Business Intelligence

Can you believe it? I’ve been writing this column about digital marketing in higher education for seven years.

So much has happened since February 2006. Together we’ve witnessed the first blips of Web 2.0, the development—and demise—of many social networking platforms, and the rising tide of new media that later turned into the social media tsunami. Over the past seven years, we’ve also seen the end of the desktop browser compatibility war, the start of the battle for the mobile and responsive web, and growing interest for digital analytics in higher education.

With campus leaders looking to streamline operations and save resources, electronic payroll options are very appealing. The printing, envelope stuffing, and mailing costs associated with paper checks make them an administrative burden, says Anthony Peculic, senior director of product strategy at ADP.

Though using outdated manual systems can hinder achieving maximum accountability, compliance, and transparency, many higher education institutions are still using such systems to track time and attendance for their workforce. Introducing an automated workforce management system instead can increase efficiency and maximize productivity and funds. This web seminar, originally broadcast on December 4, 2012, featured the University of Georgia, which realized many benefits after implementing a campuswide automated workforce management system.

At The Ohio State University, the term “master plan” is obsolete. That’s because what traditional master plans often lack—input from an institution’s academic and finance folks—are an integral part of the One Ohio State Framework Plan, shares Amanda Hoffsis, senior director of physical planning.

When the PT Kizone factory in Indonesia went out of business in January 2011, 2,800 people lost their jobs. Most of the factory’s international clients fulfilled obligations to pay into a $3.4 million severance pool for the workers. One company that did not is sports apparel maker Adidas. As of mid-December, Adidas had refused to pay $1.8 million dollars owed to the workers.

UBTech 2012 and 2013 presenter Daniel Rasmus is a strategist who helps clients put their future in context. Rasmus uses scenarios to analyze trends in society, technology, economics, the environment, and politics to discover implications used to develop and refine products, services and experiences. Previously, Rasmus was the director of business insights at Microsoft, where he helped the company envision how people will work in the future. He managed the Center for Information Work, an immersive experience that helped Microsoft’s customers experience the future of work first-hand.

The academic advisors working at University of Oklahoma’s College of Arts & Sciences were operating behind the times. While the students were using technology in every aspect of their lives, the college’s academic services office—which handles more than 8,000 student records—was still hopelessly ensnared in a traditional paper system, says Rhonda Dean-Kyncl, assistant dean for academic services.

Mobile technology has certainly made life more convenient, allowing employees to work and stay connected from almost anywhere. At the same time, because these devices are so portable and are often used by accessing public wireless Internet, they’ve made life a little less secure.