Management

People Make All the Difference in Higher Ed IT Governance

Pay attention to the ways in which individuals shape, and are shaped by, your organization.

Twitter

Ryan Petersen has worked in publishing for more than two decades, most of it spent
creating award-winning content and strategy for CDW’s family of tech magazine brands. As
editor-in-chief, he works with his team to develop compelling and useful industry-focused
stories to share with the technology world. Outside of work, Ryan enjoys spending time with
his children, traveling, online gaming, and following Iowa Hawkeye sports and Cubs
baseball.

No matter how well established an organization is, people still have the power to make or break its success. From culture to customer service, from performance to policies, individuals influence the group in countless ways that shape organizational mission, strategy and execution.

The notion that people drive institutions is obvious, yet it seems especially true in higher education. Institutions serve and are supported by an incredibly diverse collection of individuals: young and not so young, educators and researchers in a fascinating array of disciplines, professionals of all stripes and, of course, students — themselves a diverse group.

Adapt and Pivot for Emerging Tech

The combined influence of all these people will determine the future of higher education. Institutions evolve in response to a complex interplay of factors: the changing needs of stakeholders, emerging technological capabilities, demographic and workforce trends. It may not always seem so, but all technologies are intricately tied to the people who deploy them. Virtualization simplifies data center management, which yields greater efficiency for IT pros. Data drives analytics, but we use the resulting insights to help students perform at their peak.

Effective institutions adapt to meet the needs of the people they serve. It’s one reason we are seeing such interest in the personalized experience: Wi-Fi deployments that allow sports fans to share their favorite moments, wearables that help students maximize productivity, virtualized desktop infrastructure that gives students the freedom to work when and where they choose.

Technology advancements have made these trends possible. The end goal is a learning environment that’s more effective than ever — designed by individuals, for individuals, to optimize their experiences. Can you do the same for your working environment? Look for opportunities to leverage individuals’ unique contributions, and create the conditions that are the most conducive to their success.

It’s often said that a college campus is like a small town. Ask anyone who’s lived in a small town what makes it special, and I bet you’ll hear a familiar answer: the people.

Rawpixel/Thinkstock