Educause recently published their Research Snapshot, Top 10 IT Issues 2016. We?d like to give you N2N?s perspective on some of these important issues, and our thoughts on how our Illuminate platform can help institutions address these areas.
First on the list is Information Security. This is a perennial concern, and is an area that has consistently, and justifiably, been a top issue for IT leaders. Concern is needed, as our interconnected world opens many avenues for malfeasance. N2N?s Illuminate platform can be an asset here, as one of its core value propositions is to make it easier for users to manage data interconnections between applications. Having a central platform with controls for data exchange and logging of transactions helps users understand where and to whom data is moving.
Educause states that technology leaders must work with academic leadership and faculty to Optimize Educational Technology. That is certainly true, and especially so in today?s fast-moving world where an institution?s perceived competitiveness can be tied to its ability to seamlessly integrate its administrative and academic technologies. N2N?s Illuminate platform has out-of-the-box adapters for many popular ed-tech (educational technology) applications, and also creates application programming interfaces to institutional data that can be leveraged by in-house developers.
Student Success Technologies are critical to improve educational outcomes. Leveraging technology means sharing data, and unfortunately, much institutional data is stuck in its own silo, and each time it needs to be provided to a new, innovative application, a customized interface must be written and maintained. N2N?s Illuminate addresses this by leveraging its core Enterprise Service Bus technology to convert a complex web of interconnections and a ?one-to-one? integration philosophy to a ?one-to-many? paradigm, helping an institution to be nimble in its use of changing tools.
Enterprise Application Integrations (#8)?are a key to efficient and effective institutional operations, and are the core value proposition of the N2N Illuminate platform. The Illuminate platform?s ready-to-use adapters for common educational enterprise applications makes it easy to connect legacy systems to its Enterprise Service Bus (ESB). This ?one-to-many? connectivity model allows technical staff to focus on areas where they add unique value to their organization rather than continually building and maintaining a mesh of ?one-off? connections.
It’s been a long time since we relied solely on phone calls and voicemail for communication. We’ve since grown into email, instant messages, conferencing, and video calls. Now there are more ways to get ahold of each other than there ever have been, and it takes certain technological know-how for an employee to juggle all these communications and respond appropriately. And if it’s a hassle for an end user to manage all their communications, then you can bet it isn’t easy for an IT department to deal with these systems in an simple and secure manner.
It may seem like a tough call to make, but unified communications are becoming a necessity for higher education institutions that want to encourage a culture of collaboration and innovation. Video conferencing is increasingly becoming a popular option, especially for schools with satellite campuses that are located miles away.
Imagine a situation when a voice call couldn’t quite communicate the concept at hand. Now imagine an easy solution, as the call switches to video and a visual demonstration allows the person on the other end to fully grasp the concept being presented. This really isn’t a radical idea, and it shouldn’t be a surprise that unified communications are improving collaboration and decision-making at campuses across the country. Voicemails can be accessed from email, documents can be shared remotely, and students can watch a lecture from a campus in another state.
This all sounds fantastic, but how do you integrate a diverse set of applications and systems, and truly unify your communications? At N2N, we’ve created the Illuminate Platform, a strategic and adaptable combination of technologies, starting with a flexible, reliable and secure cloud infrastructure platform. Rather than trying to find that one solution that does everything, the Illuminate platform was designed with the understanding that there is no one system that will address all institutional needs.
Illuminate gives you seamless and secure data transfer across all systems, even legacy and strategic programs that still run locally. It works as a central hub, linking everything together and taking data and transforming it into the format that another application needs. Illuminate is like a highway leading between several cities, bypassing the system of existing roads, ensuring smooth data transactions across applications.
At N2N, we pride ourselves on our educational background and expertise. Higher education institutions are not businesses that can be run like any other corporation. Of course, there are business elements to running a college or university, but at N2N we understand that higher education is about more than business, and we pride ourselves on being able to find solutions that integrate both business and academic applications. That way you can focus on providing your students with the best education possible, instead of your IT structure.
If you would like to know more about how our team and the N2N Illuminate platform can help your college or university, contact N2N Services today.
At N2N, our motto is “connect anything to anything,” and we are constantly leading the pack when it comes to higher education systems integration. Providing colleges and universities with a solution that interconnects their disparate data systems has always been our goal, and we’ve developed our Integration Cloud platform, called Illuminate, to do just that. Illuminate takes each data source and integrates them securely and affordably. But we want to keep pushing the boundaries of what our technology can do for higher education. We want to extend this data connectivity with a rich, in-depth, and interactive mobile application.
That’s why we’ve teamed up with Modo Labs. Together, we intend to provide a truly stunning mobile solution that allows students to connect to their financial data, course work, grades, and other information, while at the same time empowering them to interact with their teachers, advisors, tutors, and other campus activities. This innovative new platform is the product of collaboration between our Illuminate date engine and Modo Lab’s Kurogo, a mobile app assembly platform.
So who are Modo Labs, and why is this partnership so transformative for higher
education? Based out of Cambridge, MA, Modo Labs provides a complete mobile solution that empowers ordinary people to create their own applications. These types of mobile capabilities used to only be the domain of mobile developers and expensive consultants. Now, Modo Labs Kurogo Platform gives non-developers an outstanding app assembly system with powerful mobile implementation and development capabilities. The secret is in Kurogo’s combination of data access, pre-built functionality, and ease of use. Today, creating mobile apps for campus is no longer out of reach for non-technical staff or business owners.
And how does this platform fit in with N2N’s Illuminate data engine? Well, the combination of the two allows a massive simplification in the mobile app building process. Illuminate integrates and allows access to the multitude of different data sources in a university system, while Kurogo quickly and easily mobilizes them into a well-developed mobile experience.
Stewart Elliot, Modo Labs CEO said, “We are excited to partner with N2N Services. The combination of the two platforms makes it easier than ever for Universities to provide the comprehensive mobile experience that students expect. Students will be able to easily accomplish even more important tasks on their mobile phones, including the ability to perform direct transactions in virtually any student information system, such as class registration, yet do so as part of an advanced, interactive and rich mobile experience.”
This combination of higher education technology is a major development for colleges and universities around the country. At N2N, we understand the importance of easy-to-use technology in campus life. Today’s students are used to instant access and in-depth mobile apps. Our partnership with Modo Labs provides these institutions with the best of both worlds: secure enterprise data access, and an unsurpassed front-end mobile experience.
If you would like to hear more about our partnership with Modo Labs, and how your college can benefit, contact N2N Services today.
“N2N Services, Inc., a leading platform provider for Higher Education systems integration, andModo Labs, a Cambridge, MA based provider of the leading mobile engagement and campus platform for universities and enterprises, announced a partnership that will deliver an innovative mobile application technology solution to institutions of higher learning. With this partnership, N2N Services and Modo Labs will give their clients and the marketplace a comprehensive, secure and affordable platform to integrate disparate data systems, and extend this data connectivity with a beautiful, rich and interactive mobile application.” Read the rest of our press release here.
Today, students are used to accessing data and resources via mobile platforms anytime and anywhere, and they don’t care to know the inner workings of the systems. The Modo Labs and N2N partnership allows the students to access their enterprise resources, campus feeds and critical information securely through their mobile device, stated Kiran Kodithala, CEO and President of N2N Services. Students, Administrators and Faculty at campuses have been looking for a comprehensive mobile app that they can use for student engagement and student success. This partnership gives institutions of higher education the best of all worlds. While N2N provides secure enterprise data access, Modo Labs offers the best-of-breed front-end mobile experience that makes it possible to quickly leverage that data on any device.
This partnership allows students to access their enterprise resources, campus feeds and critical information securely through their mobile devices. Students, administrators and faculty have been looking for a comprehensive mobile app that they can use to engage students and give them the tools and information they need to succeed. This partnership gives institutions of higher education the best of all worlds; N2N provides enterprise data access while Modo Labs provides the rich, easy-to-use and impressive front-end experience.
When cloud computing burst onto the scene, it took a while for businesses to see the possibilities. What exactly was this new technology? Was it safe? Was it practical? Was it cost-effective?
As people began to use and understand the cloud, they saw that the answer to all their questions was a resounding yes, that using cloud applications was no different from using locally installed applications. The cloud allowed businesses to easily store and access data and applications using any device, without having to deal with expensive hardware purchases. This boosted productivity and efficiency, while driving down costs.
Here at N2N Services, we give schools access to all the benefits of the cloud via our N2N Integration Cloud.
But that?s not all that NIC does.
Evolving technology allows us to view cloud-based systems as consolidated platforms rather than single applications. This has led us to the concept of the iPaaS (Integration Platform as a Service.?). And that?s exactly what the N2N Integration Cloud is.
Organizations use iPaaS as a central hub to integrate every single one of the applications they use ? whether cloud-based or on-premise.
So for example, if an institution has a legacy system in place on-premises, and also uses a few cloud-based SaaS applications from different companies – and needs the flexibility to add even more applications in future ? iPaaS creates a single, simple platform through which data can pass between any and all of those systems. But even better, iPaaS acts as a translator for each application, fully integrating all of them so that communication between them is seamless.
This is what NIC does for schools.
Using iPaaS means there is no hardware to install in many cases, except as may be required for some types of system connections. It means that there is no on-premises middleware to manage and support between applications or between school and system. Our “concierge approach,” leveraging the iPaaS means we provide application integration as a service, with no lengthy training required for implementation. It simply and elegantly integrates all application data into one central system.
One ?dashboard in the NIC allows administrators to view and monitor transactions that pass through the system?to ensure that information input into any one application will instantly be shared with all other participating applications as well, so that all systems are always up-to-date and coordinated.
All this sharing and communication does not, however, translate into less data security. On the contrary, an iPaaS allows for central management and monitoring of data transfers, helping to ensure compliance with all regulations.
What it does translate into is the ability to reallocate human resources to tasks more important than simple data transactions, or as we like to say, “transaction herding.” No longer will employees need to update several different systems with new data, or search through several different applications to find information. iPaaS automates those tedious tasks, freeing up resources for other projects.
The N2N Integration Cloud is an iPaaS offering designed specifically for educational institutions. We here at N2N Services understand the unique needs of educational institutions, and have created a system that applies the latest in enterprise technology to the world of higher education. Contact us today for more information on how the N2N Integration Cloud works, and how it can benefit your school, your faculty and staff, and your students.
When you visit our Site, we collect identifiers about you, including your IP address, and use cookies to improve our website performance,
deliver a more personalized experience, and to analyze our traffic. By continuing to browse our site, you accept our Privacy Policy.OkPrivacy Policy
