Kathy Gibson from the IDC CIO Summit, Sandton – 3rd platform technologies can be used in the real world to achieve higher-performing environments with a lower cost.
Ashveer Rajcoomar, CIO of Regenesys Business School, explains that the growing middle class means that education will battle to keep up with demand if its sticks with bricks and mortar solutions.
He says that worldwide, more students are starting to take classes online. “Education is not just about listening to a person, it’s about learning from everything around you.”
Regenesys aimed to reach students when it’s convenient to them, and in a way that they want to interact.
Extended CRM with social media lets users keep and check data while acting as an information engine offering communication and feedback outside of the corporate infrastructure.
By analysing usage, the organisation can determine when students are most able to study or attend live streaming sessions.
“For us, we didn’t add to cost in resources – in fact costs have decreased,” Rajcoomar says.
Regenesys also recognised the importance of mobility. Not only can exams be taken online, but so can assessments. Mobility also allows simulations, blended learning practices, personalised messaging and guidance – and it’s available at all times, in all places.
The cloud lets the organisation offer computer as a service (CaaS).
“We virtualised all our environments,” says Rajcoomar. “It’s less expensive and we didn’t want to be a bricks and mortar company.”
This allows Regenesys to manage loads on the fly. As an opex not capex environment costs are reduced; while global support centres reduce wastage and offer 24/7 help and tutor support.
“If you can also mine this data and manage communication to people, there are massive advantages,” Rajcoomar adds.