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high priority. But if that causes a device to become vulnerable, and the school is subsequently hit by malware or a deliberate attack, it would be too late. An MSP would always stay on top of licensing as part of their service and thus ensure that the school did not slip into bad habits in this regard.


A constant conundrum Choosing the right priorities is a constant conundrum for schools. Every year, they have to make decisions about where to invest whatever funds they have available for IT. While new laptops or tablets might always feel like they should be the priority, without good WiFi, network performance, and effective and up-to-date security, nothing is going to work well – for pupils or for school staff. Resellers can add a lot of value by helping schools understand


what their priorities should be. Future-proofing is important here, too. Tey need to squeeze as much out of their investment as possible, and that means it’s oſten more economical for them to buy in the very latest technologies, as they will deliver good performance for longer. Tat does not mean that they have to spend way over the odds,


though. One of the main selling points of Zyxel Networks is that we provide the latest technologies and excellent performance and features, and a great set of options at affordable prices.


Good time to invest Right now, schools should be looking at WiFi 7 for local connectivity, multi-gigabit switching on the infrastructure, and unified security appliances as the gateway to the network. It’s a good time to invest in these technologies as we’ve recently been through a major update on all these product ranges. We now have 13 WiFi 7 access points available, offering something for every size of school and classroom, and outdoor as well as indoor coverage options. Our latest multigig switches support much higher speeds and


capacity and provide tremendous flexibility. If a school needs to upgrade performance on the core of the network, it’s much easier with our latest products. Also, it can almost always be done without any need to replace the existing Ethernet cabling and the inevitable extra cost and disruption that brings. Similarly, our new USG FLEX


H series firewall appliances offer a more-than-ample set of choices for schools that need to get their cybersecurity up to date. These devices come with comprehensive protection drawn from leading security specialists, and all devices come with the full gamut of features, so even if a school can only invest in the entry-level USG FLEX H series firewall, they get full protection from all manner of threats.


www.pcr-online.biz September/October 2025 | 43 It’s also worth mentioning our range of 5G/ LTE routers,


which are ideal for schools located in remote areas without fast broadband or those that need mobile capability. Tey are also ideal as failover units where broadband services can be slow or unreliable.


Opportunities for MSPs Finally, it’s important to highlight what a great opportunity the education market is for MSP partners. As I have already noted, schools are finding it difficult, not only to recruit and retain specialist IT staff, but also to find the budget for them. Many are sharing resources, and more are favouring the managed services option. Tis is creating an ideal opportunity for Zyxel Networks partners that use our Nebula cloud management platform as the foundation of their offering. With Nebula, not only can you manage and monitor networks


and make changes remotely, but you can also pre-configure devices for auto-installation, which means no need for an on- site visit. It’s also worth knowing that we use AI and machine learning to optimise performance and make our devices and every customer more secure. Information on new threats and infiltration attempts is fed into our Global Security Network, and the updates are shared immediately, so with Zyxel Networks, schools can always be sure that their network and security settings are up to date. Schools need to get the very best from their investments in


networking and IT systems. Reseller partners and MSPs have a huge opportunity to help them make the right choices, deliver better performance, protection and outcomes for pupils and staff, and to relieve them of the burden of managing networks and security.


Ageing networks might not be able to cope.


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