How to Develop a Dynamic IT Environment

September 17, 2019 |  Data
3 min

Optimizing your IT environment is a constant cycle that can continue over the course of a month, semester or year. To better meet student demand, use LabStats and LabFind together to constantly fine-tune tech offerings on campus.

IT departments on college and university campuses are anything but static. Teams are constantly working behind the scenes to optimize hardware, better manage resources, and improve student and staff experiences with tech on campus.

LabStats was designed specifically for university IT teams to surface usage data through easy to read reports. With LabStats computer lab monitoring software you can collect hardware, software and user usage data, and analyze it through easy-to-read reports. Reports make it simple to spot underutilized computers, right-size software packages and more.

Now, with the student-facing LabFind mobile app, university IT teams can publish tech availability directly to students. The LabFind app puts directions to computers, software and printers right where students expect it: on their phones. This empowers students to find the resources they need on campus by removing the burden of discovery from students.

Optimizing your IT environment is a constant cycle that can continue over the course of a month, semester or year. To better meet student demand, use LabStats and LabFind together to constantly fine-tune tech offerings on campus.

1. Collect Data

The first step to optimizing IT is to understand how computers and software are being used on campus. LabStats computer lab monitoring software tracks hardware, software and user usage data so you can see when, where and how long resources are being used.

Peak Usage History

For example: LabStats is installed on all student-facing computers on a university campus. According to the data, Macs in the Big Bend lab are only reaching 10% concurrent usage, while Macs in the Library are at 95% concurrent usage.

2. Analyze

LabStats reports allow you to spot trends and then dive into the data with companion reports.

For example: If you dive into the data a little more, you’ll notice that both the Big Bend lab and the Library are open the same hours. Big Bend is on the far end of North Campus, while the Library is located centrally. An additional report shows that PCs in the Library have significantly less usage, so you can determine that there is a clear demand for more Macs in central campus.

3. Make Changes

This is where your IT team comes in to make changes like downsizing or moving unused computers, extending lab hours or adjusting software license packages according to insights gathered from the data.

For example: If your team decides to move 10 Macs from the Big Bend lab to the Library, and create a new space called “Mac Lab.”

4. Publish

Publish the changes by enabling the new lab through the LabFind mobile app so students can see where to find computers and software, and see any new lab hours. You can also publish live computer availability through LabMaps, and display them on your school website or student-facing kiosks throughout campus.

Enable Labs for LabFind

For example:Enable the new lab in LabFind to publish it. With the LabFind app, students can now search for available Macs, discover the new Mac Lab, and get directions to the lab.

5. Empower Students

Encourage students to find the resources they need with LabFind’s live availability of computers on campus and navigation to a wide range of tech resources.

LabFind
LabFind

For example: With LabFind, students can find available Macs on campus in real time, and navigate to the new Mac lab, or any Mac on campus.

Then collect data again.

After students have a chance to use LabFind and adjust to the changes you’ve made on campus, collect data again to see how the changes you made affect student usage and demand, and continue working through the cycle.

LabStats and LabFind can help you dynamically optimize your IT environments. To learn more about LabStats, schedule a walkthrough. To learn more about LabFind, schedule a tutorial.






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