Analyst Perspective

In the age of disruption, IT must end misalignment and enable value realization.

An institutional reference architecture can be used for a variety of strategic planning initiatives. It connects strategy to execution in a manner that is accurate and traceable, and it promotes the efficient use of organizational resources.

An industry reference architecture helps accelerate the strategy design process and enhances IT’s ability to align people, processes, and technology with key institutional goals, outcomes, and initiatives.

Using an industry-specific reference architecture is central to, and has many benefits for, organizational priorities. It is critical for understanding, modeling, and communicating the operating environment and the direction of the institution and, more significantly, for enabling measurable top-line institutional outcomes and unlocking direct value.

Institutions of higher education that leverage a validated view of their institutional capabilities to align initiatives, investments, and strategy are able to realize measurable top-line institutional outcomes and unlock direct value.

Mark Maby, MA, PhD Research Director for Education, Industry Practice Info-Tech Research Group

Executive Summary

Your Challenge

• You are a CIO, head of EA, or chief architect who needs to improve your organization’s understanding of institutional capabilities and how IT can support them.
• Your organization wants to sharpen its alignment and focus on organizational outcomes and value by using architecture to better inform innovation, stakeholder management, and IT strategy capabilities.
• Before executing any strategic initiatives, use this blueprint to understand the ways your organization creates value and the underlying capabilities and processes of your organization.

Common Obstacles

• You don’t know where or how to begin or how to engage the right people, model the institution, and drive the value of an architecture.
• The institution and IT often speak in their own languages, without a holistic and integrated view of mission, strategies, goals, processes, and projects.
• The institution and IT often focus on a project, ignoring the holistic value of an overarching value stream and institutional capability view.

Info-Tech’s Approach

• Build your organization’s capability map by defining your organization’s value stream and validating the industry reference architecture.
• Use institutional capabilities to define strategic focus by defining your organization’s key capabilities and developing a prioritized strategy map.
• Assess key capabilities for planning priorities through a review of institutional processes, information, application, and technology support of key capabilities.
• Consolidate and prioritize capability gaps for incorporation into priorities.

Info-Tech Insight

Using an industry-specific reference architecture is central to, and has many benefits for, organizational priorities. It is critical for understanding, modeling, and communicating the operating environment and the direction of the organization and, more significantly, for enabling measurable top-line organizational outcomes and unlocking direct value.

Industry Overview: Higher Education

The higher education industry consists of institutions of tertiary education, such as universities, colleges, and vocational trade schools. The primary activity of these institutions is to provide education that leads to an academic degree or a professional certification.

A complementary function of higher education is the pursuit of research, both theoretical and applied. This research is often conducted through partnerships with public agencies or private industry. Academics regularly collaborate across institutions, which is seen as mutually beneficial.

The higher education industry has a complicated revenue model. Student tuition is provided by both private and public funds. Governments often subsidize the tuition of students who are citizens within their jurisdiction. This subsidy may be paid to the institution or the students. Students themselves seek financial aid in the form of scholarships and loans to support their studies.

Institutions seek additional revenue by engaging alumni and the private sector in their mission. This activity is referred to as advancement.

Value Chain for the Higher Education Industry

(Sources: “611310 – Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools” and “611210 – Junior Colleges,” NAICS Code Descriptions, NAICS Association)

Institutional Value Realization

Institutional value defines the success criteria of an organization as manifested through its organizational goals and outcomes. It can be interpreted from four perspectives:

• Revenue generation: The revenue generated from institutional capabilities with products enabled by modern technologies
• Cost reduction: The cost reduction from institutional capabilities with products enabled by modern technologies
• Service enablement: The productivity and efficiency gains of internal institutional operations from products and capabilities enhanced with modern technologies
• Constituent and market reach: The improved reach and insights of the institution in existing or new markets

Institutional Value Matrix

Values, goals, and outcomes cannot be achieved without institutional capabilities

Break down institutional goals into strategic, achievable initiatives focused on specific value streams and institutional capabilities.