In this blog series, Kevin Robinson explores the various risks to school IT systems and presents practical solutions for minimising them.
Technology is moving at a pace many schools struggle to keep up with, and this trend is at odds with the fact that historically, schools have become used to investing huge, one-off, lump sums into hardware because that’s what they’ve always done.
But there’s a constant risk of this technology going out of date – so leasing your school’s devices, instead of constantly buying and upgrading them, presents a clear solution for mitigating that risk.
There’s also often a fear of leasing equipment in state schools because of the notion of spending public money without actually owning anything.
Governing bodies can often have quite a traditional mind-set from that perspective, and feel that if they’re going to invest over a five year period, they want physical assets to show for it.
But in technological terms, the only thing you ever own is the technology of today – as soon as it goes out of date, all you’re left with is the debt from that redundant technology when it changes.
In our everyday lives, consumers lease everything, from smartphones to cars. You don’t have to worry about the initial cost outlay and if your phone is lost, stolen or damaged, it’s easy to get it replaced.
And if it’s superseded by something newer and shinier, you simply upgrade your package.
While leasing makes sense for consumers, it makes even greater sense for schools. As well as alleviating budgetary pressures and safeguarding against changing technologies, a leasing model means devices can be used at home by pupils.
This model enables pupils to continue learning outside the classroom, and helps to mitigate the risk of your technology going out of date.