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Today, the cloud services are no longer a trend to analyze, but a reality to embrace. This article discusses its definition and scope, as well as its benefits for higher education.
Put simply, cloud computing means moving data and programs from local servers to the internet, providing users with the ability to access and share information at any time, from multiple devices. It also means procuring technology services, like infrastructure, applications, and platforms, via the internet— making IT more nimble and cost-effective, and less of a barrier to progress and innovation.
Cloud services computing is transforming the way institutions do business and serve constituents. And for higher education, it offers the ability to serve not just educators and administrators, but students, who bring their own technology devices, needs, and expectations to the equation.
Cloud services are growing importance to an institution’s strategy Cloud computing strategies are still largely determined by technology professionals—CIOs, CTOs, and IT directors. But increasingly, C-level executives from outside the IT realm are playing a decision-making role in this arena, including those responsible for high-value departments like recruiting, admissions, and fundraising. Chief business officers, in particular, see the cloud as an effective tool to manage costs and limit capital outlays across the institution.
But the cloud is more than a low-cost solution for scaling IT capacity. Savvy business leaders are using it as an engine for growth and maintaining a competitive edge. By removing typical IT constraints—such as long lead times for infrastructure improvements, limited resources for maintenance, and incompatibilities between systems and tools—
cloud computing frees businesses to focus on business strategy and innovation.
Thirty years ago, the first wave of computing was dominated by centralized mainframes with limited functionality and highly specialized users. In the 1980s and 1990s, more user-friendly systems were designed to serve the growing number of ‘average’ desktop users in every sector—as well as strengthen local area networks.
This period saw the proliferation of IT organizations devoted to steady-state operations and system maintenance.
In the last 10 years, the focus on IT-centric operations have shifted to a more user-centric, service-driven paradigm. Processes have been automated, services have been aggregated, and the technology platforms we depend on have
become more flexible and open.
Today, Internet-based services are ubiquitous, bringing low-cost, enterprise-level capacity to individual users. Driven in large part by the widespread adoption of mobile technologies, cloud services have evolved to support email, mapping, storage, photo sharing, collaborative tools, and more. Decision makers in every sector are bringing
their own personal experiences to the table when making decisions about how cloud services fit into their organization’s strategic priorities.
Computing itself is now personal. So, while in the past an organization may have allocated 80 percent of its IT budget to infrastructure and 20 percent to service delivery, today’s cloud inverts that paradigm. Increasingly, IT investments are designed to help organizations deliver better end-user services and empower its leaders to focus on strategy and growth.
Higher education institutions are rapidly embracing the potential of cloud technology to improve the way it serves both internal and external.
Already, nearly 70 percent of higher education institutions in North America have moved (or are in the process of moving) their email systems to the cloud. About 50 percent have adopted a cloud-based collaboration system to improve information sharing across campus.
Higher education institutions can now find the point solutions for student recruiting, talent management, research, administration, and fundraising in the cloud. Cloud-based enterprise-level solutions are also available, with several vendors offering financial management solutions.
Like businesses that are rapidly adopting cloud services, higher education institutions are seeking a better and more cost-effective way to implement IT services, without the burdensome cost of maintenance and upgrades. Like businesses, higher education institutions want to respond more rapidly to new opportunities, without taking months, or even years, to implement a business-critical software application.
And like businesses, higher education institutions want to realize the full potential of their data to better inform strategic decisions about the future. In spite of these similarities, higher education institutions have a unique culture and mission that affects how decisions about cloud computing are made.
Above all, higher education serves students. And those students come to campus with their own devices and expectations about how and when they want to use them. IT departments must now provide greater interoperability between campus and student platforms—24/7 access to secure, reliable networks and the ability to create, deliver, and share content campus-wide on any number of devices. Cloud computing is now as much about meeting student needs as it is about running an efficient campus.
Higher education finance models are complex and precarious, comprised of various combinations of tuition, philanthropy, investments, public funding, and research dollars.
Another piece of the puzzle is higher education governance, modeled on a participatory culture often precluding—or at least complicating—top-down decision-making. Seeking consensus takes time, especially when stakeholders
are dealing with decisions about where to allocate limited resources. In this environment, stakeholders need to fully understand the benefits of cloud-based services models.
When developing a cloud strategy, higher education can draw on certain general principles from the business community. But an effective and durable cloud strategy for your institution will require: creating a framework built around the needs of your unique stakeholders—from students to faculty, board members to alumni, engaging all
stakeholders early in the process, and developing an institution-wide cloud strategy that addresses IT challenges specific to higher education and your campus (as outlined below).
In our experience with IT professionals at more than 2,400 institutions around the globe, we see a common set of challenges that need to be addressed if IT is to remain relevant to the institutions it serves.
In an age of consumer technologies, smartphones, and social applications, expectations from all constituents—students, faculty, and staff—have never been higher. IT needs to provide quick, informed, 24/7 service, which requires a whole new service model.
Students are not just bringing one device to campus; according to a recent EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research (ECAR) the study, they are now bringing three or four. And in an environment where knowledge reigns supreme, ready access to content and to collaboration tools that enhance teaching, learning, and research is paramount.
The help desk of old, located on-premise and manned by an embedded support staff, is at considerable risk if it
does not evolve. More resources, faster service, and smarter tools are critical.
A shortage of skilled information technology workers has and will be a fact of life. When CIOs complain about the difficulty of hiring and retaining staff, they are not just angling for a better budget. Rather, they are responding to an ongoing demographic reality.
The challenge is also compounded by geography—institutions in rural areas have a hard time finding staff, while institutions in urban areas have a hard time retaining them due to fiercer competition. Ever-changing IT environments are yet another factor affecting staffing.
New solutions are developed every day, infrastructures needed to support these solutions are constantly evolving, and IT organizations are expected to respond with increasing agility to every new opportunity. Finding and keeping the right talent will be as difficult as it is critical to ongoing success.
IT organizations have been hit hard by new economic realities. Typically, the response has been to reduce staff or table more innovative programs in lieu of creating more responsive technology. Most technology professionals believe an IT refresh should occur about once every four years; historically that model has helped to lower costs
overall and increase productivity.
But an IT refresh requires significant capital outlays— a difficult challenge when trying to do more with less. Further complicating matters is the fact that many technologies on college campuses today did not even exist 10 years ago, which is when most IT governance policies were developed. Integrating new technologies into existing frameworks, as well as finding the capital to do so, is a high wire act for even the most experienced CFO or CIO.
Upgrading and maintaining application environments—whether core ERP or an integrated solution—is essential to the needs of user communities. Users continually require new functionality, regulatory updates, better automation, and speedier processing. For the IT department, upgrades can mean significant cost in project time, resources,
and training—all of which are hard to predict and harder still to manage. But the value that IT brings to an institution should rest on its ability to innovate, not simply maintain the status quo.
Funding challenges are still a reality, though we may be leaving the slash and burn era of 2009–10 behind. Sources indicate that slightly more than half of most higher education organizations saw moderate gains in IT funding after several years of decreases; close to a third of those institutions saw an increase of 10 percent or more.
That’s good news. But the study also reveals some important nuances. Increases vary greatly by institution type. Most notably for community colleges, with 51 percent still facing decreased funding. Where funding did increase, institutions applied 74 percent to operational budgets, indicating a shift in how IT budgets will be managed in the future.
While cloud strategies are not a panacea, they do offer IT organizations meaningful solutions, particularly when delivered by a vendor that understands higher education. A cloud service model offers benefits in four key strategic areas: capability, capacity, cost, and control. We call them the 4Cs.
In an environment where new technologies are introduced almost daily, and where the speed of adoption is critical to competitive advantage, the capability is key. Notre Dame CIO Ron Kraemer has identified at least 50 different cloud services running on campus, supporting everything from infrastructure to software applications to collaborative tools.
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are the hot trend of the hour; whether they become just another option in the toolkit or transform higher education is not a question we can answer today. What MOOCs illustrate, though,
is the need to scale services in ways that are not always predictable.
In a world that insists higher education graduate more students faster, it must be able to service new populations and changing needs more effectively. Cloud services provide intriguing new ways to do just that.
Do cloud services reduce costs? The short answer is “it depends.” It depends on what services you adopt, the service-level agreements you negotiate, and the resources you do or don’t reallocate as a result. It is clear, though, that cloud
services offer greater flexibility and predictability when it comes to costs.
As you investigate sourcing options, you will likely hear the phrase “own the base, rent the peak,” a reference to spikes in services like online registration. Sourcing one-time or user-dependent services in the cloud, while keeping base-level operations in-house, results in greater agility, speed, and cost control. In fact, the cloud can reduce infrastructure costs by up to 30–40 percent.
Another advantage of cloud services is the ability to shift certain capital expenses (CapEX) to operational expenses (OpEx)—since many cloud services function on a “pay as you go” model. This funding trend began as a response to severe fiscal pressures but has taken hold because it provides greater clarity and more predictable expenditures.
Cloud services provide a meeting point for CFOs and CIOs who are seeking both.
Moving services to the cloud do not have to mean giving up control. It’s true that higher education is generally risk-averse, which makes sense in an environment where data security and mandated compliance are top priorities.
Some IT leaders remain skeptical of being able to deliver the same level of security in the cloud vs. in-house But a cloud vendor often has more secure facilities and more rigorous processes.
Vendors can more rapidly implement the security updates needed to meet stringent compliance protocols. And, finally, while risks still exist, including the possibility of down time, clear service level agreements (SLAs) can help your organization manage and mitigate that risk with the same or more flexibility as you do now.
The question of whether or not to embrace the cloud has largely been answered—by students, faculty, and staff, who are already relying on cloud services each day. Higher education professionals in IT and well beyond are not asking if but when and how they can begin the transition.
That’s a sea change in how we perceive and practice technology. Managing that change requires a partner who understands higher education and the benefits the cloud can deliver to your constituents and to your mission. Contact Musato Technologies to learn more about our innovative ICT services.
An article by Saulo Bomfim
Gideon Ebonde M. is the CEO and Chief Software Architect at Musato Technologies. He is experienced Software developer with a demonstrated history of working in the information technology and services industry. He has a strong engineering professional skilled in Mobile Application Development, Enterprise Software, AI, Robotics, IoT, Servers, Cloud and business application. He is an accomplished DevOps software engineer and a visionary computer scientist and engineer.
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