Beyond the Price Tag: A Practical Approach to Smarter Technology Investments

How can institutions make major technology investments that address immediate needs while creating lasting academic, operational, and strategic value? This panel will explore how cross-functional teams can define requirements, evaluate potential partners, assess financial return, and consider benefits that may not be captured through traditional ROI calculations alone. The discussion will use Illinois State University’s development of the technology environment for its new College of Engineering as a real-world case. Academic and IT leaders will explain how they aligned institutional priorities, multidisciplinary workloads, budgets, scalability, and future growth. Panelists will also share how they evaluated potential technology partners, navigated tradeoffs, and translated a complex institutional vision into an operational environment. Attendees will leave with practical questions, evaluation criteria, and lessons they can apply to technology investments across academic, administrative, research, and campus environments.