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.
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.
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.
Who Is This Report For?
This guide is designed for:
- Internal Communications leaders
- Digital Workplace Managers
- Heads of Digital
- CIOs and IT leaders
- Digital Transformation teams
- SharePoint and Microsoft 365 owners
- Employee Experience specialists
- University leaders responsible for organisational change
If you’re responsible for improving how staff access information, collaborate, communicate or adopt digital tools, you’ll find practical insights and sector-wide themes to inform your next steps.
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
Download Your Copy of the End-of-Term Report
Access the End-of-Term report at any time and download your own copy.
