62 21st century technology for a 21st century university Over the last few years, Yinon has been harnessing disruptive digital technologies to fuel the University’s growth and ensure its relevance in changing times. Concurrently, he has initiated and overseen the upgrading of its core systems and cloud migration, or the moving of its digital assets “out of our legacy infrastructure and into the 21st century.” By gathering and redefining its datasets, then placing them, the University’s IT resources, and its applications on a blend of physical and virtual servers, Bar-Ilan has enabled all members of its community to access information, teach, study, provide student services, and even conduct exams—from anywhere, and any device. This digital transformation affects not-yet members of the Bar-Ilan community, too: Departments and units across campus now work on “Glassix,” an omnichannel software that consolidates all potential applicants’ engagements with the University. By making their history of inquiries and actions—both online and offline—available to everyone in customer services and student administration, Bar-Ilan is providing faster and better service and enhancing its recruitment ability. Improved access to information is just one of the many components of Bar-Ilan’s multi-stage, long-term process of becoming a hybrid university. Other efforts already underway include integrating student information and using new channels of communicationtoreach larger andmorediverseaudiences. “By restructuring institutional operations, we’re enabling Bar-Ilan to embrace andmanage both diversity and complexity,” says Yinon. Then, returning to his favorite metaphor, he adds: “Like the pillar of cloud that led the Israelites’ way out of Egypt, today’s cloudwill lead Bar-Ilan’s pivot into the future of higher ed.” ACCESS Bar-Ilanmoved its systems formanaging academic coursework, student information, and researchers’ publications aswell as the University’s enterprise software to servers that run on different cloud architectures and canbe accessed fromeverywhere. In the future, thismove can result in lower hardware costs and free up resources for more crucial activity, such as data analytics, cyber security, and the securing of student and applicant privacy—the latter of which is a top priority. Whendescribing the next exciting step inBar-Ilan’s digital transformation,CEOZoharYinonhasasaying that sums itall up: “Theskymaybethe limit, but the cloud is limitless.” Digital Transformation & Physical Infrastructure
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