university policies, Azure policies, and applicable laws. The request process will allow you to add an additional Owner, Collaborators or Readers at the time we create the subscription.

      Please take a look at the following link for an overview of Azure role-based access control: What is role-based access control (RBAC) for Azure resources?

 

Set a budget and get it approved.

  1. Set a budget so you know your spending limit and can set the appropriate cost budget alerts in Azure. The alerts help you stay below budget. For estimate purposes only, we recommend the following guideline amounts, which depend on how you think you will use Azure:
    • Utilize the Azure cost management Cost Tools/Cost Calculator section of the Ohio State Azure page.
    • Kick the tires to learn more about Azure: Budget $100 to $500 per month
    • Target a specific project or grant: Budget $1,000 - $5,000 per month
    • Review your Azure billing invoices (if you have an existing Azure subscription) to assess past spending. You will also utilize the Azure Cost Management + Billing features.

  2. Each user is responsible for managing their costs for using the Ohio State Azure Service. You are responsible for the payment of all billable Azure Services consumed. Be sure to take advantage of all the cost management tools that are available to anticipate and control costs. Some can be found in the Cost Management section of the Ohio State Azure landing page.

    **** Please note that Ohio State will continue to bill all charges to your college or department even after the amount you have in your requisition has been exhausted. It is up to you to manage and stay within the budget amount that you set in the requisition. Read more about how to create and manage Azure budgets.

  3. Ohio State bills Azure charges only to university billing accounts. So, once you’ve determined a budget, begin a purchase request by submitting a Workday requisition for approval from your college or department. Log in to Workday to create a requisition, choose "Edit Details" and select "Non-Catalog Request" under Requisition Type. Choose "Request Non-Catalog Items" from the menu on the right, then follow the instructions that our training department has posted on the Administrative Resource Center for help (login required). 

    • Description: Azure Subscription

    • Spend Category: Do Not Know (SC99999).

    • A toggle button allows you to choose Goods or Service. Choose "Service"

    • Under "Other Details to Add" please set the Supplier/Vendor to OTDI - Telecommunications and Networking

    • Leave "Supplier Contract" and "Supplier Item Identified" blank.

    • Price: Enter the estimated spend for the entire fiscal year. Price cannot be 0, but you can estimate the spend and adjust it later. Use the budget you developed (in step 1, "Set a budget and get it approved") to estimate required budget numbers for the Workday requisition. You will be required to create a new Workday requisition each fiscal year to meet university budget and planning requirements.

    • Make note of the requisition number, because you will need it later in the process to fill out the request form in ServiceNow before you can add the subscription to your cart.

  4. The submitted request will follow your college or department’s normal approval process. OTDI has no control over how long the approval process within your department or college may take to complete. 
  5. We cannot move your request for the subscription forward until the request in Workday is approved by the individual department/approvers. A reminder will be sent if the request is not approved within 30 days.

 

Make your request.

After these preparations, you are ready to make your request! 

  1. Visit the OTDI Service Catalog cloud platforms page to order Azure.
  2. Log in using your Ohio State name.# and password (if prompted)
    • Complete the appropriate request form.
    • Click "Order Now" (upper right corner of page) to confirm.
    • Click "Checkout" to send your request to OTDI.
  3. You will receive an email notification with your ticket number.


Within 3 to 5 business days, you will receive a welcome email from OTDI with instructions on how to access your Ohio State Azure subscription and other important service details. If you do not receive a welcome email, please check the spam folder in your university email box or contact OTDI IT Service Desk:

Phone: 614-688-4357
Email: servicedesk@osu.edu
Self-Service and Chat support: ocio.osu.edu/help