Top 5 Reasons to Bring In a Managed Service Provider
The perpetual challenge of harnessing technology for learning amongst tightening budgets has led to many schools turning towards the support of a Managed Service Provider (MSP) for ICT planning, implementation and ongoing support. Here are 5 reasons as to why your school should have a MSP to maximise ICT with your given budget:
1. Improve Your Security
Security should sit at the heart of your managed service provision. Schools store many pieces of personal and confidential data that, if stolen, could cause the school extreme difficulties. With this in mind, the need for exceptional security should be of top priority for your school. For more information on security service and solutions, check out our School Infrastructure guideline.
2. Teaching Continuity Solution
“Teaching continuity means ensuring solutions are in place that will enable your school to carry on teaching and ensure your critical school data is kept safe following a disruptive occurrence. This is of ever increasing importance as the cybersecurity landscape evolves and GDPR compliance requirements are implemented.”
Does your school have a Teaching Continuity solution? Learn more about this solution: Ensuring Teaching Continuity in Your School
3. Procurement & Purchasing
From an audio-visual upgrade to a complete ICT refresh, an MSP can help with to ensure planned, centralised expenditure that prioritises your biggest needs first for maximum impact. Technology prices are consistently changing and therefore budgeting could be difficult. With this in mind, technology specialists such as Sweethaven help with the procurement, purchasing and budgeting plans with your school.
“We needed to implement a significant number of improvements and upgrades to the schools’ network, infrastructure and hardware and we could not provide that level of expertise in house. Sweethaven provides a one-stop-shop which we have relied upon heavily.” – Caroline More, Gosden House School.
4. Proactive Support for the Big and the Small
A good MSP will provide a layered approach to your day to day support, providing both remote and onsite support with a whole team of technicians at varying levels to ensure each issue is met with the right level of expertise. From a printer not working to suspected hacking, your MSP will assign the individual for resolution.
5. Focus on Teaching
Many would agree that dealing with IT could be very time consuming, even with a school IT team. A MSP will ensure you save your time and focus on teaching, enabling your members of staff to be more productive.
“Sweethaven has taken much of the pressure off teams and personnel who have a lot of other work to do and very limited knowledge of IT. It has allowed us to increase the number of our sites and associated personnel with an IT network, which supports them and allows them to do their jobs – educate children.” – Brian Usher, Cressey College.
To find out further how a tailored MSP approach might benefit your school, drop the team a line on education@sweethaven.co.uk or give us a call on 01737 247 090.
