6. Security

Changes Latimer and other university infrastructure planners may need to make include technological improvements, such as intrusion detection systems and network vulnerability scanners. But, Latimer says, work is also needed on the policy side so schools can minimize their security risks from the start.

Latimer says disaster-recovery planning is another key VAR opportunity with higher learning institutions. The University of Tennessee uses Comdisco's hot site facility in Atlanta (which will soon belong to Sungard, the company purchasing Comdisco's bankrupt disaster-recovery business), rebuilding the school's mainframe environment there as a test. "We simulate a disaster, pack up our backup tapes that are kept off-site and take the appropriate systems analysts in a van down to Atlanta to rebuild our environment three times a year," Latimer says. The university recently brought an SAP ERP implementation online, as well, and plans to conduct similar tests of its ability to rebuild its SAP environment several times a year.

Clearly, the need for IT work in the education market is deep and diverse. Money is available and projects are on the table. For VARs, the message is clear: Going back to school never made more sense.