Professional Services

Schools of any size and sector can enjoy the benefits of IT just as companies do: without the cost burden, management headaches or legacy.

By James Francis for Onsite Group  Johannesburg, 16 Mar 2018

Technology holds a lot of promise for education. Learners can access information faster, teachers can interact more easily with their pupils and a world of new educational tools and sources have become available for classes of all levels.

“IT in modern schools have really migrated from old servers and static PC labs to a more cloud-based mobile environment,” says Lulu Burger, Director of Education at the Onsite Group. “Google Classroom is a perfect example of a very effective workflow between teachers and students. It leads to students being able to access information at any time and teachers being able to provide students with immediate feedback and curated resources. There are fantastic online assessment tools and of course educational video content that enhances learning. If the internet speeds are not fast enough, students miss out on 21st century learning.”

These ideas are a far cry from the staid computer science classrooms with rows of antiquated machines. Yet many schools don’t believe they are capable of affording new technologies, despite the many advantages. Some also feel burned by the march of technology – for example, digital textbooks on tablets have not been popular for a variety of reasons. More common is the grudge against technology’s delays: slow speeds and unresponsive services drain valuable teaching time and add to the frustrations of keeping the attention of today’s pupils.

The need for technology in education

Burger agrees that these problems are valid, serious, and need to be addressed, but noted that not participating in the technology revolution is not really a choice:

“Information Technology has become the driver of a lot of learning that happens in schools. The skill of navigating the internet, creative content creation, spotting fake news and just doing research on-line has become a critical part of learning and teaching.”

This has been adding to the pressure for change: “The move towards students bringing their own tablets have forced schools to relook their internet, firewalls and the workflow between teachers and students. IT Infrastructure and internet speed is blamed often for the loss of teaching time because of the slowness or it not working at all.”

Managing technology costs

Technology in schools often falls short because there isn’t enough focus on it, usually because of lack of training for teachers and budget concerns. But these problems can be addressed organically by using the norms of managed technology services, a very popular choice among small and medium businesses. Even simple steps in modernisation can help open budgets around technology, said Burger:

“Yes, technology is expensive, but if a school cut down on their printing, for example, those funds could be used to get proper IT infrastructure installed and managed. Schools spend between R200 000 – R700 000 per year on printing. Once your workflow is working, printing will become less and the maintenance of the printers and ink will also be reduced. Think about your budget and allocate enough funds towards IT infrastructure and training prior to even considering rolling out student owned mobile devices.”

Local schools that have matured their digital pedigree are taking full advantage of this, running everything from administration to class lists and timetables through a central digital platform. This is made possible with modern software platforms, which do not require the same type of up-front cost ownership as traditional software, and the expertise of managed service providers.

In the managed service models, schools don’t keep a permanent IT department on staff. Instead this responsibility goes to an IT provider such as Onsite, which then works within the budgets and service requirements of the school. Other than being a boon for cost savings, it also gives the school access to the insights and skills of the service provider. So a school no longer has to ask why its network is slow – it can simply expect it to work and hold the managed services provider to account if it does not.

Managed Services vs Outsourcing

Managed services is not outsourcing. It takes care of the operational burdens but leaves the school firmly in charge and able to benefit deeply from the relationship. An external service provider of this sort should consult with the school first, map out a phased plan and then implement. Training your teachers is the most important part of any technology roll-out, Burger explains:

“I believe that there is not enough emphasis on teacher training. The teachers are the ‘gatekeepers’ to technology innovation in schools and if they are not supported, very little will change. The importance of phasing technology and innovation into a school will fail if there is no effective professional development for the teaching staff.”

Unfortunately schools miss sight of all these other advantages and drive IT purely as a cost centre. The result is often paying the cheapest price for an under-qualified reseller that simply installs equipment – and often does so badly. When there are problems, the reseller simply charges more.

Managed services is entirely different. It does not simply sell technology, but instead looks at the school’s requirements, then designs a way forward that the school and provider walk together. The absolute value of this reflects in lower costs. Managed service providers are also always on call, ready to act, and don’t simply swing by once a week for a mandatory site visit.

It’s an approach that can be scaled based on the institution, public and private, regardless of where their current IT level is. Schools can start small, gain quick wins and build their technology pedigree.

“It is really important to get educational experts in to plan, structure and install your IT infrastructure,” Burger concluded. “Information Technology is used extensively to speed up administrative processes and in making communication more effective between all parties involved. All of these need to be managed and maintained properly and continuously as a lot of what the school is about is now driven by technology. But it shouldn’t cost a fortune. Once schools realise they can think beyond cost paradigms, all kinds of doors open up both for them and the future of their students.”

With the choose your own device system, the company procures the devices, but the employees have a say in what they prefer to work with, says Clayton Campbell, director of the Onsite Group.

By James Francis for Onsite Group  Johannesburg, 20 Jun 2018

When it comes to attracting and retaining top talent in the enterprise, the landscape is more competitive than ever. With the highest global talent shortage in 10 years, it’s no wonder the next major priority for organisations is creating the ultimate employee experience. The best place to start is with the devices employees use to do their jobs every day.

‘Bring your own device’ was considered a great solution: employees use their own devices, plug into the company systems, and everyone wins. The workforce is happy with the devices and the company gets a boost in productivity. But this didn’t last, because the administration and security concerns around those devices could not be ignored.

BYOD has been a disaster to many, but it would not benefit anyone to regress to the old way of doing things. So, instead, businesses are applying a new way of thinking: ‘choose your own device’. In CYOD, the company procures the devices, but the employees have a say in what they prefer to work with. “Traditional BYOD gave limited access to corporate infrastructure,” explains Clayton Campbell, Director of the Onsite Group.

“Employees could connect to company networks over WiFi or the Internet, but the company couldn’t really lock down those interactions because they didn’t own the device. The users had power over what they could and couldn’t do. With CYOD, the company owns the device and has full control to handle security and restrictions. But employees have the freedom to choose the device.”

This is complemented by a parallel trend: the growing popularity of Apple devices in enterprises. Apple was once not so closely associated with the business world. Back in 2010, the late Steve Jobs complained about the enterprise market, saying it didn’t take user choice into account under the yoke of IT departments controlling all aspects of device allocation.

Rise of Apple in the enterprise

But much has changed. Smartphones led a revolution that switched gears, through BYOD, and come full circle, except user choice is now ingrained in the process. Apple has become a sought-after brand by enterprise warriors.

“It’s been a Microsoft environment because IT made the decision. But, more users are pushing back. They want Apple devices. So corporations are looking to give users more choice and a lot are choosing Apple.”

Research concurs: Good Technology’s Mobility Index Report declared iPhones accounted for 72% of all enterprise smartphone activations during Q1 of 2017, a number that has grown since. Jamf, a device deployment and management platform that specialises in Apple products, claimed 99% of large organisations now have iPhone and iPad presences, and of organisations with choice programmes, 72% of employees choose Mac and 28% choose PC.

Yet, managing these devices has its own challenges. Too many organisations are trying to shoehorn all of its device management into a single platform that tries to appease them all: Apple, Windows and Android. The results are lacking, to say the least, and as a result, many IT departments are not seeing the benefit of bringing non-Windows devices into play.

Users do it themselves

But this is an entirely different story when using specialised management suites that are creating authentic ‘unpacking’ experiences for workforces. A new MacBook can be taken fresh out of its wrapper, logged onto the company WiFi network, and a short enrolment process begins. Fifteen minutes later an employee is ready, secured and fitted with all the required apps and policies (and none of the unwanted stuff), all without the intervention of IT personnel.

IT departments used to focus on horizontal device segmentation; a laptop is a laptop, a phone is a phone, etc, for the sake of easier management. Now, modern specialised management suites let them open the gates and not be bound to just one track, says Campbell:

“IT doesn’t need to commit to one ecosystem. We’re saying the users should be provided with a choice. Users can choose what they like; it’s the way we manage those devices that’s different. Employees can blend devices and only IT sees the difference.”

The truth is users are already getting their way. Numerous South African enterprises, especially among the supposedly stoic banks, are investing in thousands of Apple devices for their employees. Resistance is futile. But IT doesn’t need to fight the tide. Enrolment and management become hands-off yet simple when deploying a specialised management suite that focuses on specific ecosystems. Lego, the manufacturer of those famous plastic toys, owns tens of thousands of Apple devices, all managed by one administrator.

“The old horizontal way is the wrong way to do it. Look at it with an ecosystem perspective. Manage Apple with Apple, Android with Android, Windows with Windows. Then you can start unlocking tools to let users have an overall better experience while the business remains protected.”

Sponsored content

If your business is looking at deploying Apple devices in the enterprise or starting a user choice programme, Onsite Group would love to talk to you. Visit www.onsitegroup.co.za/business for more information.

Do you have a lot of connected, or wireless, devices?

If you have a smart organisation, or a lot of wireless devices, a strong network is a must. High-bandwidth devices put a lot of pressure on networks, and many times paying for a faster speed through your Internet Service Provider (ISP) is not the right solution. By investing in a strong network, you won’t have to worry about upgrading to faster speeds or get frustrated with slow service when it goes down.

Determine the number of people that will be using the network to get a rough idea of the computers and peripherals it must support. Consider how users will interact with the system to define the features you will need. For example, what sort of access is required to the network e.g. will each user have their own computer or will several users be sharing the same computer? Will any users need to access the network remotely either from home or other office sites?

Plan for the future

Detail or factor in, to the best of your knowledge, the direction your organisation is likely to take in the near future (3-5 years).  As you think about expansion, identify any plans that might affect your network needs e.g. new staff, office expansion, remote working or the installation of new software packages. Doing this now will be less expensive and time-consuming than replacing an inadequate network later.

Advantages of computer networking

Main benefits of networks include:

• File sharing– you can easily share data between different users or access it remotely if you keep it on other connected devices.
• Resource sharing– using network-connected peripheral devices like printers, scanners and copiers, or sharing software between multiple users, saves money.
• Sharing a single internet connection– it is cost-efficient and can help protect your systems if you properly secure the network.
• Increasing storage capacity– you can access files and multimedia, such as images and music, which you store remotely on other machines or network-attached storage devices.

Networking computers can also help you improve communication so that:

• staff, suppliers, and customers can share information and get in touch more easily
• your business can become more efficient – networked access to a common database can avoid the same data being keyed multiple times, saving time and preventing errors
• staff can deal with queries and deliver a better standard of service because of sharing customer data

Whether it’s attended or unattended, remote support cuts cost by eliminating the need for technicians to travel to their client’s devices. It improves efficiency by giving technicians the ability to connect to client devices at any time from anywhere. Your company can be transformed into an innovative, empathetic organisation in our future of work.

Remote work is a viable way of doing business, there are some significant benefits for both employees and employers. It is up to you to take advantage of these benefits.

Why choose us:

Not all software and tools are created equal in this universe of remote working tools. Often, even with the increase of software in employee’s desktops, many employees still report disconnection and burnout. Companies are taking a second look at the way that they implement these tools, how they are used and fine-tune the tools for more effectiveness.

Your questions as a business: Are we offering the right tools? How can we do better? Maybe there’s a bigger issue that we are not addressing?

Your answer:

We’ve inspired possibilities in IT since 2011, our passionate support team is dedicated to solving all of your IT challenges, helping you focus on what is important to you. Our customers love that we can help them faster and more efficiently without having to wait for a technician to arrive. Partner up with us to ensure that all questions are answered even before you ask them. We will ensure that you use the right tools, do better, and prevent the big issues. We aim to increase your productivity, lower your stress levels, and boost morale.