5 simple ways to streamline campus technology

Paige Francis, CIO for Information Technology Services at Fairfield University, shares five tips to prepare for a future of rapid technology growth

Somewhere along the line, it seems that higher-education technology leaders hit a development gap where the KISS principle was routinely ignored. The “Keep It Simple Stupid” adage states that “systems perform best when they have simple designs rather than complex ones.”

It appears this gap has coincided with significant advancements in technology, leading to near-immediate obsolescence—and resulting in an overabundance of clunky technology and an over-outfitting of space. In a nutshell, more has resulted in less. We oversupplied and over-indulged, and now many institutions are forced to maintain these cumbersome environments … or are they?

Here are five suggestions for getting back to the basics and streamlining campus technology.

1. Telepresence sounds fancy, but…

Unless you are a Fortune 500 company or a vendor for Walmart, it’s entirely possible that the amount of money you invested in an end-to-end telepresence unit could have been avoided. Between Google Hangouts, WebEx, and Skype, outfitting a small conference room that might get used a few hours a week with a five-figure telepresence package is likely overkill. Are you in the business of making conference calls? If not, you might not need a comprehensive “telepresence.” You most definitely don’t need two.

(Next page: More higher-education technology tips)