Pump Up the Volume
If you’re an IT decision maker for a school district, you already know supporting remote learning for your students will require a bundle that will have some, if not all, of these elements:
Chromebooks, laptops or tablets to execute work on
Mobile hotspots to ensure reliable broadband access to homes without it
Assorted accessories such as cases to protect the equipment during usage or headphones
Check, check and check. Of course, this list assumes that another all-important element is in place: availability. For districts that did not already have 1:1 programs in place, especially disadvantaged districts where the individual student need is higher, it’s likely been a struggle to procure the needed devices through traditional educational supply chain partners. As consumers discovered when trying to obtain toilet paper, disinfecting wipes and meat at various points during the early months of the pandemic – a supply chain built for efficiency isn’t built to be flexible and responsive to unprecedented spikes in demand.
It’s advantageous to leverage non-traditional technology providers who both serve enterprise customers (as well as the education sector) and come to the table with a wide ecosystem of partners. Providers who specialize in relevant areas such as managed mobility services can lean on their strong relationships with OEMs such as Samsung, LG, HP and Google give them a head start in being able to procure much-needed and much in-demand devices at volume. Best of all, they’re an ideal starting point for crafting a program that will address the configuration and kitting of these solutions for your students – an absolute must-have.
Even large school districts may not possess the purchasing clout needed to secure high-demand solutions, but they can supplement that by choosing wisely when considering the technology providers they opt to partner with.
Year in the Life of a Device
