All for One, One for All
Alabama A&M Consolidates Systems — Saving Budget with Pathify
All for One, One for All
Alabama A&M Consolidates Systems — Saving Budget with Pathify
For many universities, managing the technology stack feels like piecing together a broken puzzle — systems don’t fit together, costs spiral out of control and IT teams bear the brunt of navigating through the chaos. When Alabama A&M University’s (AAMU) CIO and Ryan Adkins, Cloud Application Administrator, surveyed the university’s technology landscape, they identified a core issue — too many tools accomplishing too little. The fragmented mix of vendors and redundant capabilities not only created inconveniences — they hindered innovation and fiscal sustainability.
When AAMU first purchased Pathify, the goal remained simple — unify disjointed web and mobile portal applications into one platform. While initially successful, the real breakthrough came when the team expanded Pathify to consolidate additional constituent-facing systems. This move quickly created a more modern, one-stop shop experience, unlocking significant annual cost savings and proving when technology and people align, efficiency, cohesion and a thriving campus community follow.
Selecting a New Solution
Adkins identified two main objectives when evaluating portal solutions — consolidate the university’s Single Sign-On (SSO) portal and replace its outdated mobile application. With guidance and insights from AAMU’s CIO, Adkins aimed to implement a solution that displayed relevant content and resources across any device. “We didn’t want users wasting time hunting down information,” Adkins shared. “We wanted to deliver it in a personalized, timely way.”
With these objectives in mind and evaluating their needs, AAMU quickly identified Pathify met and exceeded their goals. With its advanced role-based capabilities, unified desktop and mobile experience and modern, engaging interface, Pathify stood out as the perfect solution. Unlike other options — like Ellucian Experience and Unifyed — Pathify’s vendor-agnostic platform offered seamless integrations without adding unnecessary technical complexity to the tech stack. “We wanted something modern and efficient — a solution uniting our systems, not adding to them,” explained Adkins.
One Hub, Many Uses
Today, “myAAMU” — the university’s Pathify instance — connects students, faculty and staff to personalized content, tasks and information. For students, the new portal seamlessly integrates with systems like Blackboard and Handshake to surface homework assignments, job postings and personalized tasks such as graduation reminders and financial aid deadlines.
For faculty and staff, “myAAMU” replaced a clunky, underutilized SharePoint intranet with a sleek, centralized space for employee-specific tools and communications. Once an overlooked repository, it now functions as an essential, secure hub — keeping university employees informed and connected.
As the University’s SSO hub, “myAAMU” ensures universal adoption, by serving as the gateway to everything a user needs on campus. “Change feels intimidating at first, but ‘myAAMU’ quickly became the one-stop shop everyone relies on,” said Adkins. “The entire campus embraced it because it simplifies everything.”
When Less is More
AAMU’s transition to Pathify represented a masterclass in consolidation — by replacing the legacy mobile app, student portal and employee intranet, the university simplified processes, reduced vendor management and achieved significant financial savings. “I don’t believe in paying extra for duplicated services or systems,” Adkins quipped. “Every time we consolidate costs, it’s a win for the end user’s experience and the team managing the tech stack.”
The university recently intensified efforts to eliminate redundancies and consolidate additional systems into Pathify, including its campus-wide chatbot. “Pathify’s GenAI Chatbot matched — and in some areas exceeded — the performance and functionality of our previous provider,” Adkins said. “Much like the Engagement Hub, the bot enhances user experiences while seamlessly integrating into our Pathify ecosystem. It’s one less vendor to manage.”
The results speak for themselves — condensing the portal, mobile app, intranet and chatbot into Pathify saved AAMU $25,000 annually, accounting for 18% of the IT department’s budget. The university continues evaluating consolidation opportunities — including bringing its existing student activities platform into Pathify, potentially saving an additional $20,000.
Beyond the financial impact, consolidation efforts redefined and simplified the user experience. “It’s about giving our campus community one place, one login, to access everything they need,” Adkins noted. “Pathify transformed how we connect our campus to information. Yes, we’ve saved budget but the real achievement lies in creating a smoother, more engaging digital experience.”
A People-Driven Portal
As Adkins and AAMU continue their Pathify journey, their transformation showcases the power of strategic consolidation. “With Pathify, everything lives in one place,” Adkins explained. “It provides a simpler, more efficient tech stack, less vendor management and a smoother campus experience prioritizing what matters most — the people.”
AAMU’s strategy creates a unified, collaborative environment, breaking down siloes and empowering users across campus. With Pathify at the center, features like personalized alerts and campus-wide Groups drive engagement and communication. “It’s about making technology work for us, not the other way around,” Adkins remarked. By building a balanced, secure and future-focused tech stack, AAMU fuels innovation, ensures smart budget allocation and delivers a more connected, sustainable and user-centric campus experience — an all-around win for students, faculty and staff alike.
About Alabama A&M University
Alabama A&M University (AAMU) is a historic, community-focused institution located in Huntsville, Alabama. Reflecting on its heritage as a Historical Black College and University (HBCU) and a traditional 1890 land-grant institution, AAMU functions as a teaching, research and public service institution, including extension. Founded in 1875 by a former slave, Dr. William Hooper Council, AAMU is a dynamic and progressive institution with a strong commitment to academic excellence. The university provides more than 60 undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs and concentrations, a diverse international faculty, 50+ student organizations and an extensive alumni network, many of whom are change agents on the local, national and international stage. Learn more at aamu.edu.
