91制片厂

Adapt to Uncertainty With a Technology-First Action Plan for Higher Education

Analyst perspective

Cost cutting in times of crisis works; doubling down on innovation works even better.

CIOs in higher education occupy the one seat that spans every academic data stream, administrative workflow, and institutional control point, making them the first to detect how federal policy shifts, state funding cuts, changing regulations, and faculty shortages ripple through the university. Because each shock ultimately shows up as an information or process problem, the technology function is where early warning meets rapid response.

Fortunately, the tech-enabled tool kit can now neutralize these headwinds: hyperautomation absorbs compliance overhead from Title IX reporting and financial aid administration, Gen AI copilots close critical gaps in student services and research support, FinOps reins in cloud costs when state appropriations decline, and privacy-preserving analytics keep the institution compliant while still leveraging student success data for retention improvements. Acting now lets the CIO frame tech spend as an "institutional resilience hedge," unlocking efficiency and cost savings before the board defaults to blanket cuts. Proactive digital leadership today prevents passive austerity tomorrow 鈥� and no other executive is better equipped to lead it.

Mark Maby
91制片厂 Director,
91制片厂

Please note: This research was developed with the assistance of generative AI. For information about how, please see in the Appendix.

Executive summary

Common obstacles

For CIOs and IT leaders, these vulnerabilities present challenges to achieving their technology mandates

Funding cuts & enrollment pressures

Public funding for higher education continue to face pressure, forcing institutions to rely more heavily on tuition revenue during a period of demographic shifts. The predicted "enrollment cliff" affects traditional college-age populations, with institutions working to diversify revenue streams while maintaining academic quality and accessibility.

Federal policy & regulatory upheaval

Regulatory changes are affecting institutional operations. In the US, changes to civil rights, research oversight, and accessibility are contributing to a complex and dynamic compliance landscape. In Canada, Australia, and the UK, immigration policy on international student recruitment is decreasing student enrollment.

Academic mission vs. budget reality

Institutions are being forced to make difficult decisions between program cuts, faculty positions, student services, and technology investments. Unlike businesses that can pivot markets or products, higher education institutions must maintain core academic programs while adapting to financial constraints, creating unique operational challenges that traditional cost-cutting approaches cannot address.

Executive summary

Common obstacles

For CIOs and IT leaders, these vulnerabilities present challenges to achieving their technology mandates

Forced to be in crisis response

Based on IT maturity research, most organizations are considered Trusted Operators or less by their organization (91制片厂 CIO Business Vision diagnostic, 2024). Unlike corporate environments, academic institutions operate under shared governance models. When macro risks impact the institution, IT is left scrambling to maintain critical academic systems while innovation budgets are slashed to preserve faculty positions and student services.

Accessing critical IT skills & knowledge

Academic institutions must compete with private sector salaries using constrained institutional budgets, support both traditional IT infrastructure and specialized academic technologies, manage technology staff across both academic and fiscal year cycles, and provide faculty technology support that requires understanding of both pedagogy and research methodologies. Budget constraints make it difficult to retain skilled staff while new hiring is frozen.

IT sourcing & vendor complexity

Educational technology vendors have different compliance requirements (FERPA, accessibility, research data security), and many academic systems must integrate across complex ecosystems. Unlike businesses that can standardize on single platforms, academic institutions must support diverse technology needs across multiple schools, departments, and research programs.

Executive summary

Resolution

• ganization, Not Just IT
  Neutralize Uncertainty Now
• Fund Innovation by Cutting Costs
  Run IT by the Numbers
• Pursue IT Excellence
  Don鈥檛 Take Your Foot off the Gas
• 91制片厂 an Adaptive IT Workforce
  Lead at the Pace of Change
• Slash Your AI Transformation Timeline
  Deliver Impact Now
• Execute and Prepare to Pivot
  Adapt on the Fly

Info-Tech鈥檚 Approach

• Phase 1 鈥� Assess Uncertainties & Opportunities
• Phase 2 鈥� Review Budget, Staffing & Contracts
• Phase 3 鈥� 91制片厂 Your Technology-First Action Plan
• Phase 4 鈥� Get Ready to Execute!

Explore the entire suite of research that supports these pillars by visiting our research center IT鈥檚 Moment: A Technology-First Solution for Uncertain Times.

1. Lead the Organization, Not Just IT
Neutralize Uncertainty Now

1. Defuse Uncertainty Drivers: Understand organizational impact.
2. Lean Into the Curve: Apply Exponential IT.
3. Pick Your First Bets: Deliver use cases now.
4. Claim Your New Mandate: Technology-first or go out of business.
5. Get the Word Out: Tell the entire organization now.

Start by assessing the impact of global uncertainty on your organization. Develop and communicate mitigation options based on likelihood and immediate impact. Counter the global uncertainty with a technology-first action plan.

2. Fund Innovation by Cutting Costs
Run IT by the Numbers

1. Don鈥檛 Bet the Farm: Set the innovation budget.
2. Find Real Dollars Quickly: Cut costs now.
3. Demonstrate Technology Impact: Benchmark spend and shift.
4. Shorten the Cycles: 91制片厂 a flexible budget (finally).
5. Sharpen the Pencil: Renegotiate vendor contracts.

91制片厂 a significant cost reduction plan to free up budget, people, and resources. Overshoot any cost-cutting mandates and use the overage to fund innovation.

Only 20% of CFOs are happy with the impact tech investments make on their business (Rimini Street, 2024).

3. Pursue IT Excellence
Don鈥檛 Take Your Foot off the Gas

1. Get the Baseline: Understand your maturity.
2. Focus on What Really Matters: Improve your critical capabilities.
3. You Can鈥檛 Do IT Alone: Guide your team.
4. Enable Everyone: Provide tools and training.
5. Aim High Selectively: Leapfrog for impact.

Don鈥檛 let uncertainty derail your path to systematically pursue IT excellence. Focus on the capabilities proven to have the highest impact and leverage your team to execute.

85% of core processes are ineffective on average across all IT organizations (Info-Tech IT Management & Governance Diagnostic, 2024).

4. 91制片厂 an Adaptive IT Workforce
Lead at the Pace of Change

1. Knowledge Is Power: Stop the drain.
2. Drive Adaptability: Be it and teach it.
3. Lead the Pack: Autonomize aggressively.
4. Fill Your Gaps: 91制片厂 critical skills.
5. Win the Race for Talent: Money isn鈥檛 everything.

Global uncertainty is putting pressure on the workforce. As traditional skill procurement sources change, you need to prioritize retaining knowledge and developing in-demand skills from within.

IT positions that are going unfilled are costing organizations in the United States an average of $187 billion in lost revenue each year (CompTIA, 2024).

5. Slash Your AI Transformation Timeline
Deliver Impact Now

1. Just Do It: Deliver AI now.
2. Stop Saying No: Democratize AI.
3. Spend, Spend, Spend: Overfund innovation.
4. Have ONE Strategy: AI Strategy = IT Strategy = Enterprise Strategy
5. If in Doubt, Buy Over 91制片厂: Select the right vendors.

Agentic AI is here. Pivot from long-term transformation roadmaps to certain ROI delivery today, mostly leveraging vendor capabilities. Use freed-up funds to drive organizational outcomes.

CEOs believe that the researching and implementing AI is the top IT priority (Foundry, 2025).

6. Execute and Prepare to Pivot
Adapt on the Fly

1. Aim for Impact: Say yes to promising pilots.
2. Measure What鈥檚 Real and Fund What Works: Fund based on outcomes.
3. Let Things Go. Kill failing projects quickly.
4. Shatter the Org Chart: Match talent to impact.
5. It鈥檚 Not Bragging If It鈥檚 True: Share wins and failures.

Constant change means no time to slow down. Create mechanisms to successfully implement your action plan. Monitor the progress of your initiatives and adapt rapidly and in real time.

Institutions that accelerated their digital transformation reaped key benefits

• Improved graduation rates

  Western Governors University (WGU) increased graduation rates by 5 percentage points between 2018 and 2020 through predictive analytics and early interventions. (Source: McKinsey.)

• Enhanced student retention

  Georgia State University used AI-driven outreach to reduce 鈥渟ummer melt鈥� by 21%, helping more students transition from admission to enrollment. (Source: Deloitte, 2024.)

• Higher student satisfaction with IT service

  69% of students reported satisfaction with their institution鈥檚 technology services, with satisfaction rising to 85% at institutions perceived as tech-forward. (Source: EDUCAUSE, 2025.)

• Operational efficiency through AI

  Institutions using AI for administrative tasks reported cost savings and efficiency gains, with 74% of leaders stating that public-private partnerships (PPPs) offer superior services compared to in-house alternatives. (Source: Deloitte, 2024.)

• Support for diverse learning needs

  Flexible learning formats (e.g. hybrid, online, micro-credentials) are increasingly popular, especially among adult learners and nontraditional students, contributing to increased enrollment and persistence. (Source: EDUCAUSE, 2025 & Deloitte, 2025.)

• Digital maturity drives strategic prioritization

  69% of higher education leaders identified digital transformation as a top strategic priority, up from 50% the previous year, reflecting a growing institutional commitment to tech-enabled innovation. (Source: HolonIQ.)

Cost cutting in times of crisis works.
Doubling down on innovation works even better.

• Innovation outpaces austerity 鈥� While your peers and competitors look for ways to follow cost-cutting mandates, look for ways to demonstrate why investment in innovation will take the organization further faster.
• Starve waste, feed a revolution 鈥� Cut costs relentlessly now to avoid having to give up innovation budget, so you can transform the organization when it is needed most. It is through innovation that the organization will be exposed to new ways of generating organizational value.
• Technology powers smart decision-making 鈥� This is an opportunity to demonstrate to the organization that IT is not a follower, but a leader. Use your greatest asset 鈥� technology 鈥� and demonstrate to the organization how it can be used to enable better decision-making.
• Always be learning 鈥� The exponential rate of technology development and adoption means organizations will never close the skill gap again, especially for IT. Focus on establishing sustainable learning and development practices that allow staff to upskill and apply those skills quickly.
• Change is constant; struggle is optional 鈥� Change is inevitable, but it doesn鈥檛 have to be hard. Establish adaptive practices in your change plan to ensure that it remains on track and continuously moving in the right direction.