Now is the time for higher education institutions to focus on innovation, with IT departments as key partners, if they want to differentiate themselves in the market and to survive, states new research from global analyst firm Ovum.
“According to Ovum’s 2015/16 ICT Enterprise Insights survey, increasing revenue and budget growth, improving operational efficiency, and reducing operating expenditure will be the top three business challenges for institutions over the next year,” said Navneet Johal, research analyst, education technology, Ovum and author of the research.
The report predicts three key trends that will impact the education technology market this year:
- More thought given to changing teaching and learning delivery models, particularly with regard to non-traditional programs and non-traditional students.
- Development of increasingly sophisticated student experiences to improve student retention and outcomes using CRM systems in combination with learning management systems (LMS) and student information systems (SIS).
- Serious discussion about next-generation IT strategy, including moving to cloud-hosted delivery and services to free up IT departments from maintenance of on-premise applications and services to focus on innovation.
Citing factors such as rising costs, declining affordability, disruptive technologies and for-profit competitors as reasons why institutions cannot remain static, the Ovum ‘2016 Trends to Watch on Education Technology’ report said they must assess the changing environment and take timely action in collaboration with IT.
