The summer holidays can be the ideal time to implement an upgrade of the IT equipment in your school because you can make sure everything is installed and thoroughly tested without any interruptions for students and teachers. Before you book in a technology makeover for your school, it’s worth considering what your issues and requirements are. Understanding these two key areas will ensure that you deliver improvements where they are needed without unnecessary spending of the IT budget.
Pinpoint the issues
It’s worth examining what exactly is behind any issues that you may be facing. When teachers and pupils complain that machines are slow, it’s worth taking a deeper look before simply purchasing new computers. For example, is it that the machine is slow or is it the internet connection? Are the computers cluttered with files or unnecessary software? An IT provider isn’t just there to sell you shiny new kit, a specialist can audit your current hardware and infrastructure and advise on changes which could have a big impact on your IT performance.
Understand your requirements
We pride ourselves on building positive relationships with our client schools because the more we understand about the requirements, the more we can help. If you take the time to understand what is needed – better availability at peak times, updated software or applications, remote connections for teachers, legally compliant data storage or disaster recovery are just a few examples – then you can choose from a range of options for each requirement.
For example, you might need faster internet. If your internet connection is throttled at peak times, you might be able to redistribute some functions such as routine backups or other administrative functions to occur outside those times and ease the burden. However, if you simply have a slow connection regardless of the workload, it probably is time to look for a new provider. Understanding just what is needed can guide your decisions so that you’re managing your IT budget effectively.
Make smart choices
Once you’ve highlighted the pain points within your IT infrastructure and understood the gap between your requirements and your current provision, it makes it much easier to develop a clear plan for the upgrade process. We always work with our clients to ensure that we’re helping them to deliver against any objectives and directives they may need to follow and can provide input into a related IT strategy. We understand that it’s not just about the equipment you may need to buy, but how to make the most of the equipment you already have, provide the best possible technology to support the education process – and of course, have it all upgraded and ready to go before you welcome students back from the summer holiday.