How it should be for education

How IT should befor Education

Is an a�ordable solution available?

Zynstra Schools Print.indd 1 16/03/2015 17:42

Zynstra How IT should be for Education

How IT should be for EducationIs an affordable solution available?

Executive SummaryA survey carried out by Classroom Voice confirms that over half of schools feel that all is not well with their ICT infrastructure and technical support. At the root of the problems lies the way schools are forced to work within limited budgets.

Affordable cloud services such as Microsoft’s Office 365 point to a cost-effective way forward, but ideally they will be partnered with on-premises technologies, creating the ‘hybrid’ solutions which are emerging as the future of ICT for schools.

Hybrid solutions, though, present a number of management and technical choices largely around which services should be cloud based and which kept on premise. It’s vital that the schools themselves should keep control of all these management and administrative decisions.


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Introduction

Providing, updating and running an effective ICT infrastructure ‘always on’, up to date, well maintained is a financial challenge for all schools, but especially for those of average-size and smaller. Inevitably, the need to drive down costs exposes weak spots, which largely account for the fact that, according to a recent survey by Classroom Voice, over half of schools are unhappy with their ICT infrastructure. In many cases technical support is provided by infrequent specialist visits and/or by diverting teachers from their core task.

What’s needed is a means of squaring this circle, so that schools of even small size and moderate means can afford the high quality, well maintained infrastructure their students and teachers deserve.

Can that be done? We think it can. This paper looks at the issues faced by schools regarding their ICT and the refreshing of infrastructure. We offer practical advice on how to ensure that future ICT refreshes provide the best available performance, control and support within restricted budgets.



AspirationsVirtually every school wants to be well equipped and supported with ICT – to support teaching, learning and management across the curriculum. In many cases the aspiration will be to achieve a full ‘one-to-one’ policy, where every child has a portable device for school work, either through a BYOD Scheme or supplied via a school initiative.

A survey by the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) concluded that during the school year 2014/15, investment in new hardware replacement, peripherals, software and technical support will average £14,220 per school in primary and £65,570 in secondary – the highest fi gures on record.

The way that BESA presents these spending fi gures is interesting. So where a newspaper might use the simple heading ‘Schools are spending x-amount on computers’, BESA’s broader defi nition recognises that there is much more to a school’s ICT provision than just the hands-on devices. In every school, in fact, the classroom technologies and the software are supported by a range of ‘back-offi ce’ hardware and services under the general heading of ‘infrastructure’.

Satisfaction with Infrastructure

renewal programme:

• 26% judged their refurbished systems ‘Inadequate’,

• 19% said there was ‘Cause for moderate concern’

• 8% reported ‘Cause of a lot of concern’.


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ConcernsIn this regard, it’s signifi cant that our survey also shows a disturbing level of user schools’ dissatisfaction with their existing infrastructure and support structures, even after a recent refurbishment.

So, in eff ect, over half of the surveyed schools (53%) were unhappy with their ICT infrastructure even though a similar proportion (51%) had experienced an infrastructure refresh within the previous two years. Extend that to three years and the proportion of schools having had a refresh rises to 70%.

There are similar worries about technical support. The Classroom Voice Survey tells us that only 39% of schools are able to have their Infrastructure looked after by an on-site non-teaching specialist. In 17% of schools the responsibility belongs to a teacher. No less than 44% of schools say they have no technical support at all. Given that 60% of schools have 300 pupils or fewer (over one in ten have less than 100) it seems likely that very many of the 44% are small primaries.

Overall, dissatisfaction with infrastructure and support is largely drivenby the following:• The school did insuffi cient research on its requirements in the fi rst place. • The school lacked the funds to achieve its preferred solution.• The supplier/partner was unable to help the school to fi nd the best solution within its budget.• The supplier had not delivered what they promised

The lesson here is that when the time comes to refresh the ICT infrastructure, it’s vital to do careful research, keeping an open mind to new ideas. The aim is to fi nd the very best solution, one which fulfi ls present and future needs, is cost-eff ective, fl exible and allows teachers to teach rather than act as technicians.

8%

16%

Very Happy

Somewhat

Inadequate

Cause for moderate concern

Cause of a lot of concern

Very Unhappy

How happy are you with your IT infrastructure

renewal/refresh programme?

26%26%

19%

3%

How would you describe your infrastructure

Cloud

Local

Hybrid

Don’t know

2%

68%

19%

11%



The onus, then, is on leadership, who, before they look at new classroom devices and technologies, must ask some searching questions about the nature of the infrastructure systems which will support the vision.

For convenience, we identify three priority areas for leadership attention;1. Wireless and broadband,2. Servers and cloud services,3. Technical support.

We take these in turn, look at appropriate questions, and distil from each a ‘leadership principal’ that’s intended to be a suggested guide for further action.

Wireless and broadband Because the Wi-Fi network and the broadband service are intangibles, it’s easy for them to become gradually inefficient. This sometimes means that expensive ICT resources such as mobile devices can be added to inadequate, or outdated Wi-Fi networks, resulting in frequent failure and disappointment. And, of course, a broadband service that is not up to the job produces the same effect as a lack of reliable Wi-Fi connectivity.

Asking the right questionsHas the existing Wi-Fi system grown piecemeal, running behind the growth of technology? Is there full availability room to room, building to building? Is there the correct throughput to the wireless network so that it works when every student has a device?

Leadership PrincipleIf an ICT refresh or renewal, or major expansion is on the agenda, it is necessary first to make sure the Wi-Fi network is ready for any and all demands now and into the future.

Servers and the Cloud At the heart of almost every school’s ICT provision are the servers housing the software applications and data used in classrooms and offices. Increasingly, now, school systems are also making use of the Cloud, which means that some of the software applications that support learning and administration are rented from a remote supplier and provided to in-school users wirelessly via the internet.

Consequently, what we are now seeing is the growth of ‘hybrid’ systems where some applications are cloud-based and some hosted within school (‘on-premises’), so that the school reaps the benefits of both systems.


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The current positionThere’s little doubt that within a short time, as more schools become ‘cloud aware’, and doubts fall away, the ‘on-premises only’ cohort will shrink and hybrid installations will become the norm. Microsoft’s cloud-based Offi ce 365, for example, which is highly cost-eff ective and fi lls a wide range of school needs, is attracting much attention. Growing awareness of the possibilities – and aff ordability – of cloud services will be signifi cant in driving a shift of emphasis.

Asking the right questionsDeciding on a hybrid solution is relatively easy because it’s a move to more choice, easy installation, wider engagement and value for money.

Knowing which services to take from the Cloud and which to keep on premise, however, is more diffi cult. It will vary from school to school, and be infl uenced both externally by what services are on off er and also internally by the needs and preferences of school users, and the capability of the in-house systems. One school might put everything it possibly can into the Cloud, keeping on-site servers only for applications that cannot be cloud-hosted. Another might do exactly the opposite, proceeding into the Cloud with great caution. Each school must be free to decide this, and in any case all of the variables will be subject to change over time. Decisions of that kind require a good sense of future developments, some technical knowledge, and a responsive and expert supplier partner.

Leaders really need to ask questions which will enable them to:• Understand the position with regard to current on-premises servers – whether they are due or over due for refresh, and the capital and revenue cost implications short and medium term. • Ensure that any planned infrastructure refresh is suffi cient for current and future demands.• Decide what part cloud services will play in the developing ICT strategy.

8%

16%

Very Happy

Somewhat

Inadequate

Cause for moderate concern

Cause of a lot of concern

Very Unhappy

How happy are you with your IT infrastructure

renewal/refresh programme?

26%26%

19%

3%

How would you describe your infrastructure

Cloud

Local

Hybrid

Don’t know

2%

68%

19%

11%



It’s important to realise that although a hybrid solution will be easy to maintain, it does not take control away from decision-makers in the school. What it does remove are the routine maintenance tasks, allowing leadership, in collaboration with teachers and technical staff , to monitor the way that ICT is being used and delivered in the school. They can then make decisions about which software and services they require, and leave the basics of implementation and the complex part of support to the supplier.

Leadership Principle. Seek a cost-effective hybrid infrastructure solution which will allow the school to decide on the Cloud/on-premises balance, and also support relatively quick and easy adjustment as circumstances change.

SupportThe digital ‘estate’ described at the start will not work for long without attention. Some is routine and foreseeable – installing new or upgraded applications, adding new virtual servers, replacing outdated equipment. Then there’s ‘fi refi ghting’ – the broadband service suddenly ceases, a teacher cannot connect the classroom devices to the internet, a user forgets a password or becomes ‘locked out’ of a system. There’s obviously a hierarchy of tasks from the simple issues that can be handled on the spot by a teacher, or a student ‘digital leader’, through those calling for on-site technical know-how, up to the challenges calling for expertise not available on-site. Typically, all will be covered by a combination of internal resources and bought-in expertise.

‘Our own staff try to solve issues to the

best of their ability, but our collective

knowledge base is limited. We are very

dependent on advice and direction

acquired via the support we can aff ord.’


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The current position. Many of the schools surveyed stated that technical support is a weakness varying from irritating to seriously distracting.

Problems include:• Teachers (often including senior leaders) expected to add technical support tasks to what is already a heavy workload.• Insufficient external support arrangements, often because the school can only afford part-time support, so that problems may have to wait a week before being tackled.

It’s clear that, in the main, difficulties with support stem from trying to stretch a limited budget.

As a result, our survey gathered comments like these:• ‘It will have to do. Other options too costly.’• ‘It’s what we can afford.’

And this example from a school which can only afford a limited amount of professional technician time well illustrates the way that part time external support almost inevitably knocks on into inefficient use of teaching staff time.

‘Our own staff try to solve issues to the best of their ability, but our collective knowledge base is limited. We are very dependent on advice and direction acquired via the support we can afford.’

These problems are particularly prevalent in smaller schools, especially primaries, where it becomes uneconomic to employ non-teaching specialists on site, and too expensive to buy anything more than part time external support. Arguably, the roots of the difficulties, lie further back, at the planning stage, when support should be high on the agenda as decisions are made about the nature of an infrastructure refresh or replacement.

Asking the right questionsCan we have on-demand support that will keep our systems up and running all the time? Will we be able to free teachers from fire-fighting and technical jobs? Can our technical staff become more involved in planning and strategy and less bogged down in day-to-day maintenance? Most importantly, can we do all that on our existing budget?

Leadership PrincipleSeek an infrastructure solution which guarantees as close to full time, always-on availability as possible, without diverting teachers from their core task of managing teaching and learning – and which is affordable within a limited budget.



The full pictureOur survey shows that almost one in three schools (30%) are likely to embark on an infrastructure refresh within the next two years. Extend this to include a third year and the proportion rises to 52%, add in a fourth year and it becomes almost two in three (64%) Given the number of schools where, as we have seen, there is dissatisfaction with their last refurbishment, it’s really important that these schools make more informed decisions this time around. Leaders undoubtedly realise that, and will be asking those very questions that we have covered in this paper. Here to help them is a suggested leadership approach – a combination of the three ‘leadership principle’ suggestions which we have previously set out.

Leadership PrincipleIf an ICT refresh or renewal, or major expansion is on the agenda, it is necessary first to make sure the Wi-Fi network and associated network infrastructure are ready for any and all demands now and in the future.

The next step is to seek a hybrid infrastructure solution which will allow the school to decide on the Cloud/on-premises balance, and also support relatively quick and easy adjustment as circumstances change. The solution will also guarantee as close to full time, always-on availability as possible, without diverting teachers from their core task of managing teaching and learning.

Very importantly – for many this will be make-or-break – all of this must be available within what will inevitably be a limited budget.


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A tall orderTo repeat the question we asked right at the start,

“Is an affordable solution possible?”Given most existing approaches to the problem, it may well have been difficult up to now.

What’s called for is a different approach, a radical solution which adds the power of the Cloud to the familiarity and security of an on-premises solution. This is what’s offered by a Zynstra appliance, supplied by a trusted partner. Without becoming too involved in the technicalities, what the school will have is a complete solution in a box – an agreed hybrid balance of on-premises and cloud applications, securely and reliably hosted in a single device which itself is managed from the Cloud so all applications and services are kept up to date. It provides a high degree of security – everything is backed up using Microsoft’s ‘Azure’ enterprise cloud, so disaster recovery is assured, and the system can continue to run if there’s a broadband failure.

At the same time, Zynstra offers you complete control over your applications, on-premises data and management permissions. You, in school, are still in charge.

As Zynstra put it, ‘We do it with you, not for you.’ Most importantly, Zynstra is affordable. The appliance is paid for monthly as a service, at a rate that can scale up or down staying closely in line with pupil numbers. A key element in this affordability lies in the way Zynstra have worked to ensure that Microsoft technologies provided via Zynstra are covered by Microsoft’s highly cost-effective ‘Enrolment for Education Solutions’ (EES) licensing agreement. Zynstra are confident that the total cost of ownership of their system is highly competitive.

Installed by a trusted partner, managed from the Cloud, configured closely to the size and requirements of the school, the Zynstra solution cuts a path through ‘this will have to do’, budget-limited ICT infrastructure solutions and offers schools a real and new opportunity to achieve their learning vision.



About ZynstraZynstra is a provider of hybrid cloud solutions that enable SMBs to benefit from the security and performance of local IT combined with the economics and ease of the cloud. Headquartered in Bath, UK, Zynstra has developed patent-pending technology that gives SMBs hassle-free, enterprise-level IT with built-in reliability they can afford.

For further information about Zynstra’s Cloud Managed Server Appliances.

Visit: www.zynstra.comCall: 01225 388685Email: [email protected]
