Mastering the Science Behind Creating an IT Department

 

In this episode of There’s More to IT, host, Jason Claybrook, sat down with David McLaughlin, President & CEO, Columbia Advisory Group. The two discuss McLaughlin’s journey in the field, the importance of the advisory component in CAG’s work, and CAG’s role in higher education.

McLaughlin co-founded Columbia Advisory Group a little over 10 years ago in March of 2012. “CAG is a technology company,” McLaughlin explains, “but first, we are an advisory. So what to do and how to do it are most important.”A lot of CAG’s focus in the background is executing what the strategy is and then providing a roadmap for a company.

This is especially true for some of the larger public sector organizations that CAG works with. McLaughlin explains that specifically, higher education organizations like to have more input and control over how quickly they change things. As a result CAG has learned to give these organizations a plan, allowing them to control how fast they want to go. “You know your mechanism and your institution more than anyone.”

The two go on to discuss the role of security in higher education systems, the difference between public and private sectors, and much more.

More Stories Like This:

Breaking through ‘Pilot Purgatory’ in Innovating New Solutions

Is Cryptocurrency and Its Tech Infrastructure Ready for a Revolution?

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

Doable
Rethinking Leadership: Why “Doable” Might Be the Most Powerful Strategy in Education Today
April 3, 2026

At a time when educator burnout is rising and schools across the U.S. are facing ongoing teacher shortages, leaders are being forced to rethink what sustainable success actually looks like. Research shows that teacher attrition is closely tied to working conditions, job-related stress, and workload demands. As districts push for innovation, data-driven instruction, and…

Read More
Casey Brown
From Poverty to Pricing Power | Why Great Companies Undercharge
April 2, 2026

Casey Brown didn’t grow up thinking she would become an entrepreneur. She grew up in a blue-collar family where money was always tight — close enough to the edge that the fear of poverty shaped many of her early decisions. That fear led her into engineering, into corporate America, and eventually into a moment…

Read More
Nightingales Summit: Empowering the Next Generation of Nigerian Nurses
Nightingales Summit: Empowering the Next Generation of Nigerian Nurses
April 2, 2026

In this episode of Care Anywhere, host Lea Sims sits down with Nigerian nurse entrepreneur and advocate Obafemi Arowosegbe to discuss leadership, mentorship, and the future of nursing in Africa. While still a nursing student, Obafemi founded the Nightingale Summit, a growing conference designed to empower nursing students and early-career nurses with leadership skills,…

Read More
Oncology
From Denial to Access: Rethinking Oncology Care Through AI, Clinical Trials, and Patient-Centered Innovation
April 1, 2026

The rapid expansion of precision medicine, biologics, and targeted cancer therapies is transforming oncology—but it’s also overwhelming a system not built to keep pace. In the U.S., cancer drugs now account for some of the highest-cost treatments in healthcare, and with that has come a surge in prior authorization requirements and denials. Studies suggest physicians…

Read More