Mr. Nutter,

This page was built for Otterbein. It is a short outside read on the economics and capacity of the University’s current IT delivery model, prepared by CampusWorks + Dynamic Campus from public information.

Otterbein’s recent financial results show expenses outpacing revenue for two consecutive years. In that environment, every significant recurring commitment deserves a clear view of the value, capacity, and flexibility it provides.

Three things caught our attention.

1. Two consecutive years of pressure make recurring commitments worth revisiting. The point is not to presume that a long-running agreement is too expensive or underperforming. It is to understand what the University is buying today, what it is consuming, and whether that model still represents the right tradeoff for current financial and operating conditions.
2. The application management and hosting arrangement dates to 2011. An agreement can continue to perform well and still merit a fresh look after fifteen years. Scope, staffing, technology, security, and service expectations all evolve, and the economics should be evaluated against the institution Otterbein is today.
3. The total model includes more than the contract line. A finance view should include internal effort, specialized expertise, workarounds, and activities that sit outside formal scope as well as the contracted spend itself. That is the only way to understand total cost and total coverage.

Why Otterbein. Why now.

1. FY2027 planning follows two years in which expenses outpaced revenue. That makes recurring operating commitments more useful to examine now than after assumptions are already set.
2. The current arrangement has a long history. Fifteen years creates enough distance to evaluate scope and economics without treating the review as a judgment on the original decision.
3. Future managed services decisions will carry forward for another cycle. An independent baseline can help Otterbein make that choice with greater visibility into tradeoffs.

This is a useful moment to step back because the evaluation is most valuable while important choices are still open — before the next operating model becomes the default.

What you can expect from a Different Perspective evaluation

CampusWorks + Dynamic Campus will provide a complimentary Different Perspective evaluation that will result in a concise, executive-level assessment designed to help you better understand the current IT environment, identify opportunities for improvement, and determine if your current IT managed services model is built for where your institution is headed.

Deliverables include:

• Key observations, findings, and recommendations emerging from the assessment.
• SWOT analysis identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and risks within the current IT environment.
• Quick wins and areas for growth highlighting opportunities for near-term improvement as well as areas requiring longer-term attention.
• High-level strategies and forward-looking options, including a 12–18-month recommendation roadmap to help guide sequencing and next steps.
• Core systems analysis covering the institution’s ERP, SIS, CRM, and related platforms.
• Initial maturity assessment of operational practices, governance, AI maturity, and cybersecurity posture.
• Prioritized themes for improvement or change identifying the areas that warrant the greatest attention, investment, or further exploration.

Before you recommit, get a different perspective.

No proposal. No obligation. No requirement to change providers. No commitment of any kind.

Just an independent perspective on what the current model delivers, what the institution needs next, and whether those two things are still aligned.

Why CampusWorks + Dynamic Campus?

Because managed services should evolve with the institution. CampusWorks + Dynamic Campus bring together deep IT and functional expertise to deliver one of higher education’s most comprehensive managed services models. Our integrated approach is designed for today’s financial, operational, workforce, and technology realities — helping institutions extend capacity, reduce risk, strengthen resilience, and improve the way work gets done across the enterprise.

More importantly, we help institutions look beyond the status quo. With expertise that extends well beyond technology alone, we provide the perspective, flexibility, and support needed to choose an operating model aligned with where the institution is headed next.