Better Together: A Unified Approach to the End-User IT Experience

Higher education is going through a period of radical transformation, and much of it is being shaped by technology.

Institutions around the world are being asked to reimagine how they deliver technology services: how they support flexible learning, deliver seamless digital experiences on and off campus, and ensure every student has access to the tools they need to succeed.

At the same time, IT teams are under increasing pressure to do more with less, to operate efficiently, make evidence-based decisions, and ensure that every investment is where it’s most needed, and delivers maximum impact.

This is exactly why AppsAnywhere and LabStats coming together is such an exciting development for the sector. Through the integration of two complementary solutions and like-minded organizations, higher education IT will have access to the first truly unified approach to end-user computing across labs, hardware, software, and student-owned devices, both on and off campus.

Why is this such an important moment for the sector?

It has never been more important to gain insight into and control of the IT infrastructure – physical and virtual – as IT is shaping to be the engine room of universities and colleges. As education evolves to meet the changing needs of students, digital access becomes the energy that powers institutions.

As Peter Cooke, President of AppsAnywhere and LabStats, explains:

“Colleges and universities have started to treat software access as core student infrastructure, going beyond an IT responsibility to a mission critical priority. Institutions increasingly recognize that uneven device capabilities, limited lab hours, and off-campus barriers can lead to inequity and undermine student success long before academic challenges surface.

Campuses are moving toward device-agnostic, cloud-enabled access models that ensure students can run required applications wherever they are, on whatever hardware they have. But this can come at a huge cost if not paired with data and analytics investment. Understanding usage patterns, bottlenecks, and performance gaps will help institutions optimize resources and budgets to meet the needs of all students.

This is the opportunity in front of the sector: moving beyond disconnected tools and journeys toward an integrated, long-term model that understands demand and leverages operational capabilities to better support students."

Where do AppsAnywhere and LabStats fit in the higher ed IT landscape?

What’s unique about AppsAnywhere and LabStats is the single sector focus on education, commitment to supporting institutions to solve real challenges through innovation, and genuine connection with customers, which translates into product development.

Together, AppsAnywhere and LabStats are the first to provide a comprehensive view of the end-user IT environment on and off campus, giving IT teams ongoing insight and control to optimize and plan resources around the real-time access needs of students and staff.

LabStats brings usage and availability insight across IT hardware, computer labs, and software on campus. It puts actionable insight into the hands of IT teams to right-size resource allocation, pinpoint asset improvement, and ensure investments are made with student success at the center.

AppsAnywhere provides a sustainable and scalable approach to software delivery, access and ongoing insight on and off campus. It makes any software available and accessible on any device, anytime, anywhere, reducing complexity for IT and creating equity for students.

This unified approach is already resonating with institutions across the sector. As Mark Haidl, Director of Communications & Infrastructure at the University of Regina, shared:

“The integration of LabStats’ advanced analytics with the AppsAnywhere application delivery platform provides an exciting opportunity for additional insight into lab and software use. We expect the collaboration to offer us a more unified, data-driven view of IT resource usage, enabling our institution to better understand and meet the evolving needs of students and faculty. We look forward to the innovation and operational efficiencies this partnership will bring to the higher education landscape.”

A unified approach across some key challenges for institutions

By combining insight with delivery, this unified perspective supports the full end-user IT lifecycle, including:

Lab management and utilization optimization

Universities can better understand how labs and devices are being used, identify underused resources, improve availability, and even repurpose space based on real demand.

With capabilities like lab availability visibility (LabMaps), device usage insights, and proactive alerts, institutions can continually optimize lab environments for both efficiency and student experience.

Smarter software delivery and utilization insights

Institutions gain a central place to control software delivery across labs and BYOD devices, ensuring the right applications reach the right users at the right time.

Usage intelligence also supports more effective licensing decisions, cost controls, and cybersecurity compliance.

Student access, experience and analytics on any device

Students and faculty benefit from seamless access to secure software through a single platform, with flexibility across campus and remote learning environments.

This supports hybrid teaching, accessibility, and equitable access to resources, regardless of device or location.

For CIOs and Directors of IT, that means clearer strategic direction and measurable impact. For operational teams, it means fewer manual workarounds and more confidence in day-to-day decisions.

Long-term value: efficiency, sustainability, and maximum impact

Universities are increasingly being asked not only to reduce costs, but to ensure that IT spend is directed in the right place, delivering measurable outcomes for students and staff.

By uniting hardware insight with scalable software delivery control, institutions can continually optimize and right-size investment over time, ensuring resources deliver maximum impact rather than being based on assumptions.

Unlike virtual desktops, AppsAnywhere offers multiple delivery methods that can be prioritized depending on the application or device and scaled without additional cost.

This enables universities to:

• Reduce unnecessary hardware and software spend
• Spend less on virtual desktop infrastructure
• Consolidate underused lab space
• Extend device lifespans
• Align licensing with real usage
• Improve sustainability, financially and environmentally

Through built-in dashboards, alerts, and analytics templates, this becomes an operating system for IT that not only delivers ongoing cost savings but also frees up resources to focus on other projects.

AppsAnywhere provides the scalable delivery framework. LabStats provides the evidence to shape it intelligently. Together, they create a model that adapts over time rather than requiring constant reinvention.

A better experience for students and staff

While much of the value is strategic and institutional focused, the positive impact on the end user is significant.

Students want a simple, consistent way to access the software they need. They want to move between campus and home without friction. They want confidence that their institution has designed its IT environment around how they actually study. For those studying on campus, being able to see what computers are available to access the software they need can make a real difference in getting things done fast.

Faculty want reliability, performance, and flexibility. They want to know the technology they choose to teach works when they need it, without having to waste precious teaching time on troubleshooting.

By aligning insight and delivery, institutions can provide:

• A single, centralized access point for software
• Flexible access on any device
• Visibility into lab availability and remote options
• A more consistent experience across environments and devices

One community, one unified vision

With over 1000 institutions across 22+ countries and more than 15 years of specialist experience, AppsAnywhere and LabStats are uniquely positioned to support the evolving needs of higher education IT.

For existing customers using one solution, the opportunity is to extend the value they already trust by connecting insight with delivery.

For institutions already using both, the benefit deepens as alignment strengthens, with a single partnership focused on unified optimization rather than isolated tools.

And for universities exploring their options, this unified approach offers something distinct: a comprehensive view of hardware, labs, software utilization and delivery, on and off campus, supported by one organization committed to education an innovation.

We’re excited about the next stage, and we hope you are too!