Austin, TX and Emory, VA, January 10, 2018 – Apogee, higher education’s largest provider of managed technology services, was recently featured in December’s issue of Business Officer Magazine by Emory & Henry College as a critical partner to achieve their strategic plan. Through this partnership, Emory & Henry has upgraded their entire campus with cutting-edge wi-fi, a dedicated campus life channel to distribute college content, a fully-branded IPTV service, and 24/7 support resulting in a platform and service that will enhance teaching, learning, research and the overall campus experience.

The article, titled “#DareToGoDigital,” Rick Gaumer, Vice President of Finance and CFO at Emory & Henry College, shares how many of today’s college and university chief business officers are hesitant to involve themselves in technology decisions on their campuses. However, as technology is becoming exponentially more advanced and costly, CBOs are putting themselves and their institutions at a huge disadvantage. Here are 4 key takeaways from Mr. Gaumer’s article to succeed in technology:

1. View technology investments with an ROI mindset – Emory & Henry was losing prospective students because their technology infrastructure didn’t meet student expectations. By choosing a managed provider to implement and manage the solution, Rick was able to more than recoup the investment with increased enrollment. Attracting and retaining students who might have otherwise left or never applied due to poor technology can add to those positive numbers.
2. Think five to 10 years into the future – For many institutions, it could take a year to get funds approved for technology upgrade and another year to implement. By that time, the proposed solution can be outdated.  It’s important to thing long-term so infrastructure can be easily scalable so there is no downtime that can affect student satisfaction.
3. New equipment does not equal new solution – Prior to choosing Apogee, Emory & Henry worked with local providers for new equipment. Despite spending over $1M on new access points and cabling infrastructure, the issue was not resolved. By choosing a managed provider, Emory & Henry was able to prepare for future innovation and provide premium 24/7 support, further increasing student satisfaction.
4. Technology is especially important for small, private institutions – Higher education is undergoing a huge transformation where small, liberal arts institutions are struggling with driving recruitment numbers up. These institutions also have limited IT staff, forcing their IT department to focus on small reactionary wins versus proactive learning-centric initiatives. By partnering with Apogee, Emory & Henry’s IT staff are able to focus on mission-critical IT such as research and learning which continually set Emory & Henry apart from other similar institutions in the area.

“The foundation of our business is helping colleges and universities harness technology to drive their strategic initiatives,” said John O’Brien, Regional Vice President of Apogee. “We are extremely proud of our work with Rick Gaumer and believe more CFOs should take a similar mindset to technology to future-proof their campus and drive the entire campus experience.”

Rick Gaumer’s full article was published in the December issue of Business Officer Magazine and can be read here.

About Apogee

As higher education’s largest provider of managed technology services, Apogee helps colleges and universities transition to and excel in today’s digital era. Its comprehensive Managed Campus Suite includes ResNet services that connect the campus to enhance learning outcomes, video that transforms the way students learn, and new digital engagement technologies that captivate students. Partnering with Apogee enables schools to derive greater return on their IT investments and increases student satisfaction while achieving budget stability and predictability. Find out why nine out of 10 schools that choose to outsource ResNet and video choose to partner with Apogee at apogee.us.

Media Contact

Sharon Y. Sim

Sharon@sim-krause.com

415.420.1889