3 Benefits Of Using A Managed Service Provider To Maintain Your School's IT Infrastructure

5 August 2019
 Categories: , Blog

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Integrating technology into lesson plans makes the school day more engaging and interactive. It's also a good way to prepare your students for the workforce — technology is becoming an increasingly important part of careers, even those outside of the IT sector.

However, integrating technology into school life requires a stable internet connection and up-to-date computer equipment. Some schools — especially smaller, private schools—may lack the staff necessary to maintain all of their IT infrastructures. In this case, your school may wish to have their IT infrastructure managed by a managed service provider. Read on for three benefits that this approach provides to your school.

1. Allows Teachers to Quickly Recover From Issues With Your IT Infrastructure

If one of your teachers' computers fails during a lesson, the entire flow of the day can be disrupted. Managed IT services will monitor your school's computers and network hardware both remotely and on-site. Any problems that can be fixed remotely will be quickly corrected, allowing teachers to return to their lesson plans. For issues that need on-site attention, such as a physical hardware failure, a technician will be dispatched in order to repair the problem. Your school will have the benefit of both quick off-site fixes and more involved on-site fixes as the situation requires.

2. Maintains Network Infrastructure to Increase Reliability

In addition to its computer equipment, your school's network infrastructure also needs to be something that you can rely upon. If your school's internet connection goes down during a lesson that requires the internet, teachers will be unable to continue until the problem is fixed. Many schools also rely on educational web portals to post student test scores and lesson plans — students may also use these to submit homework assignments or term papers. If your school's internet connection is down, all of these important functions will be inaccessible.

Managed IT services maintain your school's network hardware and keep it working reliably, ensuring that your school has a stable internet connection. Any disruptions in your school's internet access will be quickly corrected and your connection restored.

3. Improves Cybersecurity, Keeping Important Student Information Safe

Schools, like businesses, have to contend with potential cyberattacks. Additionally, students or teachers using computers at your school may accidentally access unauthorized websites or open malicious emails that allow attackers to access your network. In order to keep information such as your student and financial records safe from being leaked on the internet as the result of a cyberattack, you'll need to maintain excellent cybersecurity practices. Managed IT services can update the software that your school uses, removing potential security vulnerabilities. Additionally, filtering software can be installed that prevents students and teachers from opening malicious websites or emails.

Overall, managed IT services allow you to focus on teaching students instead of maintaining your IT infrastructure and keeping it secure. For more information about how managed IT services can help your school operate more efficiently, contact a managed service provider that operates in your area.