Digital Transformation in Education

Gartner provides actionable, objective insight to education CIOs to help drive digital transformation.

Infographic: What Education CIOs Will Do to Deliver IT Workforce Skills

83% of education CIOs say employees have higher expectations for their employee experience. Utilize this infographic to dive into workforce strategies used to achieve success and advance IT workforce skills strategy. 

Network with industry peers and explore the latest Gartner research for education at our upcoming Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo conferences in Orlando, FL, and Barcelona, Spain.

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Trending insights and tools for education

Every day, 2,500 Gartner experts work with education organizations in need of rapid improvement. We help you make the right decisions so you can focus on your students.

Gain insight specifically designed to support higher education IT leaders with these resources

Understand the impact of U.S. federal policy changes on education and how leaders can plan effectively to position their institutions for long-term success.

Discover 3 focus areas for CIOs to drive transformation in their industries, and uncover critical steps to accelerate transformation in Education.

Access more than 250 AI use cases, all tailored to your industry and business needs with Gartner's AI Use Case Insights Tool to help your organization achieve tangible success.

Explore The Top Business & Technology Trends in Higher Education for CIOs in 2025 and Beyond and learn how to shape your IT strategy to build a resilient digital foundation.

Watch The Gartner Top Higher Education Predictions for 2025 to discover how to overcome current industry challenges and accelerate your institution’s digital effectiveness through strategic planning and expert predictions.

Discover the technology spending trends and digital investment goals for higher education CIOs this year with the 2025 CIO Agenda: Top Priorities and Technology Plans for Higher Education.

Explore the Strategic Roadmap for Higher Education Student Information Systems to help align digital business strategies and ensure you’re keeping up with competitors.

Explore resources leveraged by K-12 education IT leaders around the globe

As K-12 CIOs pivot toward making more specific changes, innovation is blooming in targeted areas such as infrastructure, process efficiency, student experience and teaching methodologies. Leverage the K-12 Education Innovation Snapshot to explore use cases of successful innovations from K-12 education leaders and discover the transformative role generative AI plays.

Watch the Gartner on-demand webinar The Impact of Generative AI on Education IT Leaders to explore what AI-based tools mean for your institution now and in the future, and how you can turn their promise into reality.

Frequently asked questions

Educational institutions must accelerate their digital transformation. To do so they must modernize and optimize their learning environments and their enterprise technologies. Effective integration of these systems will enable a seamless and more fulfilling faculty, staff, and most importantly, student experience.

Educational institutions must accelerate their digital transformation. To do so they must modernize and optimize their learning environments and their enterprise technologies. Effective integration of these systems will enable a seamless and more fulfilling faculty, staff, and most importantly, student experience.

Education is no longer based solely on a physical campus and people (students, faculty and staff). It is increasingly necessary to have a strong digital component. The hybrid campus of the future is one that has a balance of the physical and digital in both the business model and the operating model of the institution.

Technology is enabling most aspects of education today. No longer is technology relegated to supporting the back-office business of the institution or school district. Today, technology is a fundamental component of the teaching and learning mission, the student experience and enabling advances in research. AI and related hyperautomation technologies hold promise as transformative solutions propelling education progress and empowering students and faculty.  

Educational technology matters because it's the keystone to effectively scaling high-quality education. When we achieve this goal, society can begin to realize the dream of increased accessibility of excellent education in a manner that mankind has never-before experienced.

Today, educational organizations rely on a plethora of technologies, including foundational components (such as a campus network, ERP solutions), business systems (such as student information system) and academic technologies (such as a learning management system). Emerging technologies such as AI have application in all aspects of the academy, becoming critical to initiatives such as online digital learning, smart campus environments and advancing new research discoveries.  

The future of education is a heterogenous business model with a hybrid operating model, supported by hyperautomated business processes. All three of these characteristics are highly dependent on technology. The result will be new revenue models, with both digital and in-person experiences, at a scale and cost that is achievable across much of the globe. This cannot be accomplished without an appetite for change and highly leveraging emerging technologies.

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