Achieving Seamless Migration to Private-Cloud Infrastructure for Multi-Campus Universities

Abstract

Maintaining IT infrastructure is a major challenge for multi-campus universities. The difficulties they face include inflexibility, inefficiency, outdated technology, and redundant resources, all of which negatively impact the quality of services provided to students, faculty, and researchers. Consequently, there is a growing need for a more agile, efficient, and cost-effective solution that can cater to the everchanging IT service demands of these institutions. Universities can boost their agility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness while enhancing service quality by utilizing cloud services. Cloud computing enables universities to quickly and easily access computing resources that can be scaled up or down as per their IT requirements, providing them with the necessary flexibility to meet dynamic demands. Private cloud migration further offers universities complete control over their internal security and SLA obligations, allowing them to guarantee a high level of service delivery. This paper contends that private cloud migration is an effective solution that can help multi-campus universities surmount their IT infrastructure challenges and enhance their IT service delivery capabilities. This paper presents a case study analysis of the University of the Aegean's migration to a private cloud and offers insights into the factors that influence successful private cloud migration in multi-campus universities. The paper argues that private cloud migration and cloud computing are effective solutions for resolving IT infrastructure issues and improving service delivery in higher education institutions. The paper provides recommendations for universities considering private cloud migration, offering a roadmap for successful migration. Additionally, the study identifies critical success factors that can help universities achieve a successful migration. In future work, this study could be expanded to include more universities and explore the challenges and benefits of private cloud migration in a broader context. Furthermore, it would be interesting to investigate the impact of private cloud migration on student outcomes, faculty satisfaction, and institutional performance.