Top Ten IT Issues for 2015

First session today is on the top ten issues for IT as identified by the EDUCAUSE Issues panel, and then voted on by members.

Three trends:
Inflection point, curve of change has moved from thinking to doing.
From technical to business, the IT organisation is moving to much more delivering business value.
The new normal, we still have to deliver day to day services, but all of the challenges still coming at us.

Top 10 issues, by theme
Theme: Pervasiveness and pace of change reaches an inflection point

1. Hiring and retaining qualified staff and updating the knowledge and skills of existing technology staff

6 Increasing the IT organisation's capacity for managing change, despite differing community needs, priorities and abilities

9 Developing an IT architecture that can respond to changing conditions and new opportunities

10 Balancing agility, openness and security

Theme: from Technical to Business. IT's primary focus moves from the back end to the front end.

2 Optimising the use of technology in teaching and learning in collaboration with academic leadership including understanding the appropriate level of technology to use

3 Developing IT funding models that sustain core services, support innovation and facilitate growth

4 Improving student outcomes through an institutional approach that strategically leverages technology

5 Demonstrating the business value of IT and how IT can help the institution achieve its goals

Theme: The New Normal

7 Providing user support in the new normal - mobile, online education, cloud and BYOD environment

8 Developing security policies for mobile, cloud and digital resources that work for most of the institutional community


The second theme interested me the most, and is something I have been pushing for a while. It's the reason we've revised our Service Portfolio to demonstrate the range of services we offer, the value we provide and how we can help the university achieve its goals. Someone commented on it that it showed how much we do that isn't core IT. I think they meant it as a criticism, but I take it as a huge compliment! A mature IT department does so much more than keeping the infrastructure working, which is itself extremely important. Technology is pervasive, and touches every person and every area of our organisation. We need to be heavily involved in strategic initiatives, especially in the key areas of teaching and learning and research. It's all about building partnerships.

Interesting point to come out in the discussion, funding has been on the issues list since it began.....




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