KAUST Community,

The following maintenance activities are planned to keep KAUST IT’s services reliable and performing well. Please review the schedule and expected impacts below.

KAUST Visitors Management System (VMS) Maintenance

When: From Thursday, December 11, 2025, 8:00 PM to Friday, December 12, 2025, 8:00 AM
Impact: The KAUST VMS will be unavailable during this window. New business visit submissions cannot be made, and Gate Access processing may be delayed for entering or leaving KAUST.

Action Required:

For KAUST Community Members (with KAUST ID)

• Carry your physical KAUST ID if possible.
• Alternatively, keep a screenshot of your Digital ID from KAUST Central, or access it at vms.kaust.edu.sa/DigitalID.
• To reduce delays at the gate, residents are encouraged to remain on campus during this period unless travel is essential.

For Business Visits

• New business visit requests cannot be submitted during the downtime.
• Please submit all access requests in advance.
• For urgent visitor needs, email VisitorCenter@KAUST.EDU.SA.
• The Security Team at the Visitor Office (Gate 1) will support manual entry procedures.
• Note: Personal Visits will not be affected.

SAP System Updates

When: From Thursday, December 11, 2025, 8:00 PM to Friday, December 12, 2025, 8:00 AM
Impact: Below SAP applications will be unavailable during this maintenance window. Please plan your work accordingly.

Affected Services Include:

• SAP S4/HANA (S4P)
• Finance & Controlling (FI/CO) — Travel
• Funds & 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
• SAP Interface Reporting (BW)
• Service Desk Portal
• Solution Manager (CHARM)

Integrations to the following SaaS systems may also be impacted:

• ARIBA
• CONCUR
• SUCCESS FACTOR

Sitefinity Websites – Maintenance Notification

When: Thursday, 11 December 2025, from 8.30PM to 11.00PM
Impact: A scheduled maintenance activity will take place on the Sitefinity websites. During this window, you may experience intermittent access, including a possible brief service interruption of 3–5 minutes.

Action required: If you encounter any issues accessing the website, please refresh the page and try again.

Upgrade of GIS MAPS Application Patches

When: Thursday, December 11, 2025, from 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM
Impact: During this maintenance activity, all services that rely on the KAUST Community Map will be temporarily impacted. In addition, the URL maps.kaust.edu.sa/maps/ will be unavailable for the duration of the maintenance.

Microsoft Monthly Patch Cycle

When: Wednesday, December 17, 2025
Impact: Windows security updates will be installed, and devices will undergo a forced restart if not updated by the deadline.

Action Required: Important Windows security updates are now available. You will receive a pop-up notification prompting you to install the updates and restart your device.
Please follow the instructions and complete the restart as soon as possible before December 17 to avoid a forced restart that may interrupt your work.

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.

We appreciate your understanding as we continue improving KAUST IT’s services.

KAUST IT
it.kaust.edu.sa