Trillion Solves Critical K-12 School District IT Staffing Challenges Highlighted by Recent survey of 1,000 District Leaders and IT Administrators

 

On January 9, 2008, a national education publication ran a front page story in their online newsletter proclaiming schools need help with tech support.  This survey confirmed the pain felt by many K-12 IT directors around the nation struggling to provide advanced technology solutions to their districts with limited staff and budget.

Over 100 K-12 School districts around the nation are solving this problem using Trillion’s Priority 1 E-Rate eligible Wide Area Network, Internet and Voice over IP Telephony services.

Survey Results

The article reported the results from a survey that included over 1,000 district leaders and IT administrators.  It stated that Information Technology (IT) staffing shortages are keeping many schools from realizing the full benefits of technology inside and outside the classroom.  Key issues raised by the survey include:

• Approximately 75% of school leaders report not having enough IT staff to effectively support their needs
• 55% said they can’t maintain their network adequately
• 63% said they can’t plan for new technologies
• 76% said they have problems implementing new technologies 
• Non-competitive salaries are one of the biggest obstacles districts face in recruiting and retaining IT staff members
• 46% of respondents said “funding” was the most important issue that needed to be resolved to achieve success

Furthermore, an independent market research firm confirmed the problem.  In a report on staffing for technology support, the survey said the need may be far greater than you think.  The research firm reported that large corporations typically employ one support person for every 50 PCs, at a cost of $142 per computer, per year.  A district with 1,000 PCs would need 20 technical support staff using that model. According to a nationally recognized education research official, larger school districts are approaching a ratio of one IT person for every 1,500 computers. 

Trillion’s Priority 1 E-Rate eligible Wide Area Network and VoIP services are designed to provide a solid education infrastructure to school districts so that IT professionals can focus on other education initiatives within the district instead of the mundane task of network and telephony management.  The network and VoIP telephony solutions are monitored and managed by the Trillion Network Operations Center (NOC) around the clock – essentially extending the district’s IT staff to a 24 x 7 x 365 operation. 

Trillion also offers an easy migration to new technologies such as VoIP, something that 76% of respondents said they have challenges supporting.  Trillion handles the plan, design, implementation and ongoing management of the service.  Voice over IP is a complex technology that requires specific expertise that most districts do not have.  By providing VoIP as a service, district personnel can rely on Trillion to provide dial tone, keeping them out of the telephone support business.  The Trillion NOC is staffed with expert WAN and VoIP experts – talent that would be difficult and expensive for a district to obtain.   

Trillion also solves the turnover issue by providing infrastructure as a service.   Trillion models itself as a “perfect employee” for the district:

• monitoring and managing the network 24 x 7 x 365 – “we work nights, weekends and holidays so you don’t have to”
• providing network and VoIP expertise to all customers – “we bring our own tools to work and you don’t have to train us”
• charging the same price every month for the length of the contract – “we don’t ask for a raise”

 

In response to the funding issue, Trillion services are all Priority 1 E-Rate eligible enabling districts to receive significant discounts on their telecommunication services through the government E-Rate program. 

“Our driving factor for selecting Trillion’s Voice over IP Service was the fact that it was Priority 1 E-Rate eligible.  We’re an 80% school district.  If I purchased a VoIP system, I could not rely on Priority 2 E-Rate funding because the cutoff point has varied between 69% to 84% over the past 5 years,” stated Sondra Adams from Bloomfield School District in Bloomfield, New Mexico.  “And, all support costs, including additional staff would be funded out-of-pocket.  With Trillion, the VoIP system and support for that system are all covered under Priority 1”.    

Trillion is offering a free TCO analysis for Districts considering VoIP services on their website at www.trillion.net/VoIP-TCO.html.

 

 

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To read the article in full go to "Schools need help with tech support"