Big Ten Academic Alliance

What Big Ten Academic Alliance does

The Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) is a non-profit consortium of 18 world-class research universities that collectively serves more than 810,000 students and supports a 9.2 million+ alumni network. The Alliance operates as a shared-services platform delivering four interconnected program areas: (1) Libraries, including the BIG Collection (shared digital and print resources), Open Scholarship agreements with publishers such as Wiley, Cambridge University Press, MIT Press, and Springer, Shared Print Repositories, UBorrow interlibrary loan, and consortial licensing; (2) Leadership Institute, comprising the Academic Leadership Program, Department Executive Officers Program, Deans Leadership Program, and Humanities Faculty Leadership Fellowship; (3) International programs, including the International Research Experience Program (IREP) with the FIGURE Network of French universities and the SIO Professional Development Program on Internationalization (110+ participants trained since 2019); and (4) Technology services, anchored by the OmniPoP fiber optic network (100Gbps ports, dual connections to Internet2, peerings with ESnet and StarLight), federated Identity and Access Management via InCommon, an annual Cybersecurity Month program, the Women+ in Technology (WIT+) group, the IT Accessibility framework, the Love Data Week event series, and the public-facing Data Dashboard for institutional metrics comparison.

Name

Big Ten Academic Alliance

Legal name

Big Ten Academic Alliance

Website

https://btaa.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1958

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Big Ten Academic Alliance is a non-profit consortium of 18 US research universities delivering shared library resources, leadership development, technology infrastructure, and international programs to member institutions, students, and faculty.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Consortium Services

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Educational Support Services (611710), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

International & Global Research Universities (Multi-Campus/International Footprint) (EDAHABAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Research Universities with Multi-Campus Systems (EDAHAAAI), Research Collaboration & Joint Labs (International Partnerships) (EDAIABAC)

Keywords

• Academic consortium services
• Library resource sharing
• Research network infrastructure
• Leadership development programs
• Consortium procurement licensing

Headquarters

HQ city

Champaign

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Big Ten Academic Alliance is a nonprofit consortium of 18 research universities that delivers shared services across four pillars: (1) library collaboration including the Big Collection, Open Scholarship agreements with publishers, Shared Print Repositories, UBorrow fulfillment, and Geospatial Information Network; (2) the Leadership Institute with programs for academic leaders, deans, department executive officers, and humanities faculty; (3) international programs including the International Research Experience Program (IREP) and the SIO Professional Development Program on Internationalization; and (4) technology infrastructure including the OmniPoP fiber optic research network, federated Identity and Access Management, cybersecurity coordination, IT accessibility resources, and group procurement and consortial licensing services.

Product overview

The Big Ten Academic Alliance is a consortium of 18 world-class research universities united around shared commitments to academic excellence and collaborative innovation. Rather than a single product, BTAA provides a platform of interconnected programs and shared services across four main areas: (1) Libraries—including the Big Collection (shared print and digital resources), Open Scholarship (open access publishing with agreements with Cambridge University Press, PLOS, MIT Press, Open Library of Humanities, Wiley, Springer, IOP, and others), Shared Print Repositories, UBorrow fulfillment, and consortial licensing; (2) Leadership Institute—comprising the Academic Leadership Program (ALP), Department Executive Officers (DEO) Program, Deans Leadership Program, and Humanities Faculty Leadership Fellowship; (3) International programs—including the International Research Experience Program (IREP) for French CMI students and the SIO Professional Development Program on Internationalization; and (4) Technology—including OmniPoP (fiber optic network), Identity and Access Management (via InCommon Federation), Love Data Week (data visualization competitions), Cybersecurity Month, Women+ in Technology (WIT+), IT Accessibility resources (including the Digital Accessibility Vendor Cookbook), IT Leaders Program, and the Data Dashboard for institutional metrics comparison.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BTAA: Common abbreviation for Big Ten Academic Alliance
• Big Ten Academic Alliance
• Love Data Week
• Digital Accessibility Vendor Cookbook
• ITAG - Accessibility Prioritization Guide
• Women+ in Technology (WIT+)
• OmniPoP
• SIO Professional Development Program on Internationalization
• International Research Experience Partnership (IREP)
• Leadership Institute

Products and services

• Leadership Institute
• Big Collection
• Open Scholarship
• Procurement Consortium
• Library Consortial Licensing
• International Research Experience Program (IREP)
• SIO Professional Development Program on Internationalization
• OmniPoP
• Identity and Access Management
• Cybersecurity Program
• IT Accessibility
• Data Dashboard
• Women+ in Technology (WIT+)
• IT Leaders Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 810,000+ students benefit from collaborative programs and shared resources
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Big Ten ConferencecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025The Big Ten Academic Alliance works in conjunction with the Big Ten Conference under the 'We Are Here' awareness campaign. The second ad in the campaign series aired during Big Ten basketball games and winter sports. The collaboration highlights the collective strength and real-world impact of Big Ten institutions.
• FIGURE NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe FIGURE Network, a not-for-profit association of French universities, has partnered with BTAA to create the International Research Experience Partnership (IREP). CMI (Cursus Master en Ingénierie) students from France can apply for short-term research opportunities at BTAA member universities. The partnership provides international mobility requirements for French students while connecting Big Ten researchers with European academic talent.
• Internet2coreTechnology or IntegrationOmniPoP provides dual 100Gbps connections to Internet2 national network backbone (AL2S - Advanced Layer 2 Services) and Commercial Peering Services, enabling direct connections to commercial Internet providers and reducing connector costs.
• IREP Host UniversitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBTAA member universities serve as host institutions for the International Research Experience Program, providing research opportunities for French CMI scholars in STEM fields. The 18 host universities include major research institutions such as University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Michigan, Northwestern, UCLA, USC, and others.
• University of IllinoiscoreTechnology or IntegrationBTAA websites and servers are hosted by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The consortium follows University of Illinois policies for cookies, social security numbers, and business/financial procedures.
• WileyflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerWiley and Big Ten Academic Alliance signed an agreement to advance open scholarship across leading U.S. institutions. The agreement includes full read access and unlimited publishing for hybrid journals and expands access across 16 flagship universities and 19 affiliate campuses.
• Big Ten NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOmniPoP serves as the unique peer of the Big Ten Network, a joint venture between subsidiaries of the Big Ten Conference and Fox Cable Networks created to provide national exposure for Big Ten sports.
• ESnetcoreTechnology or IntegrationESnet is a high-speed network connecting thousands of Department of Energy scientists, collaborators and their big science instruments worldwide. OmniPoP has established peering with ESnet.
• StarLightcoreTechnology or IntegrationBased in Chicago, StarLight is the preeminent international connection point for high-performance research and education activity in the central United States. OmniPoP has peering established with StarLight.
• Global Research Network Operations Center (GRNOC)coreTechnology or IntegrationGRNOC of Indiana University provides outstanding technical management of OmniPoP, ensuring strong network reliability and excellent performance. They serve as the OmniPoP manager.
• InCommon FederationcoreTechnology or IntegrationBTAA trust framework is managed through membership in InCommon Federation, which specializes in education and research institutions in the US. All BTAA institutions are contracted members and issued a 'level of assurance' by the federation.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Strengths4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/btaa.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/big-ten-academic-alliance
• Xx.com/BigTenAcademic

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Big Ten Academic Alliance