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Higher Ed–s IT Trends Reveal Challenges for “Going It Alone” — Apogee Sheds Light on Benefits of Outsourcing

AUSTIN, TX — (Marketwired) — 03/24/15 — Recent media articles that showed up in , and revealed that college and university IT departments are experiencing increased challenges in 2015 that range from adaptability, funding, support and talent scarcity. Even as schools face an increasing pace of change and unprecedented technology demands, they find themselves needing to do more with fewer resources.

Apogee agrees with EDUCAUSE–s vice president Susan Grajek–s comment in Inside Higher Ed that “the notion of going it alone and creating your own IT solutions is one that is something people will have to put behind them.” Apogee believes that colleges and universities will increasingly leverage outsourcing to stay competitive and relevant. As higher ed–s largest residential network (ResNet) provider and pioneer, Apogee today serves a fast-growing number of savvy universities and colleges who are no longer “going it alone.” Below are the top four benefits of ResNet outsourcing that some of our partner schools are experiencing:

With conflicting demands to focus on daily operations and yet be anticipating growth and trends like bring-your-own-device (BYOD), many administrators struggle to stay within allotted budgets. The Centenary College of Louisiana, however, has found a way to save money. Because of an early decision to outsource their ResNet to Apogee, Centenary has saved approximately $1.4 million over the life of their contract. As Apogee assumed the initial investment for both equipment and installation, Centenary was able to defer up-front capital expenditures, yet promptly set up a network that scales as technologies and student needs evolve.

The Edtech article titled “” cited a 2012 survey by the University of Montana that found that the main reason students chose not to enroll was the lack of wireless in its residence halls. Ithaca College takes it a step further. Having had success with Apogee in providing seamless Wi-Fi connectivity in the residence halls, Ithaca has partnered with the company to roll out campus-wide Wi-Fi throughout its 670 acres. Outsourcing enabled Ithaca to tap on Apogee–s deep expertise to efficiently provide students with the Wi-Fi access and bandwidth they need.

Acquiring and retaining IT talent remains one of the biggest challenges for institutions. Many schools search extensively for the right talent to support new technology initiatives and core services, but often struggle with finding the right fit. By outsourcing the network, Ithaca College solves a staffing problem too. According to Gerald Hector, Ithaca College–s vice president for finance and administration, “By tapping into Apogee–s higher education wireless expertise, instead of handling this major overhaul in-house, we estimate saving three years of staff time.”

Students today expect 24/7 support when connectivity issues arise. As most staff members keep regular work hours, most schools do not have around-the-clock support. For the students living at Birmingham-Southern College–s 36 residential buildings, however, the school provides 24/7 support for an unlimited number of devices, security monitoring, as well as boots-on-the-ground support from a dedicated full-time Apogee-trained campus coordinator.

“As IT departments at colleges and universities continue to navigate a challenging environment from both a budget and talent viewpoint, outsourcing has become a proven panacea,” said Chuck Brady, Apogee–s founder and CEO. “Since our founding almost two decades ago, Apogee has today become trusted ResNet partner for universities large and small, public and private. For future university partners in the decade to come, we look forward to applying our best practices in cost-management, scalable technologies and 24/7 support to ensure their success.”

Apogee is the largest, most innovative provider of on-campus residential networks (ResNet) in higher education. Partnering with Apogee for ResNet services allows colleges and universities to enhance their network infrastructure while offloading the growing volume of administrative responsibilities associated with managing a student network. This partnership allows IT, Business and Housing to focus on the mission-critical tasks of the university. Find out why nine out of 10 schools that outsource their ResNet choose Apogee at .