Dive Brief:
- Higher education institutions have more data thrown at them than ever before with extra devices on campuses and new data sources, making a strategy for analyzing big data especially important.
- Information Age suggests starting small and building momentum through early victories that can propel fledgling teams to bigger roles in a campus community that respects data and its role in decision-making.
- Long-term thinking with defined desired outcomes helps build a cohesive strategy that should include key technology partners that provide support for an entire sustainable data analytics workflow.
Dive Insight:
The pace of technological innovation is sometimes staggering, making it hard to convince oneself that major investments are worth their cost. The next big thing, after all, may be out in six months. The “finding good partners” tip from Information Age gets to this point. College and university IT professionals must work with companies that are committed to flexibility and innovation of their own. Figuring out how to incorporate existing infrastructure into new strategies is key.
Using big data for decision-making is bound to create cost-savings throughout the organization. When it comes to justifying purchases, proving they can pay for themselves certainly helps.