# Mastering the Science Behind Creating an IT Department

Published 2022-05-27 · Updated 2026-07-23 · Education Technology on MarketScale
Canonical: https://www.marketscale.com/industries/education-technology/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…

In this episode of [There’s More to IT](https://marketscale.com/shows/there-is-more-to-it/), host, [Jason Claybrook](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-claybrook-b829392), sat down with [David McLaughlin](https://columbiaadvisory.com/meet-our-team/david-mclaughlin/), President & CEO, [Columbia Advisory Group](https://columbiaadvisory.com/). 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.

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