Yes There’s ‘Disruption’ in College Market, But the Bigger Trend Is Growth of ‘Enabler’ Companies — from edsurge.com by Sean Gallagher
Excerpt (emphasis DSC):
These developments point toward new hybrid models of colleges and universities that operate their core academic activities in symbiosis with their enabling partners. This is not yesterday’s world of seat licenses and advertising-based revenue models—but rather, a marketplace that is increasingly driven by joint ventures, revenue sharing, and shared risk—in a world where competitive advantage increasingly comes from algorithms. If the first generation of edtech businesses was built on selling products to individual professors and CIOs, the next generation focuses on services and increasingly integrates at the level of presidents, trustees, and deans embracing more symbiotic partnerships.
Perhaps one of the most intriguing frontiers is the blurring boundaries between higher education and the workforce, as institutions seek to better deliver on career outcomes for students – but will need to rely on private industry for competency-oriented software, project-based learning platforms, credentialing technology, and deeper integration between job skills and curriculum.
Meanwhile, a bigger shift is underway in how higher education operates in a world that is increasingly digitized. College and university leaders are increasingly willing to work with technology and services partners and various “enabler” firms that are much more integrated into their operations—not only at the margins of their value chain, but at the core. As much as there are exciting businesses to be created by challenging the dominance of colleges and universities, there is also significant value for students, institutions, entrepreneurs, and investors in the building of technologies and firms that augment, enable, and evolve the provision of higher education in the 21st century.