University
Consulting & Development
A university faced a surge in student enrollment and a need to expand its infrastructure and technology systems to support this growth. To ensure that resources were allocated effectively, the university sought an independent consultant. Blue Tree was brought in, following a referral from a satisfied client, to assess and unify technology strategies across the institution, which included over 30 distinct departments.
Client Profile
Industry Segment: Higher Education
Founded: 1901
Employees: 2800
Headquarters: United States
Market Presence: Regional & National
Specialties: Agriculture, Business, Engineering, Liberal Arts, and Research Innovation
The Challenge
Breaking Silos to Build a Unified Strategy
The university’s leadership team faced fragmented perspectives and conflicting priorities across departments, hindering cohesive decision-making. With departmental silos in finance, HR, and technology, there was a lack of a unified strategy to align technology investments with broader university goals. Moreover, the university had implemented ad-hoc technology solutions during the pandemic, creating gaps in standard governance and continuity planning. The university required a comprehensive assessment to identify modernization opportunities and align technology with its mission for student and operational growth.
The Solution
A Comprehensive Assessment for Strategic Alignment
Blue Tree conducted an extensive assessment, interviewing over 75 stakeholders across the university’s departments. This approach included:
- Round One Interviews: Initial discussions to understand departmental needs and technology usage.
- Documentation Review: Validating processes and examining tools, network maps, and architecture to identify technology gaps.
- Round Two Interviews: Further discussions based on best practices and industry standards, evaluating staff capabilities, tool adequacy, and process efficiency.
- Thematic Analysis: Organizing findings into key themes such as resource allocation, outdated tools, and governance strategy to highlight improvement areas.
Blue Tree provided an extensive report with detailed recommendations. The report outlined immediate actions for the next fiscal year and long-term plans for further modernization and consolidation.
The Results
A Strategic Roadmap to Modernization and Growth
The assessment provided the university with clear recommendations, prioritized for re-stablishing governance and developing a strategic roadmap to close the gaps identified to the future desired state. The assessment findings and recommendations were aligned with the following key themes:
- Unified Leadership Strategy: By fostering a unified approach, the leadership team gained insights into cross-departmental dependencies and investment priorities.
- Streamlined Technology Systems: Recommendations focused on identifying outdated and redundant systems and tools where investment would provide a financial return for consideration by the new governance body.
- Enhanced Planning: A phased roadmap empowered the university to tackle pressing issues within 12-18 months and plan for strategic improvements over several years.
This structured approach equipped the university with actionable insights, allowing it to confidently invest in technology that supports both current needs and long-term goals.
