Any educator will agree that every minute of a class is valuable. A single technical issue can derail an entire lesson – and with classes lasting only 30-45 minutes – losing even 15 minutes due to IT issues means students fall behind in the curriculum. What can schools do to better prepare themselves and stay ahead of the curve? Read on as we cover several practical ways to improve your IT response time and empower your staff members to focus on their primary objective – educating their students.
The cost of downtime
Today, most schools consider reliable internet access crucial for student success. Yet, a lack of robust IT support can lead to prolonged downtimes, hindering access to essential learning tools. In addition to the impact it has on education, there are also potential financial costs, and a negative impact on the school’s reputation. These costs highlight the urgent need for faster IT response times for a school to ensure that technology serves as a tool for empowerment rather than a source of frustration.
Prioritising education through proactivity
Proactive monitoring is one of the most effective strategies for minimising IT downtime in schools. By continuously monitoring systems, potential issues can be identified and resolved before they escalate. In one case, a teacher arrived at school an hour or two early to prepare for the day and found that the internet was down. This left the teacher feeling frustrated and underprepared for the class. If the school had outsourced support or software in place to monitor their systems, an alert would have picked up the issue, and the internet would have been restored well before that teacher arrived.
Establishing IT support systems and processes is also essential for faster response times. Implementing 24-hour monitoring solutions enables constant surveillance of any potential issue. These systems automate IT support by setting up triggers. For example, if any part of the network goes down, the system automatically executes a predefined solution. This eliminates the need for staff intervention and allows schools to operate seamlessly without disruptions.
When human intervention is required, responses can be set up to pre-assess issues and automatically contact the most appropriate personnel to solve them, including external stakeholders, whenever necessary. This optimises staff hours, focuses expertise where it’s needed most, and contains problems efficiently, keeping the school running smoothly without most staff members even knowing there were issues in the first place.
Empowering staff
Managing IT issues swiftly relies largely on well-informed staff. Unfortunately, many educators have had negative experiences with technology, which has led them to report issues only when they become critical. Teachers can also have unrealistic expectations about the time needed to resolve complex problems since IT issues often appear straightforward to non-technical staff – whereas solving them may involve intricate processes. Outsourced Managed IT services are an obvious solution since they prioritise communication and protocols. An expert will offer a bigger picture, detailing what has happened, why it has happened, what they’ll do next and when the issue is likely to be solved.
This empowers staff members to –
- Plan around the issue more effectively
- Be more proactive about preventing it from happening in the future
- Potentially educate other staff members who are experiencing the same issue
This could result in other staff contacting support earlier, solving the issue themselves or fast-tracking a response by providing the correct information about the issue.
External expertise
In many cases, hiring a full-time IT team may not be feasible for schools due to common hindrances such as budget constraints. By outsourcing IT support, a school can avoid the cost of new staff members while still gaining access to a wealth of IT expertise. Managed IT services offer access to seasoned professionals who bring years of experience and best practices to a school. These experts can solve daily IT problems while also providing valuable insights and recommendations for the future.
Another often overlooked advantage of outsourcing IT support is the enhanced cybersecurity expertise it offers. Most stakeholders may not fully consider the cybersecurity requirements associated with integrating new technology into a school’s system, including how access to sensitive data or information should be considered. Managed IT services experts provide tailored recommendations on the right technology and cybersecurity measures to address these challenges, ensuring your school’s data is protected as the school’s technology evolves.
Outsourced experts are also able to more effectively identify and respond to cyber threats because they have years of experience with similar issues at other schools. These specialists also work with several schools at once. This means that they can scan all of the school systems they monitor for a threat they have identified in a single school – so that every school is protected.
Enhancing your school’s internal IT processes
Managed IT services can significantly improve a school’s internal processes through their consultation services. Regular strategic reviews with clients allow experts to gain insights into the challenges they face, allowing them to advise schools on how to bridge the gap between IT departments and teachers. In most cases, recommended best practices include:
- Encourage teachers to adhere to established processes, such as using a ticketing system, to ensure issues are tracked and resolved efficiently.
- Highlight the value and efforts of the IT department in solving issues promptly, to help teachers appreciate their contributions.
- Facilitate regular conversations between IT departments and teachers to build trust, foster collaboration, and prioritise timely solutions.
Superior IT support
The relationship between teaching and technology must be symbiotic. Schools need to cultivate a culture where technology is seen as an enabler rather than a hindrance. This begins with encouraging teachers to report issues promptly and ensuring they receive timely support. It may also be beneficial to consider introducing external IT experts to help you bear the weight of daily IT issues. This could begin as a simple conversation with an expert about what your school’s IT needs and challenges are. With the right strategy, you can significantly reduce response times, minimise downtime, and transform how educators view technology – ultimately inspiring them to become advocates for the positive impact technology can have on education.
NetStrategy has an acute understanding of the unique challenges schools face. With that knowledge, we designed our Managed IT Services to ensure that schools have access to the right tools, expertise, and processes to speed up their response times and maximise efficiency. Together, we can empower your school to respond quicker and better protect the reputation you’ve worked so hard to build. Contact us today to streamline your IT management so you can focus on what truly matters – delivering world-class education.
