Outdated Platforms
Outdated and inadequately integrated platforms and disparate data impeded IT from delivering a seamless user experience
CIO ADVISORY SERVICES
IT Insights and Thought Leadership
Best-in-class guidance, insights, and thought leadership on technology strategy and operations.
CHALLENGE
Planning for the future
The problems facing higher education institutions are unique and require targeted, experienced guidance. Technology is evolving quickly, becoming more expensive, and presents greater risks and opportunities than ever to colleges and universities. Meanwhile, institutions are facing increasing demands from students, faculty, and staff for better access, more integrated, and easier-to-use technology, all while budgets remain flat and increasingly scrutinized.
Technology challenges facing today's higher-ed environments
User Expectation
Students, faculty, and staff expect Amazon or Uber-like interfaces, ease of use, and data integration, but get none of that.
Budget Constraints
IT is often viewed as a cost center rather than an enabler of institutional growth and success
Roadmap Clarity
Institution priorities often conflict with the reality of IT keeping the lights on, with limited budgets and resources.
Compliance
Institutions must meet strict requirements, including GLBA, FERPA, HIPAA, PCI DSS, NIST, GDPR, state privacy and breach-notification requirements
Expanding Risk
Cyber risk is often underestimated but increasing, with expanding department-level SaaS platforms being introduced.
SOLUTIONS FEATURES
Industry-specific Guidance
OculusIT’s CIO/CXO leadership practice was established to help institutions address today's technology challenges and build a roadmap to make IT an enabler of institution growth and success. The team of more than 20 C-Level executives delivers leadership and perspective, built from the collective knowledge of the team and their cross-institution visibility. We help you think about how your technology roadmap should evolve, and how to get leadership buy-in, putting IT at the center of enabling students, faculty, and staff.
Executive Reviews
Quarterly executive-level reviews of performance and accomplishments, compiled specifically with executive functions in mind.
Best Practice
Leverage the collective experience of the team to establish best-in-class operational and technology practices.
Strategic Roadmap
Create a strategic technology plan and roadmap that meets the unique needs of your institution.
Security Guidance
Recommendations based on the latest security changes and concerns.
Evolution Challenges
Ideas on new technology and how they can help you evolve your tech stack.
Data Governance
Tailored recommendations on data management and reporting.
Frequently asked questions
How does OculusIT provide this guidance?
This guidance comes through your fractional or full-time OculusIT CIO, often with access to other OculusIT team members for expanded capabilities. Your CIO is your go-to resource for the most up-to-date higher education technology trends, best practices, and overall guidance. For a sitting CIO, our fractional resource fills in the gaps in your bandwidth and/or knowledge. For organizations without a senior IT leader, we provide the capability needed to power your institution forward.
How is this different from other IT providers?
Our advisory services are designed for higher education and delivered by experienced higher education leaders. Rather than just offering general technology guidance, we can discuss specifics regarding your SIS, ERP, AI approach, or other technology initiatives. For example, we know which LMS modules work well with other platforms and can quickly guide your team through their implementation. We understand the problems facing higher education and gear our discussions and recommendations about what works best for institutions.
What if we end up needing functional experts too?
OculusIT has hundreds of professionals on staff with a broad range of experience in higher education, both functional and technical. Our internal functional experts can help by making specific recommendations, creating project plans, and implementing systems. If you want to work directly with those experts on a project, we can always build a proposal customized to the project and your goals.