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In a somewhat surprising departure from a traditional IT playbook, Fozard championed an agile, iterative model over an outdated approach.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."