The origins of this special edition of the Journal of Enterprise Information Management can be traced back to a study undertaken in South Africa in 2010, which found that there was little published work that investigated the way that information is managed in education, from either the strategic or operational perspectives. The work that was then available tended to be anecdotal and based on specific information technologies such as the 'clicker' system, early learning management systems or intelligent whiteboards. There was little inclination to stand back and think about the bigger picture. As this special issue shows, there are clear pressures to change the way we educate that derive from the opportunities and the problems that new technologies present. Mobile devices, data analytics, business intelligence, learning objects, repositories, MOOCs and enterprise-wide systems all figure in the opportunities list. On the other hand, intransigence, organizational capability, reliance on external sources, cultural differences and a general unwillingness to accept change, can all mitigate against success and lead to real problems.