Driving Innovation and Student Success Through Digital Transformation

Today, higher education institutions are at a crossroads. They are in the midst of a dramatic transition in educational methods, bringing both new learning models and student campus experiences through digital transformation. Students are increasingly using on-demand technologies to satisfy their own learning goals and map their own route to workforce preparedness. This shift in why, how, and when students learn is fueling the increased demand for technology advancement on college campuses.

As a result, IT infrastructure has changed dramatically. Application modernization and better proactive security frameworks are critical components of the digital transition process. IT systems must now supply the technology and services that enable agility, efficiency, and learning innovation to support student outcomes, improve decision-making across the company, and change IT to provide more efficient services. 

As a result, institutional leadership is looking for opportunities where technology can help students prepare for professions, using data and predictive analytics to increase success and completion, and engaging academics through IT services to support their research objectives.

Institutions are also looking for new learning ways to rejuvenate classrooms through innovative and immersive teaching methodologies that encourage collaboration and student participation. Students are choosing tech-savvy universities and workplaces that can increase their learning while also providing a compelling degree program.

Colleges and universities also strive to improve operational efficiency at the academic, administrative, and resource levels in order to optimize available dollars for teaching and learning — and to counterbalance the ever-increasing expenses of education.

Obstacles On The Way To Digital Transformation

Much higher education institutions are finding it challenging to achieve effective digital transformation due to an ever-increasing list of impediments. Among these are:

1. Budgets that are stagnant or decreasing

Ongoing fiscal challenges at all levels of higher education necessitate more operational efficiency.

2. A lack of qualified personnel

Following the 2008 recession, there was a boom in retirements, and today's schools and universities must compete with the commercial sector for new staff.

3. Decentralized computing

Many colleges lack interdisciplinary collaboration across campus due to diverse computing resources for research purposes.

4. Institutional risk

The complexity of maintaining growing larger infrastructures with the same or fewer IT professionals increases the danger of human mistakes, potentially resulting in IT failures or data loss.

5. Difficulties in streamlining administrative and IT processes

Different systems are difficult to automate because they require patch installations and software updates on a regular basis. This results in an unsustainable compatibility matrix.

6. Campus security

Student safety and a safe campus environment are important priorities for both parents and students. Demand for higher-resolution video cameras in buildings, dorms, and remote campus areas is increasing, forcing surveillance to the data center as institutions attempt to satisfy the compute, storage, and networking requirements of modern surveillance systems.

7. Shadow IT groupings that are decentralized

IT subgroups distributed around campus are frequently not held accountable to IT norms, objectives, and activities. These groups enhance the risk to the institution through a lack of compliance, security, and data protection, as well as the cost and complexity of supporting institutional activities.

8. Campus network security

Higher education has had the most security breaches of any economic sector, with over 500 breaches involving 13 million records since 2005 (Source: University Business August 2016). Cybersecurity risks and network security are always top issues for CIOs and CISOs.

Download DELL EMC's whitepaper to learn more about how to drive innovation and student success through digital transformation.