The efficiency equation: how universities can do more with less

If there’s an educational setting that epitomizes the word ‘synergy’, it’s the university. At its best, the modern university creates a collaborative environment in which different people, perspectives, and academic disciplines can thrive.

But supporting a multi-disciplinary, multi-location approach to education depends heavily on technology. This is especially true for large universities with complex infrastructure and diverse needs.

In this blog post, you’ll learn why administrators and IT decision makers at leading institutions are turning to remote connectivity software to solve their most pressing challenges.

Campus balancing act: many variables, limited resources

Most universities rely on a complex financial model to keep the lights on. Tuition, government funding, private donations, research grants—these are the revenue sources that make high standards and new investments possible.

Increasingly, university staff are asked to do a lot more with considerably less. In England, for example, analysts expect 40% of universities to be in deficit during the 2023-24 academic year. Even so, universities are faced with many infrastructural and operational challenges:

IT help desk

At most universities, an IT help desk is on hand to help faculty, students, and visitors use their technologies effectively. The help desk must track and manage issued laptops and mobile devices, classroom equipment, and servers, among the many other components that keep campus IT running.

Campus bookstores and libraries

Bookstores and libraries are hubs for communication, collaboration, and work. Running them means managing point of sale (POS) systems, security cameras, and digital signage. Most large universities must also manage inventory for each location, ideally through digital means.

Usually POS, digital signage, and security systems are controlled by student staff where there tends to be a lot of turnover or limited experience. Revenue loss and security vulnerabilities can happen if POS systems or security cameras go down.

Facilities, classrooms, and dormitories

It’s critical that universities can monitor and manage various campus buildings from a central platform. A mix of digitally enabled classrooms, disparate HVAC systems, and dormitory access and security measures are in play. Not to mention labs that contain high-value equipment that requires specific heating and cooling protocols.

Smart buildings bring these systems into a centralized, IT-managed network. They use sensors and trackers to generate data about the existing infrastructure, giving operators and facility managers the ability to improve asset reliability and performance.

This includes energy, lighting, and temperature. When managed efficiently, these areas represent considerable potential for cost savings and a reduced footprint. Globally, 30% to 40% of all primary energy is used in buildings.

Athletic facilities

There’s a lot more that goes into university athletics than the sports themselves. Michigan Stadium, for example, welcomes more than 100,000 attendees to each home football game. Large or small, campus athletics require the careful orchestration of ticketing, in-game fan experiences, irrigation systems, and on-field tech.

Enhancing university operations with Teamviewer Tensor

Some of the world’s foremost educational institutions rely on TeamViewer Tensor to connect and manage their campus operations. Here’s how:

Central management for smarter smart buildings 

Tensor can be used for remote monitoring and management of HVAC systems, lighting, and security. A central, cloud-based dashboard gives IT and facilities management a comprehensive view of consumption, potential issues, and outages.

Of the many components that comprise a building’s energy footprint, heating, cooling, and lighting are by far the most significant. While remote building management helps ensure efficient usage, its benefits extend to:

• High level of operational reliability
• Fewer expenses compared to regular on-site testing
• Automatic messages in the event of malfunctions for faster emergency response
• Improved comfort; cost and time savings

Peak performance for sports facilities 

Athletic departments are important parts of universities. Using Tensor, you can facilitate remote diagnostics and troubleshooting for complex sports equipment and technology, helping the athletics department—and the university—thrive. 

Examples of remote monitoring for athletic facilities include:

• Monitoring and managing water levels and fertilization schedules
• Remote management for POS, ticketing, and stadium signage
• Remote access control and user management for facilities
• Enhancing facilities management and maintenance
• Improving uptime and reducing maintenance costs

Operating like a football academy in many respects, Manchester United uses TeamViewer for a number of remote connectivity use cases at its stadium, Old Trafford. 

In the past, pitch management workers had to visit the field multiple times a day. Now, much of their work can be completed remotely, freeing up to 83% of the team’s time to be able to invest in other parts of the stadium.

The club also relies on TeamViewer to:

• Help coaches and players access large files (such as match footage) from anywhere  
• Enable secure and instant access to on-pitch photographers’ computers for real-time social media activities

Secure, centralized ops 

On large campuses, security teams need to have eyes everywhere at once. TeamViewer Tensor enables remote access and real-time monitoring of security cameras across locations. 

As a result, security teams can access all feeds from a single dashboard, narrowing down to specific cameras that they monitor and control. This is particularly useful for ensuring faster incident response and providing evidence during investigations.

With TeamViewer, you can also simplify the remote management and support of point-of-sale systems in bookstores and other university outlets. The Cielo Case Study illustrates the scalable capabilities of Tensor in this regard. 

The largest payment system company in Latin America, Cielo uses TeamViewer for its POS systems. Tensor enables secure support for more than 4,200 Windows, MacOS, and Android devices. Given the massive volume of daily transactions for Cielo, security and efficiency are the name of the game, and the TeamViewer platform delivers.

Centralized IT management across dispersed campuses

Tensor streamlines IT campus support by enabling remote access to servers and workstations across geographically dispersed campuses. In particular, the platform helps IT teams improve response times, while reducing the need for on-site IT personnel.

By reducing IT travel alone, universities stand to realize tremendous reduction in carbon footprint. A 2022 study found that, overall, TeamViewer helps to avoid 41 million tons of CO₂ emissions every year.

Edith Cowan University (ECU) represents a common use case for universities. It maintains an on-prem structure but is trying to move to a more agile help desk system.

To do this, the university implemented TeamViewer Tensor, which integrates with its existing Microsoft Azure AD and Intune systems. By doing this, ECU has seen a significant increase in productivity and an improved experience for students and staff.

Peace of mind in the mobile wave 

Mobile Device Management (MDM) has become more important than ever. You’d be hard pressed to find a modern university student or staff member that doesn’t rely on mobile devices every day. The prevalence of lost, stolen, or broken student devices like MS Surfaces, laptops, and iPads is costly—in more ways than one.

Lost or stolen devices increase security vulnerabilities, for one. According to research from IBM, the global average cost of a data breach was USD 4.45 million in 2023. That’s a 15% increase over three years. What’s more, 70% of stolen moble devices are never recovered.

All of which points to the urgent need for device management solutions in education. Using Tensor, you can manage and secure all endpoints, while protecting sensitive business data, in a single, unified platform. This makes it easy to perform:

• Remote configuration and management
• Security enhancements
• App distribution and management
• Policy enforcement
• Remote device location
• Data wiping