Enterprises everywhere are leveraging their computer networks to attain a competitive advantage for not just operational efficiency, but also employee satisfaction. Network information systems are being utilized to improve communication and collaboration amongst employees, increase productivity, and accelerate decision-making.
By collecting, storing, and analyzing large amounts of data, companies gain insights into customer behavior and market trends that allow them to act preemptively ahead of their competitors. In a time when economic inflation is on everyone’s mind, digital technologies are streamlining business processes to reduce costs, improve efficiency, and achieve pricing advantages.
Today’s Modern Campus
Being that WEI is a technology services and solutions provider, you may assume that our use of the word “campus” refers to the campus network that connects an institution’s devices within a specific geographical area. These campus networks are typically comprised of multiple interconnected subnets, each one serving a specific building or building cluster within a comprised area.
On the other hand, when we talk about today’s modern “campus” we aren’t just talking about technology. We’re also referring to the modern college campus. A traditional college campus requires connecting thousands of students with their instructors and peers to nurture ideas and promote learning. The modern college campus provides students and faculty access to shared resources such as computers and servers, as well as theaters, workout facilities, public gathering places, and sporting arenas. The campus network and the college campus have a lot in common: higher education institutions can maximize their effectiveness to engage students and ensure their success by fusing these two campus concepts together.
A Location-based Network And Community
The tentacles of a college campus is similar to a township that includes residents, retail businesses, restaurants, government services, administrative offices, and public gathering spots. There can be lots to do with so many connected experiences, and that’s what brings us to location-based networking (LBN).
LBN utilizes location data to connect people with other users or resources nearby. Anyone with a smartphone is familiar with the concept of using Google Maps for instance. You can find all the pizzerias within a five-mile area, identify their serving hours and average wait time. You can share your location with your closest friends who might be nearby. Many restaurants provide their customers the ability to pay their bill with their phone. This holistic experience is what students desire as 95% of them prefer a digitally-connected community.
5 Ways LBN Helps Transform The Campus Experience
Prospective students have grown up with the concept of LBN whether they are technologically minded or not. They expect it, which is why colleges and universities must provide the LBN experience to attract and retain students. WEI has identified five ways that LBN improves and maximizes the campus experience:
- Provide location-specific information such as the location of classes, events and services. Students can check the expected wait times for the local cafeteria or student services. They can reserve study rooms or check real-time availability. School service managers can also analyze traffic data to adjust hours as needed, saving the school both time and money.
- Improve campus safety by allowing students and faculty to report safety concerns or suspicious activity quickly and easily. They can receive real-time alerts about potential safety hazards, impending weather, or area emergencies. Notifications can alert all connected users within a designated area of a building or campus area and provide instructions on how to respond.
- Increase social connectivity and collaboration amongst students and faculty. Students can be matched with peers that share common interests while remote learning students can interact with their professors just as well as those in the classroom.
- Improve resource allocation by providing real-time asset tracking to school administrators and managers, giving them the ability easily locate an asset and analyze its utilization history.
- Increase participation rates for school events, clubs, and other offerings through push notifications to students based on their location and interests.
The Juniper Location-based Campus
Juniper Networks has proven success in developing and delivering LBN solutions to higher education institutions. Find out how schools such as Dartmouth College and the University of Louisiana Monroe are leveraging location-based networking to fully maximize and leverage the campus network to provide modernized, streamlined, connected digital experience for students and faculty. It is why every college needs the Juniper Network driven by Mist AI.
Next Steps: This white paper by WEI identifies how Juniper Networks' location-based networking helps higher education institutes overcome complex technology challenges. Readers will better identify:
- Concerns of higher education IT professionals
- Why network infrastructure is a differentiator
- Challenge of improving remote experiences
- Value of a virtual network assistant
