Higher Education is facing serious networking challenges. The demand for digital services continues to challenge network and operations teams across the higher education community. On average, students coming to university or college brings between five and seven mobile or connected devices, and each will add new apps and services throughout their years of attendance, placing added strain on an already maxed-out campus IT system.
Yet, service expectations have never been higher. There is no leeway when it comes to non-operational hours. Services must be always on and always be accessible due to the needs and expectations of students and staff, and the globalisation of education, and collaboration.
CAMPUS NETWORKS ARE ON AN UNSTABLE TRAJECTORY
To meet demand and expectation, network evolution typically involves more and more layering, meaning increased complexity and stress on the system and its operators. This puts your networks and IT teams on an unsustainable trajectory, requiring additional resources to keep up and extra time to manage and maintain the network – all at a time when cost reductions are a priority. Sooner or later, something will have to give.
So how can your IT teams deliver user-centric services on a network that has not been designed and built for today’s demands?
SOLVE PROBLEMS FASTER AT A LOWER COST
In the face of ever-tighter budgets, universities and colleges must turn to artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and data science. The Juniper AI-Driven Enterprise delivers real AI technology that will automate repeatable (and repetitive) actions: reducing mean time to resolution (MTTR), removing human risk and reducing cost of operations.
However, automation goes much further than simply replicating routine tasks.
Mist AI is intelligent and self-aware, recognizing when there’s a problem, diagnosing the cause, prescribing a response, and remediating it – without human intervention. Complimenting Mist AI, Marvis is the AI-Driven Virtual Network Assistant that identifies what happened, where, and finds the root cause of the issue. It even correlates events across the network, determining whether it’s looking at an isolated incident or if this is a wider issue likely to affect other users’ experiences too. Using intelligent, granular data on the root cause, it then automates the resolution or prescribes human actions for remediation. Where Marvis is unable to automate resolution, full packet capture is placed in the cloud for simplified troubleshooting and diagnosis. Operational benefits come with reduced resolution time, lower operational costs, and improved user experiences.
Like students, Marvis is continuously learning and can recognise warning signs and respond accordingly. This ability to automatically “find and fix” reduces trouble tickets dramatically and means that administrative helpdesk team members no longer have to keep referring problems to network engineers and technical resources. In fact, they can now do more to interrogate the network themselves by asking Marvis to do it for them. Marvis acts like your very own Alexa, meaning a helpdesk administrator can simply ask “What’s wrong with…?” to get the answer.
REDUCE THE COST OF OPERATIONS AND REDEPLOY VALUABLE RESOURCES
As network complexity and demand increases, colleges and universities with an AI-driven network won’t need to spend valuable budget on bringing in extra resources simply to keep pace. And as automation eliminates the need to put hours into mundane and repetitive routine tasks, technical staff will find themselves with more time available for proactive and more engaging tasks.
Delivering an enriched digital experience relies on network capability and requires skilled and enthusiastic teams to innovate and deliver new services to attract future students and generate additional revenues. Instead of constantly battling to keep the lights on, your IT teams can now invest their skills and energies into forward-thinking, creative projects that will make a positive impact on the student experience and deliver value for their university, such as location-based services and enhanced campus safety and security.
BUILD A SUSTAINABLE NETWORK FOR THE FUTURE
The AI-driven network enables education institutions like yours to deliver stronger and better network services to students, staff and academics. If the user experience is assured, the all-important positive peer reviews will be assured, too – student opinion plays a significant part in university selection.
Over the next decade, Intercity, with Juniper, are taking customers on the journey to the self-driving, self-healing network. Deploying our AI-driven network will enable you to alter the currently unsustainable trajectory of your networks, leaving complexity and escalating operational costs behind.
It’s time to change course.
Interested in finding out how AI can benefit you? Click here to download our Experience First Networking for Higher Education e-Guide.
