Higher Education Mobile Application Buyers Guide. More than a simple app It s time to embrace a mobile strategy

Higher Education Mobile Application Buyers Guide More than a simple app It s time to embrace a mobile strategy

Mobile is ubiquitous. It s fast moving. It s in demand. In addition to being nimble, your mobile strategy and solution need to be comprehensive and sustainable. Here are five fundamental requirements for bringing a long-term mobile solution to your campus. 1. Without integration, it s not really mobile 2. Serve all your mobile users, not just students 3. Sync mobile priorities with IT capabilities Want a quicker read? Jump to the checklist on the last page. 4. Calculate the real cost behind the cost 5. Build a sustainable solution 6. Buyers-guide checklist 2

1. Without integration, it s not really mobile Integration with enterprise systems is a step that most mobile initiatives will have to take sooner or later. EDUCAUSE 3 Mobile users expect much more than baseline apps like campus news and bus schedules. Outside of campus life, they are making purchases and depositing checks on their mobile devices. Likewise, they want to complete transactions for higher education on their phones and tablets, and they want a smooth user experience. According to EDUCAUSE, Users increasingly expect that mobile apps will allow them to do virtually everything their laptops can do (if not more), in a smooth, integrated experience. 1 Building apps for directories and maps is pretty straightforward. Enabling students to register for classes and pay their tuition bills from their phones and tablets is much more complex. It requires seamless single sign-on access to external web applications and core enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications, and appropriate levels of security. Providing this desired state can only be achieved with native integration with your ERP the complex core of all your student data and transactions. Enabling seamless two-way data transfer between your mobile solution and your ERP requires extensive knowledge of both solutions and integration expertise. Without this, you will likely have costly and complex one-off custom integrations that are not sustainable and that deliver an inconsistent user experience. Why take on all this work and risk when solutions for native integration between your ERP and a robust mobile solution are available off the shelf? Mobile is hot and growing, but users still spend a considerable amount of time on their laptops and PCs. According to Think with Google, 24 percent of interactions occur on PCs or laptops. 2 Total and seamless integration is the ticket to letting your users choose the screen that is most appropriate and comfortable for them. 1. 7 Things You Should Know About Mobile App Development, EDUCAUSE, April 2011. http://www.educause.edu/library/resources/7-things-you-shouldknow-about-mobile-app-development 2. The New Multi-Screen World Study; Think With Google, August 2012. http://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/research-studies/the-new-multi-screen-worldstudy.html 3. 7 Things You Should Know About Mobile App Development, EDUCAUSE, April 2011. http://www.educause.edu/library/resources/7-things-you-shouldknow-about-mobile-app-development 3

2. Serve all your mobile users, not just students Traditional students are not the only ones hooked on mobile devices. Your faculty, staff, and administrators depend on them, too. And don t forget your external audience. Prospective students, campus visitors, donors, community members, alumni, parents, and businesses want apps to interact with your institution. If your mobile solution is designed around your learning management system, you are neglecting a large portion of your population. Integrating it to your ERP gives you the flexibility to deliver self-service applications, like gift giving, to all your current and future users. Also, a single mobile solution makes it easy for users to find and take advantage of all your mobile apps; they won t get lost in the clutter of the app stores. Multiple downloads, especially those with a fee attached to them, generate bad feelings toward the institution and lead to lower usage. Providing native applications delivered through your institution s app also lets you optimize the mobile experience on all major operating systems. Otherwise, your users have hit-or-miss experiences some apps work well with their operating system, and others fall short. You can also control and reinforce your institution s brand. No more policing branding violations in legacy apps published by your athletic department, bookstore, and other departments. Needs and functionality change, so make sure your mobile solution has a good reporting tool. Google Analytics is the gold standard. Use it to measure how your mobile applications are being used and to influence plans for new functionality and future development. 4

90% of American adults have a cell phone 58% of American adults have a smartphone 42% of American adults own a tablet computer 4 4. Mobile Technology Fact Sheet, Pew Research Internet Project, January 2014. http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/mobile-technology-fact-sheet/ 5

3. Sync mobile priorities with IT capabilities You want your mobile solution up fast and you want it to be dynamic and sustainable. Your IT staff might be top notch, but building a mobile solution is time intensive, and maintaining it requires a long-term commitment. What happens when there is turnover? Where will mobile rank in the future on your institution s ongoing and ever-changing list of strategic priorities? A vendor has a whole team of people focused on supporting and evolving its mobile solution. Mobile solutions with cloud-configuration tools let non-technical staff (without coding knowledge) stand up your mobile app in hours or a day, not weeks or months. Staff can easily customize and build content and branding for all your campuses, colleges, and departments from a single point of setup with minimal time and effort, and avoid the nightmare of managing content in a jumble of legacy apps. With out-of-the-box, native integration to your ERP, the responsibility for keeping the solutions in sync and current with new user demands falls on your vendor, not your staff. Still need help? It s available from your vendor and the hundreds of higher education institutions that are successfully using the same mobile solution. 6

4. Calculate the real cost behind the cost Take some time to analyze the total cost of ownership for different approaches to building and maintaining a mobile solution. What is the real cost of taking your IT staff away from their core responsibilities to build and continually manage a mobile solution? Will other priorities be delayed? Business processes disrupted? Limited resources and staff turnover also will affect the success of your mobile deployment. What is the cost of a poor mobile launch or a do over to your institution s image? Free is not free, and it s not sustainable. Also weigh the time and cost of integrating your mobile app to your ERP. Some vendors claim they can integrate their mobile solution with your ERP inexpensively. However, most use unsupported legacy code interfaces or custom integrations that will require more services and more money whenever the app or ERP undergoes an update. What happens when the interfaces are not current and not working? Are unplanned outages and security gaps worth the cost savings? 7

5. Build a sustainable solution Mobile is central to the lives of your internal and external users, and the way you deliver and improve it influences their satisfaction and your image. Select a vendor with a mobile solution that will evolve with your institution. Research whether your vendor is keeping pace with delivery of new features and functionality. Check to see how many releases or updates they had in the last calendar year. Ask to review their roadmap for the future. What is their migration path to support both ERP and mobile app updates? Are they exploring emerging technologies such as augmented reality and integration with wearable technologies? If you are not satisfied with all the answers, step away from the table. 8

6. Buyersguide checklist Mobile solution must-haves: Delivers baseline apps out of the box Provides native integration to your ERP Enables seamless single sign-on access to external web applications Serves needs of all internal and external users; no coding required Delivers all mobile functionality in a single app, free of charge Provides optimal user experience on all major operating systems Puts you in control of branding Includes Google Analytics Can be deployed in a day, not weeks Provides thorough documentation, IT support, and a community of users Is supported by clear and defined migration path to support ERP and mobile updates Is backed by new features and functionality 9

Take the long view with Ellucian Mobile Used by more than 900 colleges and universities around the globe, Ellucian Mobile is the most widely adopted mobile solution for higher education. There are many pretenders, false claims, and hidden fees with other vendors solutions. With Ellucian Mobile, you get performance. More than 900 colleges and universities have chosen Ellucian Mobile because of its reliability, scalability, and continued evolution, making it the world s most trusted, most adopted mobile solution for higher education. About Ellucian Ellucian helps education institutions thrive in an open and dynamic world. Ellucian helps education institutions thrive in an open and dynamic world. We deliver a broad portfolio of technology solutions, developed in collaboration with a global education community, and provide strategic guidance to help education institutions of all kinds navigate change, achieve greater transparency, and drive efficiencies. More than 2,400 institutions in 40 countries around the world look to Ellucian for the ideas and insights that will move education forward, helping people everywhere discover their potential through learning. To learn more, visit www.ellucian.com. 10