The Challenges That Schools Face With IT
The school environment has changed dramatically for staff and students alike in recent years. Technology has been updated and integrated into nearly every area of the curriculum.
Whilst helping teaching and learning, this increase in technology dependence has also brought new challenges. These challenges and development have led to a huge demand for extended School IT support.
Schools including primary schools, secondary schools, and colleges, rely more on computers, printers, and other sensitive IT equipment. The need for a qualified and dedicated external IT support team providing managed services has never been greater.
Unfortunately, many schools struggle to keep up with the demand for support services tailored to the education sector.
In addition to hiring more IT support team staff, schools need to provide adequate training. This ensures that they are able to use the latest technology effectively.
With the right resources in place, schools can overcome the challenges of integrating technology into the classroom and providing reliable School IT support by appointing a managed service provider.
Technical Issues With IT Systems
Technical or software issues with IT infrastructure or both school wired or wireless networks can cause significant school disruptions.
When IT Infrastructure or both school wired or wireless networks go down, it can prevent students from accessing their coursework. Teachers will not be able to teach and access admin for attendance.
Sometimes, it can even prevent schools from communicating with parents and guardians.
Technical or software issues can also lead to data breaches, as hackers may take advantage of vulnerabilities in your IT infrastructure that is down.
As a result, it is essential for schools to have a plan in place for dealing with technical issues.
This plan should include a way to provide support for IT and other managed IT services, a way to communicate with parents and guardians, and a way to keep students engaged in their learning (including remote learning).
By having a plan in place, schools can minimize the disruptions caused by technical issues.
Poor Network Infrastructure
Interactive whiteboards, laptops, and smartphones offer significant pros to student learning but poor network infrastructure can have a profound effect on schools.
It can hinder communication between teachers and students, make it difficult to access essential educational sector resources and impair a teacher’s ability to administer tests and assessments.
In addition, poor network infrastructure can lead to increased levels of absenteeism, with students unable to complete their work at home.
As a result, it is essential for schools to invest in a robust and reliable network infrastructure. Failing to do so risks severely impairing the quality of education they are able to offer.
This is why most education sector facilities seek support from a specialist IT support company that delivers managed IT services to support their internal IT teams.
How The Education Sector Benefits From Us As IT Support Providers
It can be challenging to maintain robust and secure IT, particularly given the budget limitations that schools and the education sector have.
Outsourcing your IT can be a cost-effective arrangement for keeping your IT frameworks up to date and capable of handling demands as IT systems evolve.
Office 365 Support
Schools use Microsoft 365 to improve student support and develop critical IT skills.
With full integration into existing systems and support provided by highly experienced staff, we can support your school in getting the best out of Microsoft 365 and reducing the number of software vendors your school currently has.
Managed Cloud Support Services
Cloud capacity is essential with the need to secure business information and data backup.
We offer complete cloud migration and management which guarantees a smooth move to a secure cloud environment.
Cloud migration reduces hardware costs and provides greater reliability.
Network & Server Support Services
With critical business applications such as Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and project management tools reliant on an internet connection, the need for reliability and speedy recovery solutions is greater than ever. Out network management and support provides stability and monitoring to increase uptime.
Our support services can be structured so that our support is on-site and remote, meaning that if the worst happens, we are on hand.
Hardware Procurement
Your senior leadership team and administrative staff have enough on their hands. Our partners in the hardware space provide rapid and appropriately-priced hardware which we can deliver to your reception desk. Simply raise a ticket and we’ll organise the rest.
Managed IT Services
We’ll work alongside you to solve issuesand constantly evaluate your IT network, cyber protection, and hardware so you can benefit from support packages that meet your budget and allow better use of the technology available. This will support both on-site and remote learning.
Security Against Cyber Attacks
Security for schools is an ever-present concern. With thousands of sensitive data points and confidential records, cyber security should be at the heart of all IT decisions.
As a managed security service provider, we offer SOC (security operations centre) services to provide cybersecurity services including vulnerability management, monitoring, and incident response, to ensure that your school or college complies with regulations.
Why Schools Choose CloudTech24 Support Services
When it comes to giving managed IT support for schools, we go the extra mile to provide reliable and secure arrangements. As one of the foremost experienced IT suppliers in the UK, we have the best engineers and analysts available to support your learning centre at a fraction of the cost of on-site IT support.
A Tailored Systems Support Plan
Each education institution has its own set of needs, which is why we offer customised school ICT arrangements.
With consistent, fast support when computer issues emerge, we’ll guarantee that our specialists will be there as and after you require us.
Cost-Effective Solutions
Our connections with hardware distributors and software providers ensure you’ll get favourable rates on both equipment and cloud solutions.
We’ll work with you and your budget to get the best return possible.
Dedicated Support Desk
As your trusted and managed IT Support accomplice, our group will offer the same level of client benefit and bolster you’d anticipate from an in-house group.
Our experienced representatives are continuously accessible to supply bolster and go out of their way to form beyond any doubt you’re totally cheerful with our benefit.
Full DBS Checks
We get it that our education clients got to know that they can believe us, we work hard particularly when permitting individuals to access your school or college.
Each of our employees includes a full DBS check, so you’ll rest guaranteed that your understudies and staff will be secure at all times.
The Onboarding Process
We like to require the time to urge to know you and survey your person needs. This incorporates looking at any holes inside your IT framework, so able to come up with a comprehensive plan to progress security and create an effective arrange framework solution.
Once we begin our engagement, we’ll consult along with your leadership and inner IT staff to create a strategy.
Working with us implies you’ll be able advantage of our information and involvement whereas benefitting from a completely bespoke arrangement that improves all components of your school’s operations and instruction conveyance.
Need Cyber Security Coverage From A Market Leading SOC?
Our Security Operations Centre provides continuous coverage and managed security services to improve security posture and safeguard business operations.
Frequently Asked Questions about our Managed IT Support for Schools
We receive many questions regarding IT Support for schools both primary and secondary schools, so to be helpful, we have answered our most commonly asked questions below about managed service provider that we are.
WHAT CYBER PROTECTION DO YOU OFFER FOR SCHOOLS?
Doing far more than traditional anti-virus software, CloudTech24 are cyber-security experts. The fully managed IT security we offer includes installing security patches for operating systems and applications (your overall IT Infrastructure); hardening the end-user services, cloud applications and devices with the school; and using the best tools to monitor the security of DNS firewalls, cloud-hosted firewalls and Advances Threat monitoring platforms. Schools can feel rest assured passing their IT Solutions over to CloudTech24.
DO YOU PROVIDE SCHOOL IT SUPPORT AND TRAINING?
CloudTech24 can ensure that all staff and students at the school have access to the services and hardware they require, however, we do not provide on-site training for staff or students. We are available remotely 24/7/365 to support your staff to overcome any technical challenges and to ensure the IT system is running smoothly at all times.
DO YOU OFFER REMOTE AND ON-SITE SUPPORT FOR SCHOOLS?
Most of our services are provided remotely. With our advanced cloud-based technology, we can access any device remotely from our offices meaning we can save any travelling time and costs. We know sometimes you might want us to come to the school, so we’re very happy to arrange on-site visits on an ad-hoc basis.
WHAT IS THE COST OF IT SUPPORT FOR SCHOOLS?
Here at CloudTech24, we put together tailor-made packages for each school. By offering bespoke services, we will offer the best value, only paying for what your school requires. We take into consideration many factors including how many users and what the current IT solution is.
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF IT IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR?
IT supports students with SEND to achieve at the same pace as their fellow pupils.
All pupils benefit from IT to help support their work output, spelling and grammar, and career skills.
WE ALREADY HAVE AN IT SUPPORT DESK, WHY DO WE REQUIRE MORE IT SUPPORT?
Some of the schools we work with have dedicated IT personnel already. In these situations, CloudTech24 and the dedicated specialist will work alongside each other with a co-managed approach. Each school situation is different, but in one example, the school uses CloudTech24 for their cyber protection and out-of-hours support.
SHOULD SCHOOLS BE CONCERNED ABOUT CYBER THREATS?
Yes, no company is safe from hacking and cyber-attacks. Having cyber protection in place for schools is essential. With a plethora of private data, keeping it protected is of the utmost importance.
Where can schools find additional resources and guidance on IT support for educational institutions?
Schools can find additional resources and guidance on IT support for educational institutions from educational technology organizations, government agencies, and professional associations dedicated to education technology. Additionally, consulting with experienced IT support providers can offer valuable insights and solutions tailored to the school’s unique needs.