Schools investing in long-term savings through virtualisation
The most forward-thinking schools are increasing their spend on technology, including virtual desktops, that will generate savings over time.
Virtual Desktops
The money available to schools to spend on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) through the Harnessing Technology Grant, was dramatically reduced this year, to £101 million from £201 million. At the same time, research suggests that the appetite among schools for innovative learning technologies is stronger than ever.
As a result, many schools are realising the benefit of investing heavily in the initial outlay for technologies such as hosted desktops and cloud computing technology. IT support for schools becomes cheaper through opting for these kinds of innovations, while operational and maintenance costs are also kept to a minimum.
Virtualisation and Virtual desktops can give substantial savings
Virtualisation could save an average secondary school some £53,000, according to research from Microsoft.
There has also been a move towards greener ICT in schools, in the form of lower energy desktops and monitors. The increased adoption of power management controls for dormant hardware and ‘down’ applications can save schools a further £30,000 each year. Some schools are also investing in bandwidth protection to ensure there is always enough available to deliver vital services at the expense of ‘low importance’ Internet uses including YouTube video downloads.
