The 2026 IT Strategic Landscape in Higher Education

Key Takeaways

• Permanent Operational Reality: Digital transformation has transitioned from a future goal to a constant, daily necessity for institutions.
• The Stability Paradox: AI remains secondary to foundational systems like IAM and ERP that ensure institutional reliability.
• Mandated Compliance Surge: Universities are prioritizing accessibility projects to meet the looming April 2026 legal regulatory deadline.

The trajectory of Higher Education technology has undergone a pivotal transformation over the last three years. In 2024, the sector was defined by post-pandemic stabilization. By 2025, that focus transitioned toward infrastructure maturity, with a heavy emphasis on cloud migration. As we enter 2026, digital transformation has moved from a theoretical future-state goal to a permanent operational reality.

Today’s IT leaders are managing a complex balancing act: maintaining robust foundations, such as Portals and Content Management Systems, while simultaneously architecting environments capable of supporting emerging smart, interoperable technologies. Within this landscape, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has moved beyond experimental pilots toward enterprise-wide strategic implementation. While AI occupies a massive amount of cultural mindshare, the data reveals a telling paradox: AI remains a secondary priority compared to the core connective tissue of the university. Systems facilitating identity management and ERP continue to lead the priority rankings. This underscores a critical insight: while innovation serves as the catalyst for growth, it cannot succeed without the stability of a high-functioning digital ecosystem.

Methodology

We utilize a rigorous data-driven methodology. We analyzed IT project information published on the websites of 55 universities across North America and Europe. Our analysis is unbiased and based exclusively on publicly available data, including the specific project nomenclature decided by the institutions.

To create our Top 10 list, we reviewed the content of 55 IT project webpages. We focused exclusively on centralized IT project pages, including:

• Michigan State University – MSU IT Projects
• The University of Texas at Arlington – Projects – Office of Information Technology

We did not include project-specific pages, such as:

• UBC – Integrated Renewal Project
• San Francisco State University – Copilot Launch

In the past years, solution representatives also asked why certain products were excluded while their competitors are included. This is simply due to how universities choose to present their projects. Our analysis is always unbiased and based solely on the data available, including the project names decided by institutions.

The IT projects we identified are grouped into key themes. To qualify for this post, a theme must be mentioned on at least 10% of the institution websites (i.e. five universities). If a single institution lists multiple projects under a specific theme, we separate them using “//”.

List of IT Projects by Key Themes for 2026

Click on the down arrow sign to see the list of institutional project names.

IT Priorities Groupings and Explanations

1. Data and Storage: Cloud Platforms and Storage, including Productivity Suites (21); Data Management (19)

Universities are investing in cloud platforms and cloud storage to ensure that students and employees alike can work efficiently within a secure environment. Cloud storage projects are also linked to data management strategies to organize, secure, and utilize data assets. These projects align technical practices with broader business objectives, enhancing data quality to support competitive advantage. Compared to 2025, we have included Productivity Suites in this group since many projects combine data storage with productivity suites.

1. Identity Management: Access and Identity Management (27); Portals (13)

This category encompasses identity and access management (IAM), including multi-factor authentication. The number of IAM initiatives has increased from 18 last year to 27 this year, signalling a growing prioritization across institutions. These projects play a critical role in reducing exposure to cybersecurity threats and attack vectors.

3. Core Systems: Enterprise Resource Planning, including HR, Payroll and Procurement (19); Student Information Systems (16)

Student records, employee records, and invoicing, are vital IT systems needed to ensure smooth operations in higher education. With an average age of ten years, 25–40% of universities are actively replacing or modernizing their ERP and SIS platforms annually to ensure operational continuity.

4. Network and Security: Network Systems, including Telephony (33)

With identity theft and cyber-attacks on the rise, universities, like other businesses with a large technological footprint, must prevent these attacks. Network upgrades, software updates, and investments in security infrastructure are necessary to attain this goal. This year, fewer universities have specifically categorized projects under the “Security” label. However, security is increasingly embedded as an implicit component of all IT initiatives rather than a standalone silo.

5. Communication: Content Management Systems (9); Customer Relationship Management, including Fundraising (9); Email Systems (5)

Universities continue to make significant investments in content management systems (CMS) to strengthen and modernize communications with key stakeholders. In parallel, customer relationship management (CRM) initiatives—including fundraising platforms—remain high priorities, as both public and private institutions face tightening budgets and increased pressure to optimize revenue generation and engagement efforts.

5. Institutional Strategy: Accessibility Software (13); Business Intelligence (5); Curriculum Management (5)

As the April 2026 deadline for government website accessibility approaches, institutions have pivoted from viewing accessibility as an optional feature to a legal mandate. It is no longer a nice-to-have feature, it is a necessity. Placing Business Intelligence in this grouping shows the strategic use of data, including visual dashboards, in leadership decisions, trend forecasting, and reporting to boards.

7. Learning Environments: Learning Management Systems (13); Conferencing Systems (9)

A core mission of any university is to deliver a high-quality learning experience for students. Continued investment in learning management systems and online video infrastructure is therefore essential, as hybrid instruction and distance learning have become embedded components of everyday teaching and learning practices.

8. Research Support: Grant Management Systems (8); Library Information Systems (8)

Universities often rely on research grants to finance part of their operations. Committing to system improvements for grant management and library information systems ensure universities remain competitive and attractive to students and researchers alike.

9. Artificial Intelligence (14)

Universities use artificial intelligence to enhance efficiency, improve the student experience, and stay competitive in a rapidly evolving educational landscape. AI streamlines administrative processes, personalizes learning experiences, and provides round-the-clock support through virtual assistants. It also helps identify at-risk students, analyze institutional data for strategic decision-making, and drive innovation in research. In addition to operation efficiency, universities now implement AI solutions for students and staff. It seems that many universities have decided to take the “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” approach.

9. Help Desk Systems (14)

As universities move into more complex technology environments, offering more computerized solutions, IT departments need to invest in accompanying solutions for technical support. In our sample, projects are very diverse, although implementation of new help desk systems are more numerous.

IT Priorities Comparison Over Time

Note: Some categories have been combined over time. For an accurate depiction of the IT priorities for each year, we encourage you to read the previous posts on IT projects: Top IT Projects Shaping HigherEd in 2024 and IT Priorities for HigherEd Institutions in 2025.

How Does This Study Compare to the 2026 EDUCAUSE Top 10?

The EDUCAUSE Top 10 article outlines institutional priorities for many universities across North America. While earlier editions primarily focused on IT projects, they also incorporated broader business priorities not always directly tied to IT departments. This year is no exception. Nevertheless, the article remains a useful point of comparison for our analysis.

Furthermore, we have seen that priorities put forward by institutions sometimes matched their project roadmap.

Here is a side-by-side table of the EDUCAUSE Top 10 and ours:

The comparison shows that institutional project roadmaps often diverge from the high-level business considerations identified by senior leadership. While leadership focuses on strategic concepts, the actual IT workload is dominated by foundational requirements like communication systems and research support, which are frequently omitted from high-level industry trend reports.

What Can We Learn From This Research?

As we navigate 2026, the higher education IT landscape has matured from the reactive, post-pandemic adjustments of 2024 into a state of permanent operational reality. While Artificial Intelligence commands significant attention for its ability to personalize the student journey and streamline workflows, it currently serves as a powerful secondary layer rather than the primary focus of institutional projects. The data points to a clear “stability paradox,” with universities prioritizing secure, mission-critical systems that form the connective infrastructure of the institution—most notably identity and access management (IAM), network systems, and core ERP/SIS platforms. This trend emphasizes that institutional innovation is entirely dependent on the reliability and security of the underlying digital ecosystem; innovation cannot succeed without a high-functioning, stable foundation.

The data-driven analysis reveals a distinct gap between high-level business considerations and the actual technical roadmaps currently being executed on campuses. While senior leadership often highlights strategic concepts like data-centric culture or technology literacy, the project lists show an intense focus on tangible infrastructure renewal and compliance-driven updates. We observe a significant surge in accessibility software projects as institutions race to meet the April 2026 legal deadline for government website accessibility. Furthermore, the analysis shows that universities are prioritizing the modernization of decade-old core systems and the integration of telephony into broader network infrastructure, moving away from viewing security as a standalone category and instead embedding it into every facet of the digital backbone.














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