EdTech Connect: Ricardo Rengifo – From Filing Cabinets to a Future-Ready Campus

Podcast: EdTech Connect
Host: Jeff Dillon
Guest: Ricardo Rengifo, President & CEO of DBS Software and Services
Date: November 7, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, host Jeff Dillon sits down with Ricardo Rengifo, a leader in digital transformation for higher education and the President & CEO of DBS Software and Services. They explore the journey "from filing cabinets to a future-ready campus," focusing on how digital technologies—especially smart forms, workflow automation, and document management—can revolutionize campus operations, enhance user experience, drive compliance, and save costs. Ricardo shares practical insights, real-world campus success stories, and actionable advice for institutions at any stage of their digital transformation.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Personal Side of Automation

• (01:34) Ricardo humorously expresses his wish to automate "coordinating the family dinner," likening it to a multi-step, multi-stakeholder workflow.

  • Quote:

    “It is a multi step process, multi stakeholders. The information has to route to the right person, and if you get a kickback or a rejection, you have to start over.” – Ricardo Rengifo (01:43)

• Connection to Education:

  • Institutional processes are similarly complex with repeated steps, frequent handoffs, and dependencies.

2. Why Focus on Higher Ed Digital Transformation?

• (02:32) Having worked across industries, Ricardo was drawn to higher ed because inefficiencies here have a direct and meaningful impact on both cost and the overall student/staff experience.

3. Typical 'Before & After' Digital Transformation Journey

• (03:53–04:51)
  • Before: "Document chaos"—paper and PDF forms shuttled via email or hand, stored haphazardly, “can’t be traced.”
    • Quote:

      "It's a result of the patchwork of, you know, silos of processes, applications, you know, systems." – Ricardo (03:53)

  • After: A total transformation—streamlined, digital information flow, fewer errors, happier users, and major cost savings from consolidated, lower-cost applications.

4. Major Roadblocks to Digitalization

• (05:03) The two biggest barriers: fear and perceived lack of resources.

  • Fear: Of failure (past failed projects) and of complexity.
  • Resources: Misconception that massive IT budgets and large teams are required.
  • Ricardo’s solution: Turnkey, concierge-level services that reduce campus IT burden.

• Quote:

  “We’re like an extension of the team.” – Ricardo (05:47)

5. Smart Forms & E-signatures: Game Changers

• (06:07)

  • From 'Dumb' to 'Smart':
    • PDFs are just containers; smart forms are interactive, guiding users, validating entries, and automating downstream actions.
  • E-signatures: Many institutions use overly complex or expensive tools (like DocuSign) when integrated workflow solutions can serve better and more affordably.

• Quote:

  “Smart form… is an experience that guides the user… has the logic, the validation, whatever it needs to simplify that process, reduce the errors, and it makes that information flow from the user to the stakeholder as quickly as possible.” – Ricardo (06:25)

6. Where to Start: Overlooked Workflows & Big ROI

• (08:03)
  • Many focus first on admissions or registration, but “the biggest ROI is often from overlooked operational areas”—like HR, facilities, or contracts.
  • Ricardo shares how automating faculty contracting moved them from spreadsheets and manual processes to fully digital, reducing both effort and error.

7. Customization vs. Configuration

• (08:55–09:06)
  • Ricardo emphasizes that with flexible configuration (not heavy custom code), solutions can be tailored to any campus's unique needs efficiently.

8. Compliance and Security

• (09:13)
  • Three Layers:
    1. Infrastructure (encryption, geo-redundancy)
    2. Access control (SSO, MFA, customizable per campus)
    3. Auditability (event logs, trails for compliance)
  • Quote:

    “All of the tools have, you know, event logs, audit trails, all the things that you need to really ensure that you’re complying with whatever standard it is that you need to comply with.” – Ricardo (09:42)

9. Integration with Campus Systems

• (10:04)
  • Robust, flexible APIs (RESTful), plus specialists assist to ensure integration with Student Information Systems (SIS), LMS, and future tech changes.

10. Blueprint for a “Single Digital Experience”

• (10:53–11:30)
  • Eliminate “silos,” centralize all forms and digital services for seamless, user-centered experiences—a single secure location for all interactions.

11. Change Management: Building Champions

• (12:07)

  • Start with a few use cases to demonstrate value, build internal champions, socialize wins, and expand organically as other departments seek to onboard.

• Memorable Moment:

  "Once that first use case goes live, other departments...proactively reach out." – Ricardo (12:40)

12. Success Stories

• Seminole State College (Oklahoma):
  • Full contract automation, completed in just over 12 months, with IT feedback praising above-and-beyond partnership (13:12).
• Paris Junior College (Texas):
  • Streamlined complex forms where completion rates jumped from 20% (paper) to nearly 100% (digital).
  • Quote:

    “We were looking for a tool that could handle what we threw at it, and you guys knocked it out of the park.” – Paris Junior College Team, relayed by Ricardo (14:09)

13. Supporting Campuses with Limited IT

• (15:13)
  • DBS offers “concierge level services”—implementation, configuration, integration support, and maintenance all included.
  • “Forms as a Service” (FaaS or "Fast") gives institutions end-to-end support without burdening IT resources.

14. Who Benefits Most?

• (16:24–16:47)
  • Solutions are especially beneficial for smaller institutions with limited IT staff—a majority in the U.S. higher ed landscape.

15. The Future: Intelligence, AI & Accessibility

• (16:55–17:46)

  • Next wave is about making forms/intelligent workflows accessible and eliminating coding barriers.
  • Direct AI integration (e.g., ChatGPT rules for auto-generating logic) empowers non-programmers to build smart forms.

• Quote:

  “That’s the future. Putting the power to create these experiences in the hands of the people that run the campus.” – Ricardo (17:46)

16. Strategic Advice for Digital Transformation

• (19:34)

  • Quote:

    “Don’t try to boil the ocean...Find one specific painful process and understand it...The business case kind of follows easily.” – Ricardo (19:34)

• Start small; identify the single most cumbersome form/process, map it with stakeholders, and quantify its costs—demonstrate value, then scale.

Memorable Quotes

• On forms and tradition:

  "The biggest mistake we see is...you have a form that's been on paper and you think that, oh, all we have to copy it and make it look exactly the same. No, their approach is really think about what the form is doing, what the experience...is supposed to be like, and then build your form." – Ricardo (18:27)

• On partnership and the DBS approach:

  “When we say software as a service, we mean it...implementation, configuration, onboarding, integration...just call us or email us or chat us up and we're there.” – Ricardo (15:15)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00 – Transformation story: From complex, confusing paper forms to near-perfect digital completion rates
• 03:53 – “Before & after” of a typical campus: moving from chaos to streamlined digital
• 05:03 – Addressing roadblocks (fear, resources)
• 06:07 – Smart forms vs. PDFs; E-signature strategies
• 08:03 – Overlooked workflows & where to start
• 12:07 – Change management best practices
• 13:12 – Real-world campus success examples
• 15:13 – Supporting limited IT teams: “Forms as a Service”
• 16:55 – Future of workflow: AI and no-code customization
• 19:34 – Ricardo’s top advice for campus leaders starting transformation

Final Thoughts & Next Steps

• Ricardo’s Core Advice: Start small, demonstrate value, and don’t be afraid to ask for help—he invites listeners to connect with him directly for advice.
• Upcoming Webinar: Deep dive on the Paris Junior College transformation case, November 19, 11am Pacific.
• Host’s Reflection: “These solutions…often not thought of as the sexiest…but transformational for campuses.” – Jeff Dillon (20:20)

For additional resources, show notes, and the upcoming webinar, visit edtechconnect.com.