University Business - September 2010 - (Page 22)

VIEWPOINT What’s In, What’s Out Technology trends in the year to come By John A. Bielec T THE START OF EACH new year, we try to challenge conventional “business as usual” thinking with the question of how technology and other forces will disrupt “What’s In” as well as dictate “What’s Out” over the next 12 months. Disruption of the status quo via technological innovation can occur as a result of many forces, including necessity: we must change to survive; institutional budget realities; extraneous events; government and legal mandates; and new leadership. All of these forces are alive and well at Drexel University (Pa.). The biggest disruptive technological force over the past decade has been the move from “assets to access.” One no longer needs to own assets—data centers, servers, storage, or applications—to take advantage of high-tech services. Access to the internet is all that is required, with resources and applications a “click” away. Institutions, corporations, and even governments are busy following the lead of the consumer accessing new applications and moving as quickly as possible to the “cloud.” Interestingly, many university departments across the world have not yet adopted these “new realities” and still struggle in today’s resourceconstrained environment, delivering e-mail, web-based services, and other homegrown applications as they have done since the late ’80s. Student consumers—yes, students are consumers—have led this technological revolution. Internet “whiz kids,” often in college, have understood access is all that is needed to invent and innovate 22 | September 2010 A One no longer needs to own assets to take advantage of high-tech services. new application services. The billionaire list (before they’re 30) includes Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Sergey Brin and Larry Page (Google), Steven Chen (YouTube), and Mark Zuckerberg and Chris Hughes (Facebook). All have built consumer (and corporate) applications simply requiring internet access and a little intuition. If you have ever used Expedia, Orbitz, Kayak, or Travelocity to book travel; Amazon to buy books or eBooks; Hotmail or Gmail for e-mail services; or Google, Bing, or Wikipedia to research a topic, you have used application services via access without regard to the assets—where or how—to deliver them. Furthermore, the individual selection of application services quietly remains under the radar from those that may be “prescribed” by the institution. So, what’s in as we move to the second decade of the 21st century? MORE CHOICE Today’s students (and a growing number of staff) are digital and virtual natives. They expect 24/7/365 access to everything; instant availability of communication, information, and the social scene— wired and tired. They are expecting a quick response to anything asked and anything needed. Students will no longer rely on institutions or even colleagues to provide the tools to facilitate information consumption. The trend will be to expect the institution to respond to the priorities and choices that they, as individuals, have set. UBIQUITOUS PERSONAL MOBILITY Desktop machines have become anachronisms because place is no longer meaningful—the priority is having access to just about anything from anywhere. Today’s students carry fewer devices but enjoy increasing levels of interaction, connectivity, speed, and functionality. Their lives are integrated into the systems to which they enjoy instant and constant access. Their personal approach and unbounded mobility enable them to remain connected and engaged, almost without restriction—and that is the way they want it. Smart phones, iPads, eBooks, and Netbooks have become the norm as numerous vendors (AT&T, Verizon, John Bielec is vice president for Information Resources and Technology and CIO at Drexel University in Philadelphia. universitybusiness.com http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - September 2010

University Business - September 2010
Contents
Editor's Note
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Behind the News
Viewpoint
Financial Aid
Sense of Place
Internet Technology
Approaching Admissions Today
Three to Degree
Have College Brands Delivered on Their Promise?
Honoring Efficiency
EduComm 2010 Roundup
View from the Summit
Independent Outlook
What's New
End Note

University Business - September 2010