School Aces Managed Service Lesson

Primary and secondary schools have their hands full with curriculum, administration, and, of course, all those rowdy students. If all that isn’t enough to worry about, schools also have to fret about their computers. But not if a managed service provider steps in.

That’s the kind of help Civica, a systems and process services provider, offers. Its newest client is Lambeth Council, whose schools are responsible for some 10,000 users.

Instead of managing 10,000 physical PCs, Civica will move Lambeth to virtual desktops. Even if a physical PC, rather than true thin client, is used for access, management, patching and software deployment is far easier using virtual technology.

In addition to virtual desktops, Civica will provide help desk services.

“The project, Lambeth Learning Futures, is hoped to deliver significant cost savings by moving the hosting of ICT services to Civica's Cloud platform and allowing the business to manage the IT in schools in Lambeth,” Civica said.

Lambeth may also save money by buying additional products from Civica, which benefits from volume purchases.

No Job Displacement

Many outsourcing, cloud and managed services deal out on-premises IT work. Not so with Civica and Lambeth.

“In taking over Lambeth's IT, Civica will safeguard employment and conditions for the existing IT team - transferring them to roles within Civica,” the company promised.

Here is what Civica says it will provide to Lambeth:

• Broadband technical support (including assistance with filtering)
• Security and e-mail
• E-safety and data protection advice
• Support and training for schools
• Advice on ICT integration for new building projects

Lambeth picked Civica based on the “quality of what they were offering and value for money,” said David O'Neill, ICT strategy manager at Lambeth's Children and Young People's Service.