SharePoint & Microsoft Resources

End-of-Term Report 2026

What a Year of Higher Education Digital Transformation Taught Us

A practical look at the challenges, priorities and opportunities shaping Microsoft 365 digital workplaces across higher education. Based on a year of conversations, discovery work and projects with universities across the UK, Europe and the Middle East.

Download the report to explore the trends influencing Microsoft 365, SharePoint, AI readiness, governance and staff experience in higher education.

A preview image of the Higher Education end-of-term report for 2026. Showcasing the title page, followed by the contents page and introduction 'the year in review' page.

Higher education’s digital story this year has been less about any single technology and more about coherence: making information easier to find, trusted enough to rely on, and governed well enough to support what comes next.  

Drawing on our work with universities throughout 2025/26, the report explores how institutions are strengthening their Microsoft 365 foundations, preparing for practical AI use, and rethinking the digital workplace as part of the way the whole university operates. 

Who this report is for

This report is for senior leaders in internal communications, digital transformation, IT and the digital workplace who want a candid, practical view of where higher education’s digital agenda actually got to this year – and what to prioritise next.

It’s not survey research or a market report. This is a field report: drawn from the conversations and projects we’ve been part of with universities across the 2025/26 academic year.

What You’ll Learn

The report is based on real conversations with universities and the practical challenges they’re working through today. Inside the report, you’ll discover:

  • Why universities are moving beyond the idea of an “intranet project” and towards a wider digital campus operating model.
  • The growing challenge of findability, content fragmentation and information trust.
  • How institutions are approaching Microsoft Copilot and AI with practical governance and guardrails.
  • Why governance is increasingly being viewed as an enabler rather than a blocker.
  • How universities are finding more value from their existing Microsoft 365 investment under financial pressure.
  • The trends we expect to shape the next 12 months in higher education digital transformation.

Why Download This Report?

Many universities are facing similar questions:

  • How can we improve findability and trust in information?
  • How do we prepare our digital workplace for AI?
  • Where should governance sit within a decentralised institution?
  • How can we get more value from our Microsoft 365 investment?
  • What are other universities prioritising right now?

This report brings those conversations together into a practical, sector-focused reference guide.

Universities We Support

King's College London logo
University of Leeds logo - PNG version
MBZUAI Logo
Manchester Met University MMU logo
City St Georges University of London logo
Maynooth University logo
Riga Stradins University logo
Liverpool Hope University - logo

Download Your Copy of the End-of-Term Report

Access the End-of-Term report at any time and download your own copy.

 

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