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 The
future is here. It's Fall 2002, and "Your School" has effectively
leveraged its extensive student population and alumni network,
using a powerful intranet portal to increase communication
and exchange throughout the school community while generating
significant revenues from an information technology department
that was once thought of as a fiscal burden. Here's how it
has impacted members of four key constituent groups at "Your
School":
Student
Scenario
Erik Tucker is a junior in the Fall 2002 term at "Your School".
On his way to his Biology class, Erik receives an urgent message
on his "Your School/Student Online" digital cellular phone
that the professor had cancelled today's class. On his way
back to his dorm room, he receives another high-priority message
from his Psychology professor adding a requirement for students
to purchase a new study on sleep disorders. Erik's cell phone
account was obtained through the "Your School/Student Online"
intranet, and part of each monthly bill, as well as a portion
of the cost for the original hardware, goes directly to "Your
school".
When Erik returns to his dorm room, he has a number
of e-mail messages. One arrived soon after his instructor's
alert, suggesting five different vendors who offer the new
study. Using the "Your School/Student Online" shopping platform,
Erik selects the lowest cost vendor who can ship the report
by the time he needs it. Since Erik usually travels to his
home in New York each holiday season, he also receives a message
from the "Your School/Student Online" travel service providing
him with three options for air travel, based on departure
after his last final, and return to campus the day before
his classes begin in January. He selects the lowest fare from
the list.
Once again, a percentage of the transaction is shared
with the institution. Erik also reviews a message offering
him an early purchase opportunity for a ticket to a concert
being put on by one of his favorite music groups, (which the
system ascertained by reviewing his CD purchases over the
past year). He buys the ticket with a click of the button.
Realizing that many of his friends will want to attend, he
posts an urgent message to a private group set up by himself
and some peers to stay in closer contact, letting everyone
know about the ticket opportunity. Seeing that two of his
friends are actually online, he decides to instant message
them and begins an excited exchange about plans for the concert.
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