Welcome to July’s packed issue of Interface Magazine.
This month’s cover centres around Staffordshire University, one of the UK’s emerging tech powerhouses. We talk to Andrew Proctor, Director of Digital Services, at the university who talks about the massive digital transformation he has overseen there.
For a sector steeped in tradition, it’s perhaps not surprising that higher education has taken longer than most industries to wake up to the digitisation of operations and offerings that have disrupted virtually every other market. However, with rising customer expectation linked to increased fees, and a battle to establish points of differentiation in a highly competitive marketplace, higher education has had to respond to the changing needs of the client, and nowhere is that more evident than at Staffordshire University.
Andrew Proctor, is the man who has spearheaded a massive digital revolution in an attempt to truly harness digital. “If you compare higher education to a lot of the modern digital era organisations or companies, universities can be obsessed with physical assets such as buildings; a new building being a sign of a healthy university,” he explains. “Now, I’m not saying that buildings aren’t a part of that future, they absolutely are, but we are developing what we call a ‘clicks and mortar’ strategy that delivers the best of the physical and the digital. It’s that harmony between your physical infrastructure and your online presence.”
Elsewhere, there is a highly revealing interview with EnterSolar’s Edgar Lim, Vice President of Technology and Procurement, who explores how a sound procurement philosophy achieves growth in a “solar-coaster” market.
We also hear from Craig Stewart, Vice President of Product Management at SnapLogic, who addresses how tech can provide some of the solutions to the global skills gap. We also look at the advent of automated data centres and reveal the most influential blogs and resources for CIOs.
Plus, lots, lots more, including our guide to the world’s best events and conferences.
I hope you enjoy the issue!
Andrew Woods