Why 4 more Local Authorities have chosen CentraStage to underpin their IT support for schools…

Another report from Socitm indicates that Local Authorities cut their IT staff numbers by an average of 10% in 2009, an amazing figure in a sector that considers losing headcount as a last resort.

So what does this mean for our CentraStage customers in the education space, those service providers primarily focussed on supporting IT in schools?

It means a couple of critical things:

1) Doing more with less – utilising technology to reduce their cost-base but at the same time ensuring service quality does not suffer. In reality this means helping schools effectively utilise IT, but with fewer resources.

2) Remain competitive – schools own the budgets, they can buy IT support from anywhere. Service providers, including teams within Local Authorities that are run as ‘traded services’, must evolve to compete in a time when value for money and service will be at a premium. Efficient organisations will thrive, inefficient organisations will lose custom and go out of business.

So why have 4 more – Cornwall, Warwickshire, East Sussex and Birmingham – Local Authority school IT support teams invested in CentraStage over the past 3 weeks?

Recognising that their market is changing, and that the next 2 to 3 years, if not more, will present unique challenges, these Local Authorities have invested in technology that will enable them to transform their business model. Moving away from a model that is highly dependent on manual input, dependent on people, to one where previously manual tasks can be automated, where technology reduces wasted time, money and energy; a model where the IT support and services for schools are run on a proactive basis as opposed to a reactive one.

Critically, however, the CentraStage technology comes at a price that this new ‘age of austerity’ can support. No huge upfront capital payments with indeterminate payback, no open-ended consultancy contracts to set up and deploy the system. These are projects paid for out of operating budgets (see below) where Local Authorities pay for what they use, and they only use what they need and reap benefits from.

The world of Public Sector IT is changing. Gone are the ‘gravy train’ days of the last decade for suppliers. IT suppliers, quite rightly, will have to work hard for their money and deliver solutions that make a genuine difference; it is a world where businesses with the right model, like CentraStage, with great software, good service and sympathetic commercials, have an opportunity to deliver real value for money for Local Authorities, schools and ultimately the taxpayer.

Christian (MD)

After a detailed pilot phase East Sussex County Council have purchased CentraStage. Hosted and delivered through our Education distributor, Redstor, East Sussex will be rolling out CentraStage to all of their schools.

The initial project phase sees CentraStage being deployed to replace the current remote support solution, NetOp, but will then be rolled out to all devices to underpin a new generation of IT services and support for East Sussex schools.

The critical factors in the decision? CentraStage allows the East Sussex IT support teams to move from a reactive to a proactive support model, automating previously manual tasks and saving huge mounts of time (and money!). Ultimately it reduces school downtime and allows schools to get on with teaching. With public sector budgets under pressure, CentraStage also comes at a price that the Local Authority, and schools, can afford, which is critical in today’s climate.

A great result for the CentraStage team, and another Local Authority customer who we look forward to working with over the coming years.