Vendors: Prioritize Enterprise Planning
A few weeks ago, I argued that higher education’s expectations of technology vendors are too low. Most institutions, and most vendors serving them, are still having the wrong conversation. They stay focused on transactions and user experience: better HR workflows, cleaner financial reporting, faster close, fewer manual touches. But that is not enough to separate […]
Enterprise Planning—Take the Reins
Most institutions and their vendors are still framing technology conversations around transactions, analytics, and user experience: better HR, cleaner financial reporting, faster close, fewer manual touches. That work matters, but it is not the operating capability that will differentiate institutions in our current climate of volatility as a constant. Over the next five years, the […]
Bhusri Returns as CEO: Can Workday Accelerate Innovation Pace?
Workday reset its leadership model. On February 9, 2026, Workday announced that co-founder and executive chair Aneel Bhusri is returning as CEO, effective immediately, replacing Carl Eschenbach, who stepped down the same day. This is the third act in the following timeline: During this time, Aneel was still very present as the board chair with […]
Reimagining ERP Starts by Letting Go of the Past
Stop Replacing Systems. Start Reimagining Outcomes. In many ERP replacement initiatives across higher education, institutions say they want reimagination. But what often shows up in practice is something else entirely: a deep, almost gravitational pull toward requirements. Pages and pages of requirements. Detailed mappings of legacy processes. Endless conversations about how the old system worked […]
Design Principles: The Missing Link Between Strategy and Technology in Higher Ed
Most institutions don’t fail because they picked the “wrong” system. They struggle because the technology decisions made along the way are not anchored in shared, strategic guardrails. That is the role of design principles. Design principles are short, durable statements that describe how your institution will make technology decisions across selection, implementation, and operations. When […]
Anthology’s Strategic Shift: A Retreat from the All-in-One Bet
Anthology’s recent announcement of a “strategic transformation” signals a significant course correction. The company plans to divest its student, finance, and HCM products, with Ellucian named as the stalking horse bidder and Encoura also taking on part of the portfolio. At the same time, Anthology will restructure itself around its Teaching and Learning portfolio and […]
JMU Partners with Tambellini for Value-Focused, Risk-Resilient ERP Modernization
“Tambellini provided us with details on what solutions other institutions of similar profile had selected. They also provided detailed estimates of the staffing needs for ERP modernization and anticipated associated costs for those resources, including backfill. This saved us significant time on research, and their broad connections across higher education resulted in more comprehensive data […]
Build for Stability, Invest in What Makes You Stand Out
In the rush to modernize and innovate, many institutions fall into one of two traps: they either obsess over perfecting their core systems or they leap into strategic initiatives without a strong data foundation. Because Systems of Record are such a significant investment, there’s a natural desire to extract every ounce of value, often by […]
Preparing for the Sunset: How to Approach End-of-Life Deadlines for Legacy Solutions
In an ideal world, every college and university would have three to seven years to implement a new core modern system, starting with one to two years of planning and preparation. But in reality, institutions are not always afforded the luxury of setting their own timelines. The earlier an institution starts to prepare for modernization […]
Oracle CloudWorld 2023 Highlights Rapid Innovation
During the 2023 Oracle CloudWorld Conference in Las Vegas, a spotlight was on Oracle Fusion Cloud Student for the estimated 300 higher education institutions that attended. The conference provided insights into Oracle’s product strategy across its infrastructure, applications, and data and analytics products and its progress on Oracle Student. It was also an opportunity to […]
