Dive Brief:
- Campus Technology reports on the growing presence of cloud technology on college campuses and a new survey of IT officials who overwhelmingly project more growth for 2017.
- More than 81% of survey respondents say they will invest more in cloud technologies for email, data storage and collaborative research and teaching modules next year, and that the 35% of current campus cloud technologies may nearly double in the next five years.
- While most institutions are using cloud-based computing for data backup and smaller functions, some officials see full campus services moving to the platform.
Dive Insight:
Cloud computing appears to be a more efficient, cheaper alternative to current software and platforms for campus business, but the challenge for most schools is determining how these systems can be implemented and the amount of training required for faculty and staff to maximize their use.
Certain office suites often aggravate faculty and staff who are not accustomed to small changes like email chains and search, to big functions like virtual classroom management. Campus leaders should work with IT and academic leaders to determine current technical set-up, satisfaction with the systems, and needs which could be addressed by current vendors or better served by new providers.