Why Florida State University's CIO, The Best ROI On AI Is A Flexible, Multi-Vendor Ecosystem

The rise of generative AI is redefining the job for Chief Information Officers. But the change is a strategic divergence for leaders. While some lock into a single vendor's platform, others are cultivating a diverse and secure technology portfolio that prioritizes resilience, choice, and long-term adoption.

One of the industry experts championing that approach is Jonathan Fozard, Chief Information Officer for Florida State University. With a career spanning the highest levels of academic technology leadership, Fozard's experience includes senior roles at prominent universities, including George Washington University, where he served as Interim Chief Technology Officer, and the University of Oklahoma as Assistant Vice President and Executive Director. Today, an excellent track record across multiple public research institutions gives Fozard a unique vantage point on the strategic challenges and opportunities facing modern IT.

"Many organizations invest in just one solution. But Florida State University has taken a different approach. We want to put multiple secure eggs in the basket so people have AI literacy across several platforms, to help prepare them for a workforce where tools are constantly changing," Fozard said.

• If you build it: In a somewhat surprising departure from a traditional IT playbook, Fozard championed an agile, iterative model over an outdated approach. "The old IT strategy was to 'build it and they will come'—to spend years perfecting a single piece of infrastructure and hope people use it. But that model is too slow and rigid for today's world. Our approach is to be nimble and iterative. It’s about creating an environment where we can adapt, pivot, and deliver value quickly. We start small, we learn, and we keep moving because that’s the only way to stay relevant."

• Democracy by design: Instead of a single, all-encompassing AI tool, Fozard created a secure, governed ecosystem where students and faculty could access a variety of best-in-class tools. "Democratization, for me, is about meeting the user where they are, in whatever system they're in, so that the tools can plug in and out seamlessly. That accessibility must be built on a non-negotiable foundation of security that protects our data, our users, and our ecosystem."

But Fozard’s definition of "democratization" is far from a free-for-all. Instead, it’s a deliberate architecture built on a precise technical blueprint: one that is interoperable, API-driven, and not reliant on a single platform. And, like any great strategy, it's useless without adoption, he admitted.

• On driving adoption: "Our job in IT is to make IT easier," Fozard said. For him, the CIO must be both the architect and the system's most visible champion. "Real adoption doesn't come from top-down mandates. The entire strategy has to shift from 'everyone must use this' to creating a culture where people ask, 'why wouldn't I want to use this?' You achieve that by relentlessly focusing on value. We have to demonstrate how these tools make our students more successful, our researchers more impactful, and our staff more efficient. When you frame technology as a solution that makes people's work and lives better, you're not forcing change. You're enabling it."

At FSU, Fozard's philosophy is currently in action. Here, he credited the university's president and executive team for viewing IT modernization as central to student success. The "multiple secure eggs" in his basket include a partnership with Microsoft, collaboration with Google through their AI for Education Accelerator initiative, and custom AR/VR learning experiences for nursing and child welfare programs.

• On the new ROI: But the most compelling return on investment is human. By redirecting resources freed up from legacy infrastructure, Fozard built an IT internship program of 130 students per semester. "This represents a fundamental shift. We've moved away from the old model of just building and maintaining infrastructure. Now, our focus is on being nimble and, most importantly, building the talent pipeline in the process. By divesting from legacy systems, we've reinvested those resources directly into our students, giving them hands-on experience with cutting-edge tools. The ROI is no longer about IT efficiency. It's about creating the workforce of the future."

So what can the corporate world learn? In closing, Fozard boiled it down to two lessons. First, leaders can start small with clear use cases to build value incrementally. For example, FSU can pilot new technologies across its diverse environments—from K-12 charter schools to research labs and large athletic arenas—to validate use cases before scaling them.

Second, they should prepare to embrace the unprecedented talent that's coming our way, he concluded. "I'm learning alongside 130 student interns every semester, and they give me a direct window into the future. What I'm seeing is that this next generation is not afraid of these tools. They understand the value of using their data to make their lives easier, as long as it's secure. Corporate leaders need to pay attention because getting to know this career pipeline will be a game-changer. In the next 24 to 48 months, a new workforce is coming with a grasp of AI that many companies simply do not have a handle on yet."