How are you adapting your IT strategies to the current economic climate? Are you prioritizing cost optimization, or are you continuing to invest in strategic growth areas?

The first consideration is the IT budget relative to the company's revenue. We aim to balance optimization and investment, keeping the total budget consistent as a percentage of revenue. This involves continuously reducing technical debt to free up funds for growth. Some savings are returned to the finance department. This approach isn't new; the pressure has been ongoing. The focus is on reducing tech debt now to enable future growth, as we can't pursue both simultaneously.

Regardless of the economic climate, I see IT investment and cost optimization as crucial, with a strong emphasis on strategic growth areas. We've eliminated a discrete IT function, and digitalization initiatives now fall under the same compliance, governance, and security frameworks. This shift has effectively tripled our focus on technology, even though our IT hasn't grown in size. When I compare this to industry benchmarks, which suggest growth of 5-10%, I believe we should be looking at 30-50%. Technology investment is increasing because business is becoming synonymous with technology.

We're currently deep in discussions about this very topic. While I'm not directly responsible for the IT budget, I can say that the proposed budget from our IT department didn't align with our fiscal realities. Our likely direction will be to focus investments on initiatives that drive enrollment, as this is our current priority. Everything else is secondary. It's about honing in on areas that address our immediate challenges.