From Digital Sprawl to Sustainable Systems in Higher Ed Noodlings

In a guest post for Noodle’s newsletter, Elliot Felix writes about how "digital sprawl"—the uncoordinated accumulation of niche apps and redundant platforms—is undermining institutional efficiency and the student experience. Institutions must transition from a reactive "add-on" culture to a sustainable, integrated digital ecosystem. Then he offers a strategic framework for taming this sprawl, which involves conducting technology audits, leveraging IT governance to align tools with institutional strategy, and making bold decisions to sunset underperforming systems. Finally, the article discusses the ROI of this approach, citing case studies where consolidation reduced technology budgets by up to 45% while creating more seamless, secure, and scalable support for students and staff.