22 | PROMOTION: MOXTON |
SUPPLY AND DEMAND There have been a number of changes in the last few years
that radically alter the way ICT is purchased. Understanding your school's Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of ICT, is therefore key, says Geoff Chandler, Director of Moxton Education
and understand the demands and challenges of ICT and change management within schools.
How have demands changed over the last couple of years for ICT in the education sector? There has been a number of changes in the last few years that have radically changed the way ICT is purchased. In parallel to this technical innovation has also moved on to enable a much more mobile world to become a reality. Both the procurement and technical developments have provided challenges and opportunities to schools. There has obviously been a move away
from large national schemes to a more fractured education market; authorities have become increasingly marginalised and there is less scope for aggregated purchasing. The growing number of Trusts and Academy chains brings with it the need for more cohesive intra-Trust strategies and approaches. However, aligning ICT services is often not addressed in the early phases of Trust development given everything else that needs to be established, and this brings its own set of challenges when it comes to activities such as cross-Trust data reporting. The ICT equipment within schools
is aging as budgets are squeezed, on average equipment is now five years' old, up from 3.5 years a few years ago. The sustainability agenda has also
Give us some background on Moxton Education and what it is that you do? Moxton Education work with schools, Trusts or organisations that have schools as their end customers and need specialist support. The support we provide currently covers 15 ICT areas including total cost of ownership (TCO) reviews, impact on teaching and learning analysis, support with the Computing curriculum and procurement; basically we support any aspect of ICT from technical to operational, financial and pedagogic. We offer an independent, value-for-
money service: our packages are priced according to outcomes, not according to days, and so we bear the risk, not our clients; we also offer reductions on bundles of packages. We’re an independent team of senior
leaders with many years’ experience in Edtech. We offer a broad range of skills, from full-scale national programme management through to individual
school support. We have all worked as leaders within the education sector
Geoff Chandler
sharpened the focus on ICT investments: energy and resource savings are key to evaluating the value of ICT expenditure and strategies. The use of mobile devices within schools
has also burgeoned but circa 80% of schools do not have the infrastructure to support the use of these devices fully due to lack of coverage and throughput. The associated rise of BYOD as a way of providing one to one has brought its own set of challenges around e-safety and device management.
What are the benefits of adopting a long-term strategy? A long-term ICT strategy is imperative for many reasons. A planned, phased development programme means that change management is coherent. For example, a one to one programme plan would involve ensuring that kit, mobile device management, training, storage, power management, insurance, data protection, connectivity and content are all considered. Additionally, the process of developing a long-term strategy focuses staff atention on ICT and
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