ZyXEL aims to build in education

ZyXEL is planning to build on the success of its Q1 education campaign with a further set of initiatives that will ensure resellers focused on selling to schools and colleges keep their sales moving. The company has already been giving resellers strong support on public sector sales by providing access to special bid pricing, deal registration and other benefits. This activity generated a significant six-figure total of potential opportunities for partners and ZyXEL is now intensifying the focus with a series of workshops detailing specific deployment scenarios in the classroom. These hands-on events will demonstrate how ZyXEL’s wide range of Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11n wireless networking solutions, and USG security appliances can be used to improve efficiency, reduce costs and enhance learning. Antony Byford, Head of Channels UK and Ireland for ZyXEL, says that although what’s traditionally the peak buying period for education is over, there will be no shortage of potential business opportunities. ‘Schools and colleges will know what their budgets are by now.

 Unquestionably, they will have been reduced, but with the additional discounts and benefits that we are making available, ZyXEL’s solutions will have even stronger appeal in education. Increasing use of interactivity and collaboration tools, as well as rich video and multimedia, is putting added strain on school networks. There is also a need for tighter, easy-to-manage security and wireless solutions that offer a longer range and more reliable signals.’ The workshops will commence in June. There will be no charge to resellers for attending but places are limited and priority will be given to partners that have a defined focus on the education sector. An added benefit is an ‘Education Specialist’ badge from ZyXEL, giving them more visibility on the ‘where to buy’ locator on ZyXEL’s web page. For more information on the workshops or on how you can benefit from ZyXel’s focus on the education market, email dawn.hains@azlan.com

Microsoft promotes safe Internet use in schools

Microsoft Ireland joined other tech companies to promote safe use of the web in Ireland’s schools last month. Volunteers from the company, supported by the National Centre for Technology in Education (NCTE), were amongst tech industry professionals who took part in the promotion of Safer Internet Day. Orla Sheridan, consumer channels group director, Microsoft Ireland, said: ‘We take the issue of Internet safety very seriously and have continuously invested in schemes and programmes to help educate young users of the Internet and their parents about how to use this great resource in a safe and efficient manner. We are delighted to be partnering with the government, educational representatives and law enforcement agencies to highlight the importance of this issue.’

ZyXEL plans to help partners drive education sales

ZyXEL, which is making strong inroads into the switching, WiFi and security market, is running a programme aimed at supporting reseller sales into the public sector market throughout 2012. This is the height of the buying season for education and with schools and colleges looking to make the most of their budget this year, now is the time to make them aware of what you have to offer.

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How investing in IT can make a difference

All schools can benefit in many different ways from investment in IT. An example of this appeared on our own doorstep recently when a local Junior school was recognised for its success in using computers. Following an external assessment, Four Lanes Community Junior School in Chineham, near to our offices in Basingstoke, has now been presented with the ICT Mark, which is given to schools which make good use of computers that are used across the whole curriculum.

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Forward-thinking schools can still find the money for IT

Arecent report in Computing (http://alturl.com/gvf7d) highlighted the pressure that schools are under as a result of budget cuts; but also illustrated that progressive schools can still find the money to spend on IT.

School IT managers speaking at a roundtable hosted by Xirrus said that cuts to the Harnessing Technology Grant scheme had hit hard and stymied some planned spending. In the article, Tom Paes, IT manager at Tomlinscote School and Sixth Form College in Frimley, said: ‘We are treading water in education and it’s a shame because, until recently, technology in education had been very well funded.’

But Morne van Niekerk, IT manager at Preston Manor High School said that even though cutbacks were a problem, schools can still find the money for IT. ‘It is down to leadership. If you have a forwardthinking head teacher that prioritises technology, you can still invest.’

Spending to save and succeed

The run-up to the start of the new academic year in September brings with it a whole range of opportunities to sell IT solutions and services to schools, colleges, to students and parents. We explore the potential to ramp up sales with upgrades of systems and software, network infrastructure, storage and AV equipment for schools and colleges.

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AV in education – it’s not an option anymore

Kate McIntyre talks to Maverick’s General Manager, Mark Tildesley, about the opportunities available to resellers selling into schools and colleges.

Mark explains that every school and college in the country needs their AV products, such as whiteboards and projectors, to function alongside their existing technology. This gives resellers the opportunity to offer a broad spectrum of products that delivers a complete solution to their customers.

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Power to I – the power of a connected enterprise or individual

Today I set out the simple objective to get from point A to point B and back whilst meeting with a customer and upgrading some hardware.

Sounds simple and by all accounts it should have been.

So what really happened; well I arrived at the train station to find my train had left early, yes, early.  You literally couldn’t make it up, so out comes the smartphone and two minutes later I’ve found an alternative route and I’m on the way to the customer thankfully still on time.

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Investing in the future – Why schools still need to spend on IT in 2011 – Part 2 – Tablet take-up

In this second part of our blog articles on Why IT still has an important role to play in education and why we can expect schools and colleges to keep spending on technology – we will be looking at the potential for tablet take up.

Tablet Take up

Many schools will also be taking a good look at tablet technologies this year. The new generation of learners have been very quick to pick up on touch technology and many schools will be examining the possibilities for using tablets in the classroom, especially becasue of the greater variety now on the market. As more products are launched and schools are given more choice, we are bound to see some investment here as well. There are already a whole range of education-focused applications becoming available on tablet formats.

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Investing in the future – Why schools still need to spend on IT in 2011 – Part 1 – Digital signage growth

In this 3 part blog series we look at how and why IT still has an important role to play in education and why we can expect schools and colleges to keep spending on technology – and how to market and sell to them with Computer 2000’s help.

In part 1 we will docus on digital signage growth, part 2 on tablet take-up and the final part will focus on ready to sell.

First a bit of background. In August last year, Gartner forecast that IT spending in education would grow by 2.5 percent to more than $64 million worldwide in 2010. While a regional
breakdown was not provided, a later Gartner forecast for enterprise spending noted that budgets in some vertical markets – education included – would decline in 2011 due to budget cuts. The priority instead would be to maintain spending on teaching.

But this is precisely the reason why many schools and colleges will continue to spend on IT in 2011; the added value that new technologies bring to teaching today and the opportunity to enhance the learning experience means that IT is now a more important and integral part of the classroom than ever.

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