Adopting a cloud-first approach can help universities to stay current and satisfy the expectations of today’s students. We explore how one top UK institution is looking to lead by example.
Students are now considered customers by many universities, so the service they get matters more than ever, particularly when the majority are paying hefty tuition fees. This service is increasingly facilitated by technology, whether it’s for accessing online learning resources, booking accommodation or using careers services. Behind the scenes, how universities manage data on everything from student wellbeing to academic performance also informs and elevates the student experience.
The bar has been set high for digital services by private sector organisations, such as banks and e-commerce platforms, whose laser focus on customer experience means younger generations expect a certain quality. They invest billions in improving and simplifying the consumer experience. So how can universities keep up with the times? We talk to David Cooper, Director of Cloud and Infrastructure at University College London (UCL), one of the world’s leading universities. He shares some insight into its journey and how UCL is looking to harness the capabilities of the cloud to improve and support the professional or academic journey of students, as well as researchers and staff.
Benefits of the cloud
The sudden pivot to remote working and distance learning at the start of Covid-19 was a wake-up call for universities. Traditionally slower to adopt digital transformations than some other sectors, they have had to lean into these more quickly.
“We did a lot of fast-tracking when the pandemic hit, as we had to respond to an unprecedented workforce and teaching model,” says Cooper. “We were fortunate to already be using Microsoft Teams but also needed to adopt other remote platforms, such as Zoom. Our virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) service was also already well adopted prior to the pandemic – but did need to grow quickly – and now runs in a hybrid architecture.”
Rather than relying on creating faster versions of old legacy systems, universities like UCL are migrating to off-the-shelf solutions. By adopting such user-friendly software, that is regularly updated by providers, they can improve front end services for their ‘customers’ and also make IT operations more efficient – with speed being one obvious advantage.
“At UCL, we’re trying to really refocus our attention onto what our users or customers need during their journey through our organisation,” says Cooper. “And the cloud gives us the opportunities to emulate some of that private sector capability. It alleviates traditional long lead times in IT, which means we can build things faster and deliver services much more quickly,” says Cooper. “It also allows us to be more agile and responsive.”
For the staffing teams working behind the scenes for the customer experience, it empowers them to focus on tasks of greater value to the organisation, he explains. They can spend more time developing the solutions and service applications, and less time on the IT aspects and underpinning platforms.
Another big boon is sustainability. Migrating to cloud-based solutions reduces environmental footprints, as it enables universities to store data remotely, reducing onsite square footage needs, energy costs and carbon emissions. According to a Microsoft-WSP study on the carbon benefits of cloud computing, it is up to 93% more energy efficient than traditional on-premise data centres, with greenhouse gas emissions 98% lower.
Keeping pace
UCL’s approach was to embark on a cloud-first strategy – almost two years ago now – which meant choosing software as a service (SaaS)-based products for its services, whether for an upgrade or something new.
First came an online learning platform, which gave the university immediate performance improvement and the ability to scale up and increase performance on demand. Since then, there has been a steady uptake of cloud computing platforms and they are now its primary offering, rather than on-premise computing.
Developments include a mobile app, UCL Go!, offering students everything they need to engage with in one place. “This has been driven by cloud enablement and it’s all about integration into the app,” he says. “Instead of students having to go to multiple websites to search for the information they want, it all appears in one place.”
“But we still have a long way to go,” adds Cooper. “Systems that have been around for a long time are still sitting in our data centre, running on virtual machines or physical tin. We are embarking on a programme now to migrate a lot of that up, both moving to SaaS but also in terms of databases and infrastructure.”
Cooper estimates UCL is around a third of the way from the end-to-end journey – but, of course, when it comes to digital transformations there is no real end, he notes.
Overcoming obstacles
A cloud-first strategy is not without its obstacles, however. Alongside legacy systems and data silos, there are other factors. One big challenge is around the funding model for cloud compared to on-premise services. “Universities tend to have a lot more flexibility in providing capital funds and activities and less so on recurrent operational budgets,” explains Cooper. With the cloud, universities are essentially buying a pay-as-you-go service, so it needs to be part of their recurrent budget.
“It is even more of a problem in the research world (which applies to any research organisation, not just universities), as these funding grants are still provided on a ‘build it now and here’s the money’ basis.”
So, what other issues might universities encounter when rolling out these systems and how can they be overcome? Integration and testing for data sets and different applications is a big one. Historically, with on-premise services, IT teams know where everything sits and how to move data around. “But multiple cloud vendors and SaaS platforms mean you need to find a new way to shift data around and you should think about how to do that very early on,” Cooper stresses. “It’s all achievable but it is a challenge to make sure you are doing it in a secure, consistent way, that isn’t too difficult for the application teams.”
Upskilling and augmenting
As with any leaps in technology or significant change, having the right people with the right skills, should be front of mind, says Cooper. People development was one of the main themes of UCL’s cloud strategy. But it’s a balancing act. “There’s little point training people 12 months before the change,” he explains. “Equally, you can’t wait until 12 months after, so you need to always ask yourself whether you are developing people at the right pace.
“And while it’s important existing teams are upskilled and informed as you go, part of the puzzle is bringing expertise in.” Cooper recommends augmenting existing teams, even for a short, targeted period – especially early on when changes are new and universities need to fast-track and get some early wins.
In Cooper’s experience, issues with digital transformations mostly arise due to poor communication. “Within IT, there are many different groups all working hard to deliver different aspects of a university’s services, and it’s very easy to forget to properly convey what is happening across the teams,” he explains.
Having a “central capability” helps, says Cooper. At UCL, there is now a cloud centre of excellence – comprising experts from different parts of the organisation, not just IT. These people all bring different skills and knowledge to the table, in everything from governance to business processes, architecture to security, compliance to risk, and from procurement to finance.
“This centre makes sure we have more rounded visibility,” explains Cooper. “It’s not a perfect science as it’s highly complex at times, but it’s important to involve people from right across the organisation in the cloud journey.”
As Cooper concludes, moving to the cloud can feel like a daunting mountain to climb at the outset. “But just start somewhere and involve everyone you can.”
We appreciate each university is different. But if you are transitioning to cloud or SaaS based solutions and need more tech people or other support, contact us today.