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IT Alerts

This page lists all official IT service alerts shared with the KAUST community. Alerts are also delivered directly to your KAUST email.

Standard Weekly Maintenance Window

Thursday at 5:00 PM to Saturday at 8:00 PM. During this window, some services may experience temporary slowdowns, intermittent issues, or brief outages while essential maintenance is performed.

Vendor-Scheduled Maintenance

Some KAUST systems hosted on the KAUST Portal (portal.kaust.edu.sa) are maintained directly by our cloud vendor. These activities are scheduled quarterly and are independent of KAUST IT's regular maintenance windows. They may temporarily affect the availability or performance of several online services.

View Planned Vendor Maintenance

 

Recent Alerts

The most recent IT service alerts are shown below. For the full history, see the archive further down this page.

 

30 September, 2026

Scheduled Maintenance: KAUST Sign-In Services, IT Website, and Network Switches

Planned IT maintenance includes a 30-minute KAUST sign-in maintenance window, IT Website maintenance, and ongoing network switch upgrades. Review the schedule and any action you may need to take.

Read more

27 September, 2026

IT Maintenance Notice: IT Website Maintenance

The KAUST IT Website will undergo maintenance on Tuesday, 6 October, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. No downtime is expected, but the website may be slower than usual during this time.

Read more

 

About IT Alerts and the Change Advisory Board

The Change Advisory Board (CAB) is a cross-functional group within KAUST IT that reviews and approves proposed IT changes to maintain service reliability and reduce risk. The CAB Chair is appointed by the Chief Information Officer (CIO).

For urgent or high-impact situations, the Emergency Change Advisory Board (ECAB) may be activated to ensure timely decisions while protecting service stability.

Learn more about the CAB

When Are Alerts Issued?

All IT changes are reviewed under the Change Management process. When communication is needed, an IT Alert is published and shared with the KAUST community. This includes:

  • Scheduled or planned service changes
  • Changes affecting specific groups or areas (such as faculty, students, or building residents)
  • Unplanned outages or urgent service issues

 

Alerts Archive

All past IT service alerts are listed below, including scheduled maintenance notices, unplanned outages, and service restoration updates.

 

Planned Maintenance - SAP System Update and Palo Alto Firewall Upgrade

02 October, 2025

KAUST Community,

Please find below the planned IT maintenance activities that may affect access to IT services. Kindly review the impact and follow the recommended actions to avoid any disruption.

1. SAP System Update

When: Thursday, 2 October 2025, from 8:00 PM to 12:00 AM

Impact: The following SAP applications will be unavailable during this period. Please plan your work accordingly.

SAP S4/Hana (S4P):

  • Finance and Controlling (FI/CO) – Travel
  • Funds and Grants Management (FM/GM)
  • Material Management (MM)
  • Plant Maintenance (PM)
  • Project Systems (PS)
  • Real Estate / Housing (RE)
  • Government Affairs SAP Services
  • Student Lifecycle Management (SLCM)
  • GRC Access Control
  • SAP Access Request
  • Portal Services

Other SAP-Related Services:

  • KAUST ID Password Reset Website
  • SAP Interface Reporting (BW)
  • Service Desk Portal
  • Solution Manager (CHARM)
  • Content Server (Document Upload)
  • SAP Executive Information System (EIS) / SAP BO

Integrations (functionality may be impacted):

  • ARIBA
  • Concur
  • SuccessFactors
  • Fieldglass

Note: VMS will remain accessible throughout the upgrade.

2. Palo Alto Firewall Upgrade

When: Thursday, 2 October 2025, from 11:00 PM to 12:00 AM

Impact: A brief interruption to internet connectivity (approximately 1 minute) may occur during the upgrade window.

View all current and past IT alerts.

Need help?
Contact the IT Service Desk at 910 or 012-808-0910, or visit the walk-in support desk during business hours.
You can also log a ticket using our virtual assistant, VITA, at it.kaust.edu.sa or vita.kaust.edu.sa.

KAUST IT
it.kaust.edu.sa