In 2018, the EDUCAUSE Enterprise IT Program is examining the concept of next-generation enterprise IT. The second set of materials for that topic describes resources that help IT leaders communicate the strategic value of enterprise IT systems and services.
The 2018 focus for the EDUCAUSE Enterprise IT Program is on preparing the institution for next-generation enterprise IT. (Read about our plan for the year.) As we prepare new resources for this topic, we will publish them on the Enterprise IT Program web page. In our second set of content for the year, we look at the opportunity presented by system migrations and implementations for IT leaders to communicate with their campuses about the value of enterprise IT.
Next-generation enterprise IT is characterized by a movement away from modular, transactional systems and toward an environment made up of multiple interconnected systems. The IT ecosystem is shifting to one that includes a mix of cloud and on-premise solutions and services that individually and collectively contribute to advancing institutional mission and goals.
As this ecosystem becomes more complex, it can be harder for stakeholders to understand the relationship between these many systems and the strategy of the college or university. Enterprise systems tend to be a major institutional expense. Even when the system purpose is obvious (for example, it's clear to most people that you need a student information system to keep track of all those students), the connection to and impact on institutional strategic goals can be less clear. A system migration or implementation is a time of focus on the service provided. IT leaders can take advantage of that time to clarify the role the service plays in advancing the institutional mission. The clarity of the connection between the work of IT and institutional mission and goals is a hallmark of next-generation enterprise IT.
Across the enterprise, institutional leaders are trying to make the best decisions about resources, investments, and progress toward goals. The IT leader needs to be able to communicate clearly and effectively about the value that enterprise systems and services bring to the institution and the impact on goals across the institution. The conversation needs to move beyond "what does it cost" to get to "what impact does this service have on the institution's goals?" This is not an easy conversation. It's difficult to determine the full cost of a technology service at an institution, and defining its value is arguably no easier.
It's important for the IT leader to go into these conversations with a clear understanding of how the service in question impacts institutional goals and strategies. This kind of conversation requires listening skills, an understanding of the needs and goals of the institution, and an alignment between IT and the overall institutional strategic initiatives.
This next-generation approach to enterprise IT thinking can be seen as an opportunity for IT to act as a strategic partner within the institution, going beyond the delivery of technologies and services to the integration of technology throughout the institution, adding value in a direct relationship with mission and goals. This work requires that IT staff develop a deeper understanding of business-unit needs and institutional culture in order to position enterprise services to fully support and enable those institutional goals.
The Enterprise IT Program has compiled resources that can help. A new web page devoted to using system migrations to communicate about enterprise IT value provides access to a curated set of relevant materials, including research studies, working group papers, benchmarking information, and recent articles from leaders within the EDUCAUSE community. Because the work of communicating about value goes far beyond the IT department, you will also find links to resources from other professional associations such as NACUBO (the National Association of College and University Business Officers). The new resources also include case studies that describe how IT leaders at Bentley University and Calvin College are developing communication strategies around system migrations.
We hope you find these new resources helpful. Send us your questions and your suggestions by contacting [email protected]
If you have a story to tell about your own institution's work in the area of next generation enterprise IT, or if you have suggestions or questions about the Enterprise IT Program, please contact Betsy Tippens Reinitz at [email protected].
Betsy Tippens Reinitz is the director of the Enterprise IT Program for EDUCAUSE.
© 2018 Betsy Tippens Reinitz. The text of this work is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 International License.