5 Common Cloud Adoption Challenges in Higher Education

Higher education institutions face growing pressure to upgrade their tech infrastructure in line with the rising post-pandemic digital expectations and student demands to gain real-time access to information. One way to meet this challenge is to embrace cloud technologies to improve operational efficiency. Schools and universities benefit from the scalability that solves increased traffic, reduces IT ownership costs and enhances security compliance.

However, before these benefits are realized, colleges must overcome the challenges of adopting cloud infrastructure.

The State of Cloud Adoption Among Universities

Many IT departments haven’t considered applying cloud computing to their institutions. In 2021, about 50.5% of universities were uninformed about cloud computing and its adoption. This number increased dramatically and in 2024, 88% of colleges used the cloud for over one-fourth of their applications. This shift was largely motivated by the benefits cloud computing offers, including support for remote learning and collaboration.

There are three cloud configuration options available — public, private and hybrid — and three other types of services — IaaS, PaaS and SaaS. Many universities use a combination of these configurations and services.

Common Challenges Higher Education Institutions Face

Transitioning to the cloud brings greater efficiency for institutions, but the path to cloud integration is riddled with challenges.

1.    Legacy System Integration Issues

Many colleges run core operations on deeply entrenched, on-premises legacy systems. Integrating these with modern cloud platforms can be technically complex and costly. In some cases, outdated systems lack APIs or compatible data structures, leading to failed or delayed migrations.

2.    Data Security and Privacy Concerns

Institutions collect and manage vast amounts of sensitive data — student records, research outputs and financial transactions — all attractive to cybercriminals. While cloud platforms often provide better security tools than on-premises environments, misconfigurations and unclear shared responsibility models can introduce new vulnerabilities.

Schools and colleges are at high risk of security breaches. From 2018 to 2023, 6.7 million records were compromised by ransomware attacks.

3.    Compliance and Regulatory Complexity

Higher education institutions operate under strict regulatory frameworks like FERPA and HIPAA in the U.S., GDPR in the EU and PIPEDA in Canada. Ensuring cloud vendors meet these requirements — and that the institution can prove compliance — can be a major hurdle, especially when using global providers with data centers outside the country.

4.    Cost Management and Unpredictable Pricing

While cloud platforms promise long-term cost savings, unexpected expenses from data egress, underused services and lack of governance can lead to budget overruns. This is especially problematic in public institutions with limited funding and mandatory financial transparency.

5.    Skill Gaps Within IT Teams

Transitioning to cloud-native operations requires new skills, including DevOps, container orchestration, identity and access management, and financial operations. Many university IT teams are still more familiar with on-premises systems and lack adequate training or resources to manage cloud environments effectively.

Despite these challenges, the trend toward cloud adoption in higher education is expected to continue, with institutions increasingly recognizing the strategic value of these technologies in enhancing operational efficiency and academic delivery.

How Universities Can Overcome These Challenges

To fully realize the benefits of cloud technology, institutions must address these challenges first. With the right approaches, schools and universities can streamline their migration while minimizing the risks.

Adopt a Phased, Hybrid Migration Strategy

Instead of a full lift-and-shift, institutions should begin with noncritical systems or use a hybrid model to ease into cloud adoption. Start small, demonstrate value and scale strategically.

Prioritize Identity and Access Management

Strong identity and access management practices can drastically reduce cloud security risks. Implement zero-trust architectures and multifactor authentication to secure access to sensitive systems. Also, clear data ownership models should be maintained to define roles and responsibilities between vendors and internal teams.

Engage in Proactive Compliance Planning

Work with legal and data governance teams from the outset. Choose cloud providers that offer compliance-specific documentation, regional data residency and audit-ready reporting tools. Include contractual clauses that support compliance in multijurisdictional environments.

Build Cloud Cost Governance From Day One

Set budgets, use cloud-native cost management tools and enforce tagging policies for expense attribution. Implement alerts and thresholds and revisit unused or overprovisioned services regularly. Consider training staff in financial operations principles to maximize cost transparency.

Upskill and Certify IT Teams

Partner with vendors and local educational programs to offer cloud certifications and on-the-job training. Institutions that invest in upskilling ease the transition and reduce external consulting costs.

Build a Cloud-Ready Campus Today

An educational institution’s cloud infrastructure is crucial for adopting technologies that scale as the organization grows, especially if it plans to lead in research, teaching and student success. Cloud adoption isn’t a one-time migration — it’s a whole cultural transformation for many. Understanding the challenges is merely a first step. The bigger obstacle is responding to issues and bringing plans to fruition. Agile, security-focused strategies ensure cloud infrastructure is maximized to effectively meet the needs of higher education institutions.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Zac writes for ReHack as the Features Editor and covers cybersecurity, IT, and business tech. His work has been featured on publications like AllBusiness, CyberTalk, and BLR. For more of his writing, follow him on Twitter or LinkedIn.