Back to School in the New Technology Landscape

This fall will introduce a new era of computing to the Chief Academic Officer, one shaped by consumer choice rather than the mandated standards of the university. First, each university must determine its response to the rapid adoption of applications available for smartphones . The iPhone has reformed the landscape of customer expectation through what's possible with applications. The student once happy with out-of-the-box student systems has been exposed to the 65,000+ applications available in the App Store and wants a portfolio of choices that complement his/her lifestyle.

The next product to impact the university technology landscape is the Amazon Kindle, the first highly successful eBook reader. A number of universities are reviewing how the Kindle fits into their environment. Students are vocal about the increasing cost of tuition and textbooks. The extended recession with high unemployment is simply fuel to the fire. University administrators are questioning the traditional methods of acquiring textbooks and are looking at partnerships with publishers. The transition to e-textbooks will be much easier to accomplish technically than it will be able to accomplish politically with the faculty.

The next technology to watch this fall is the cloud offerings from Google and Microsoft. Until a month ago, Google was the outright leader in this area. Google had experienced great success with Google mail (gmail), Google Apps (word processing), Google talk (IM and Voice) and Android (smartphone OS). In July, Microsoft answered Google with Microsoft Office 2010. The new offering has two components: the first is the traditional upgrade to Microsoft Office that has happened every three years for the past 15 years. The more exciting announcement was the offering of Microsoft Office 2010 online for free. We have all been aware of Microsoft Live services available online for the past three years and have considered the product equal to Google Apps. The real difference maker with Microsoft Office 2010 is it will blend the traditional desktop with cloud computing transparently. Microsoft will have an advantage in building on the skill base of millions of students who have used its traditional office products throughout their existence. Microsoft’s vision of cloud computing will have several real advantages and was good enough to level the competitive playing field with Google.

So what do you and your CIO do for the fall with limited budgets—that is the real question. The most important thing you should expect out of your CIO is a two-year vision on where he/she is taking your university. The vision must be comprehensive and include the needs of the faculty and students. You must see a clear road map for commitment to Google or Microsoft. The plan must address the steps your university is planning to take with cloud computing and the partnerships that will make the transition possible. Students will demand that your university address mobility and will expect a response to applications that will make their university experience relevant. Don’t forget to include all the traditional IT expenses that seem to be growing rapidly.