Advance Institutional Resilience and Reduce Risk for Higher Education

Most higher education institutions today are on a journey to modernize and uncomplicate their IT infrastructure so they can deliver exceptional digital experiences for students and faculty learning and working from anywhere. The digital transformation process for many of these organizations includes tech investments that will allow them to collect and analyze data continuously, efficiently, and securely. That includes insights to enhance everything from student recruitment and campus life to financial operations and research and development.

But addressing risk and preparing for what may be ahead should also be top focuses for colleges and universities operating in a post-pandemic world. According to EDUCAUSE, “anomaly is the new normal,” and its overarching call to action for institutions this year is to focus on developing institutional resilience.

Modern data storage and data protection solutions have a critical role to play in helping colleges and universities increase their institutional resilience in several ways. These suggestions are inspired, in part, by EDUCAUSE’s 2024 list of IT priorities for higher ed.

Accelerating Recovery from Ransomware Attacks

According to recent research, the education sector saw a 70% surge in ransomware attacks in 2023—the worst ransomware year on record. Not only are ransomware attacks disruptive for students and staff, but they’re also bottom-line bruising for the schools targeted. A recent survey of 200 colleges across 14 countries by cybersecurity firm Sophos found that more than half of higher education institutions hit by ransomware paid a ransom to get their data back. As ransomware attacks become more sophisticated and frequent, they’re also becoming more costly. Recovery costs (excluding any ransoms paid) for higher educational organizations that paid the ransom were $1.31 million. 

Modern storage with encryption capabilities can flip the script on attackers by undermining their profitability. For example, using SafeMode™ Snapshots from Pure Storage can make it impossible for an attacker (or a bad actor inside your organization) to delete your backups, even if administrator credentials have been compromised. SafeMode Snapshots also help protect your data if an attack occurs.

Discover how Pure Storage can help colleges and universities speed ransomware recovery.

Providing the Foundation for a Data-driven Future

Many leading colleges and universities are investing in their data and analytics infrastructure and staffing so they can take full advantage of their information and optimize its use. They are evaluating tools that can help them dive deep into data. These institutions will need to consider what foundational technology is required to support those solutions, especially those that are powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. 

The benefit of having a modern data storage platform already in place is that colleges and universities can confidently hit “go” once their strategic data initiatives are set. If they’re using AI, they’ll need substantial storage capacity, high-speed data access, and efficient data management capabilities, full stop. Reliable, capacity-optimized all-flash storage supports all of the above—plus, it can help institutions meet their sustainability goals.

Find out how the Pure Storage platform enables higher education institutions to accelerate AI adoption while maximizing operational and energy efficiency. 

Simplifying Operations and Reducing Costs

The last thing any higher education institution needs is more IT complexity, which undermines experiences for students and staff and drives up costs in already squeezed budgets. Administrative cost reduction—streamlining processes, data, and technologies—is another top priority outlined by Educause in efforts to achieve institutional resilience.  

Taking a strategic approach and a long-range view toward these efforts can create many value-added benefits, including easier innovation and greater agility.

One key strategy many institutions are pursuing as they aim to transform digitally while reducing costs is to replace legacy systems and infrastructure with a modern enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution. A top goal for any major ERP upgrade is to get next-level performance from that vital system at scale. To ensure that happens, colleges and universities need to implement modern, performant data infrastructure to support their ERP environment.

Empowering Education: Resilient Data Storage for the Digital Future

To become more resilient overall and invest in their digital futures in a way that is cost-effective and decidedly uncomplicated, educational institutions will need powerful, efficient, and sustainable storage.

Learn more about how to help your educational institution meet growing data demands with data solutions from Pure Storage.