Author: Ernest Bricker

Leveraging Wi-Fi Analytics for Effective Space Utilization Planning in Universities

Posted on by Ernest Bricker

Universities are intricate organisms that continue to expand and evolve. Among the myriad of challenges they face, efficient space utilization stands out. An underappreciated yet invaluable tool for addressing this challenge is Wi-Fi analytics.

What are Wi-Fi Analytics?

Wi-Fi analytics involves the collection and examination of data associated with Wi-Fi usage within a designated area. This can include the number of unique users, their usage frequency and duration, as well as the specific zones within a facility where Wi-Fi usage peaks. When universities harness this data, they can gain insights into how their spaces are being used, which aids in making data-driven decisions about resource allocation and prioritization.

Benefits of Wi-Fi Analytics

Identifying Overused and Underused Spaces

One of the primary advantages of Wi-Fi analytics is its capacity to pinpoint overused and underused areas within a campus. For instance, let’s consider University A where Wi-Fi analytics revealed that a particular lecture hall was constantly filled to the brim. To accommodate the demand, they decided to add extra seats and enhance the sound system. Conversely, when they noticed a rarely used classroom, it was repurposed into a student lounge, increasing its usage significantly.

Optimizing Existing Spaces

Another crucial application of Wi-Fi analytics lies in the optimization of existing spaces. At University B, they found out that students prefer to gather in a specific part of the library. To cater to this preference, they added extra seating and resources in that area, resulting in increased student satisfaction and better space utilization.

Boosting Student Engagement

Understanding the way students use campus spaces and resources, universities can tailor their services to meet their needs and preferences. For example, University C observed through Wi-Fi analytics data that students tend to prefer group studying. In response, they created more collaborative spaces on campus, enhancing both student engagement and satisfaction.

Potential Challenges

While Wi-Fi analytics can bring invaluable insights, it’s essential to be aware of potential challenges, such as data privacy issues, technical difficulties, costs associated with implementation, and the need for staff training. Universities must take steps to ensure that any Wi-Fi analytics solution they implement complies with all relevant privacy regulations and that staff are adequately trained to use it effectively.

An Essential Tool for Space Planning

Wi-Fi analytics is undoubtedly a critical tool in space planning for higher education. It allows universities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their campus resources, providing essential insights into how their spaces are being used.

If you’re interested in exploring the potential of Wi-Fi analytics for your university, consider launching a pilot program. Reach out to professionals or organizations with experience in this field to understand what steps you need to take. The insights gained could be a game-changer in optimizing your university’s space and resources.

Ernest Bricker

Infrastructure Practice Lead

About Columbia Advisory Group

Founded in Dallas in 2012, Columbia Advisory Group LLC (CAG) is an established IT consulting firm renowned for delivering cost-effective, meaningful, and practical IT solutions that solve complex business problems. Our seasoned teams offer comprehensive insight across diverse regulatory and economic environments, providing unbiased, straightforward analysis and recommendations. We pride ourselves on our deep understanding of IT while remaining software and hardware-agnostic. Regardless of your organization’s growth trajectory or economic landscape, we at CAG are adept at adapting to your unique needs and complexity, offering tailored solutions to drive your success.

Contact us at info@columbiaadvisory.com.

Enhancing Higher Education: Why Microsoft Azure Active Directory is the Optimal Identity and Access Management Solution

Posted on by Ernest Bricker

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, safeguarding sensitive systems and user data is paramount for organizations of all sizes. Among the myriad options available, Microsoft Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) stands out as a web-based identity and access management solution. This powerful tool enables universities to efficiently manage user authentication, access control, and security across multiple cloud-based services. In this blog, we explore the compelling reasons why higher education institutions should consider implementing Azure AD for a comprehensive identity and access management system.

Strengthening Security with Advanced Features

Azure AD empowers organizations to extend their authentication processes beyond local accounts and into the cloud. By leveraging advanced features such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), two-step verification (2SV), and conditional access policies (CAP), universities can effectively shield users from unauthorized access attempts, both online and in physical locations. These additional layers of security ensure that only authorized individuals have access to sensitive data. Let’s delve into the actions of a potential hacker and how Azure AD can thwart their efforts:

  • Preventing Brute-Force Attacks:
    Hackers often exploit compromised password files from data breaches on the dark web to carry out brute-force attacks on email accounts. Azure AD mitigates this risk by emphasizing the importance of using unique passwords for each account, thus thwarting these malicious attempts.

  •  Safeguarding Email Accounts:
    By enabling MFA for email accounts, universities can prevent hackers from changing email passwords and locking legitimate users out. This adds an extra layer of protection to safeguard valuable information.

  •  Fortifying Phone Carrier Security:
    Hackers often exploit information found within emails to discover the user’s phone carrier and attempt unauthorized access. To counter this, implementing phone carrier services that require a phone call approval request for any account modifications can significantly bolster security.

  • Employing MFA Across Accounts:
    With Azure AD, universities can implement MFA for each account, ensuring that a stolen phone number or compromised email cannot be exploited to gain unauthorized access to intellectual and financial resources across various platforms.

  • Eliminating Account Takeover:
    By diligently applying MFA protocols, universities can prevent hackers from using texted or emailed codes to bypass passwords, change account credentials, and gain control over vital resources such as banking, social media, e-commerce platforms, and other essential services.

Seamless Integration with Third-Party Applications

Microsoft Azure AD seamlessly integrates with popular third-party applications widely utilized by higher education institutions, such as Google Apps, Office 365, and Salesforce CRM. This integration enables users to log in effortlessly using their existing credentials, eliminating the need to remember separate usernames and passwords for each application. By embracing the single sign-on capabilities offered by Azure AD, universities can streamline their authentication processes and enhance the user experience.

Enhanced Accessibility and Minimal Deployment Effort

As a web-based system hosted offsite within Microsoft’s own data centers, Azure AD ensures superior availability when compared to traditional on-premise solutions. Staff members can securely connect from any location and device, facilitating productivity and enabling remote collaboration. Additionally, most universities already have access to Microsoft tools like Office 365 and SharePoint Online through educational discounts, making the deployment of Azure AD a seamless process with minimal effort and cost for university IT teams.

Microsoft Azure Active Directory offers higher education institutions an ideal combination of scalability, security, and cost savings for effective identity and access management. By implementing Azure AD, universities can bolster their security posture, seamlessly integrate with existing applications, and enhance accessibility for staff members. With its robust features, Azure AD empowers universities to manage user permissions efficiently within and beyond the classroom environment.

 

Ernest Bricker

Infrastructure Practice Lead

About Columbia Advisory Group

Founded in Dallas in 2012, Columbia Advisory Group LLC (CAG) is an established IT consulting firm renowned for delivering cost-effective, meaningful, and practical IT solutions that solve complex business problems. Our seasoned teams offer comprehensive insight across diverse regulatory and economic environments, providing unbiased, straightforward analysis and recommendations. We pride ourselves on our deep understanding of IT while remaining software and hardware-agnostic. Regardless of your organization’s growth trajectory or economic landscape, we at CAG are adept at adapting to your unique needs and complexity, offering tailored solutions to drive your success.

Contact us at info@columbiaadvisory.com.

Unlocking the Benefits of Cloud Migration in Higher Education

Posted on by Ernest Bricker

Cloud migration modernizes an organization’s data, applications, and infrastructure from on-premises systems to the cloud. The initial process can be complex and time-consuming. Still, it can bring significant long-term benefits to universities and other educational institutions that allow them to focus on their core aims of providing quality education. One of the main benefits of cloud migration for universities is cost savings. On-premises systems require expensive investments in hardware, software licenses, and expensive skillsets to support the many diverse environments, as well as ongoing patching, maintenance, and support costs. In contrast, cloud-based solutions are typically subscription-based, which means that universities can pay for only the resources they use rather than upfront costs for hardware and software. This can result in significant cost savings for universities, especially those with large and complex IT systems.

Another benefit of cloud migration for universities is increased flexibility and scalability. The majority of CAG (Columbia Advisory Group) higher education customers only need their full compute performance a few weeks a year while the rest of the year their hardware runs at less than 20% of its capability. Cloud-based solutions can be easily scaled up or down on demand to meet these changing needs, which can be particularly useful for universities that only experience performance fluctuations during enrollment. Additionally, cloud-based solutions can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection, which is beneficial for students, faculty, and staff to access University resources and collaborate remotely. The Covid pandemic magnified the significance of educational institutions needing to support this capability.

Cloud migration can also improve the security and reliability of IT systems for universities. Cloud providers have robust security measures in place, such as multi-factor authentication and data encryption, which can help to protect against cyber threats and data breaches. In addition, cloud-based systems can be more reliable than on-premises systems, as they are typically backed by the redundant infrastructure and 24/7 support and can also scale to full parity, dependent on the criticality of the replicated system.

Finally, cloud migration can enable universities to take advantage of the latest technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. These technologies can improve a range of educational and research activities, from grading assignments and analyzing student data to conducting research and developing modern technologies.

In conclusion, cloud migration is an important consideration for universities looking to improve the efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and flexibility of their IT systems. By moving to the cloud, universities can realize significant benefits, including cost savings, increased scalability, improved security and reliability, and access to the latest technologies.  With tailored support from Columbia Advisory’s cloud experts, universities can ensure that their transition is smooth and secure. By leveraging the latest cloud technology, universities can equip themselves for a digital future and unlock all the benefits that come with it.

Ernest Bricker

Ernest Bricker

Director of Infrastructure Practice, Columbia Advisory Group