Flinders University has turned to Dell Boomi's integration platform-as-a-service as it seeks to deliver a personalised and customised education experience to all 26,000 students – from prospect to graduate.
The Adelaide-based university has embarked on a five year digital strategy which will see it migrating its applications to the cloud using iPaaS to support cloud migration objectives. The university will also be using Boomi's Master Data Management Cloud, launched in Australia in July, to aggregate student data from multiple sources.
With minor back end integrations already completed, Flinders' first major project involves the migration of its Student Management System from on-premises to a software as a service version.
More than 100 Boomi integration points will be required to replace legacy integrations coded up to 10 years ago.
Future phases will see Flinders' using the Boomi MDM Cloud to aggregate student data from 'a plethora' of systems including the student management system, learning management system and alumni management system, enabling the university to better understand students and optimise the services they offer them, while also proposing further opportunities.
Kelvin McCarthy, Flinders University solution architect for information and digital solutions, says Flinders' digital strategy will result in the widespread use of cloud services to optimise and enhance learning for students.
"But introducing cloud-based apps is just the first step," McCarthy says.
"We need a way to conect those apps with one another so we can provide a unified experience for users – that's where Boomi comes in.
McCarthy says Boomi's integration capabilities ensure apps operate concurrently and consistently so that students can learn through a modernised environment that is accessible on their terms – on mobile, at any time and from any location.
MDM's capabilities will also play a prominent part in Flinders' adoption of learning analytics.
"Today's students, most of whom would be digital natives, expect more than competency-based learning, they want a unique, tech-enabled experience that fits their aspirations and is shaped around their schedules," says Michael Evans, Dell Boomi APJ managing director.
"Using Boomi's cloud-native platform to connect applications and maintain data integrity, Flinders can analyse the needs of its students and seamlessly align the learning experiences it offers to those demands.
