Episode: 26 Enabling Contactless Campus feat. Adam McDonald, President, TouchNet, A Global Payments Company
Contactless technologies have existed for decades. The first NFC-enabled phone debuted in 2007. It was a Nokia, and it had a physical button on the side that flipped the phone open. Some may remember the first time they checked into a hotel and received an RFID key card rather than one with a magnetic strip (also during the 2000s). We have been slowly moving toward more contactless experiences.
The Covid-19 pandemic drastically accelerated the general adoption of contactless payments for retail consumers, but NFC technologies have many more applications. Colleges and universities can leverage these technologies to build a contactless campus.
Adam McDonald, President of TouchNet, joins podcast host Kiran Kodithala in this episode of Illuminate Higher Education to explain how the “business of college” works, explore some post-pandemic trends, identify use cases for new technologies, and more. A few brief highlights from the interview are below; listen to the full podcast episode for a deep dive into these topics.
Q: What does TouchNet do? How did your career lead you there?
TouchNet Information Systems provides institutions of higher education integrated, comprehensive, and secure commerce and credential solutions. In other words, we help colleges and universities build secure networks for tuition and other payments, point-of-sale terminals, dining options, and third-party invoicing and payments. We also offer technological solutions to improve student identification and secure access to on-campus facilities.
Colleges and universities have one mission: to provide outstanding educational experiences for students. Our goal is to streamline and optimize behind-the-scenes business processes so faculty and staff can spend less time navigating inefficiencies and more time engaging with learners and the community.
I have worked in software my entire career, starting at MicroStrategy and later at Archer Technologies and RSA Security. Most of my experience focused on software solutions for large enterprises like Fortune 500 companies. When I began to search for new opportunities, I stumbled across TouchNet and the larger higher education technology landscape. While I had no experience in higher ed, I was inspired by the founders and the organization’s commitment to the mission. I feel very fortunate to have landed in higher education.
Q: What is one trend you have identified during your work in higher education?
In general, higher education institutions are gradually shifting to more integrated and connected systems. We are breaking down barriers between business functions and allowing for a more seamless flow of data and information.
As our customers move in this direction, they have a growing interest in leveraging the vast amounts of data collected throughout the campus ecosystem. They want to better understand how data can improve outcomes and experiences, but data silos and legacy processes hinder data analysis. For now, we are working with schools to better understand what problems they want to solve and how to move forward using data cautiously and responsibly.
Q: In short, what are the three steps colleges and universities need to take to shift toward a contactless campus?
As the pandemic wears on, higher ed institutions are trying to get everyone back on campus in the safest possible way. They want to recapture the pre-pandemic campus experience and reimagine it for a new future. Contactless technologies are integral to the process.
The basic three steps are:
Enable contactless NFC technologies beyond payments, such as dormitory access cards.
Add mobile. Mobile access is no longer just a convenience--it is a necessity.
Move to the cloud. Cloud-based platforms are more reliable and secure.
Adam and Kiran explore these three steps in more depth in the full podcast episode.
Connect with Adam McDonald on LinkedIn.
Learn more about TouchNet, A Global Payments Company on LinkedIn, Twitter @TouchNet, or by visiting TouchNet.com. Download TouchNet’s Guide to Creating a Contactless Campus here.
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This episode is brought to you by N2N’s Illuminate App, the iPaaS for Higher Education.
About N2N Services
Founded in 2010, N2N is committed to serving educational institutions and helping them figure out how to serve their students, faculty, and staff using the most innovative technologies and solutions available in the marketplace. Over the last decade, N2N has served over 300 academic institutions and enabled their student success journeys.
N2N Services Inc. is a leader in enterprise application integration and strategic advisory services for higher education, At N2N, we are committed to providing the highest quality solutions and collaboratively building student-centric solutions.
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