It was reported by the Joint Information Systems Committee that it will investigate a national shared services infrastructure for universities and colleges, along with other shared and managed services options in an effort to cut costs and spread expertise across further and higher education, according to its strategy document for 2010-12. The committee ensured that it would continue spending on existing infrastructure, including the Janet network, for development and upgrades. Other commitments that committee made included enhancing the efficiency and cost effectiveness of management information systems.
JISC explained that significant returns can be gained from the investments in more flexible corporate systems that complement and support new ways of working, over a particular time duration. Cloud computing will also be investigated by Jisc, to explore the potential for institutions and individuals to access resources online, without the need to store them locally or purchase them outright. It was also reported that software-as-a-service offers the ability for institutions to use sophisticated software on a flexible basis, removing the high cost in time and money involved in buying and owning it.
