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CoSN March 2008 Tech Support: What It Really Costs Tech Support: What It Really Costs
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CoSN March 2008
Tech Support:What It Really Costs
Tech Support:What It Really Costs
The Presenters
Jeanne Hayes, President, The Hayes Connection
Meris Stansbury, Assistant Editor, eSchool News Network
Lee Prevost, President and Co-Founder, SchoolDude.com
Len Niebo, Director of IT, Brick Township Schools, Brick, New Jersey
CoSN March 2008
Objectives of This Session
Confirm the unique challenges schools face in tech support. Find out what your peers believe. Learn some strategies that may help you obtain more resources.
CoSN March 2008
What We’ll Cover
The Challenge: Jeanne HayesThe Research: Meris StansburyLessons Learned: Lee Prevost
CoSN March 2008
The Challenge
CoSN March 2008
Education Is Important
Breadth 1 out of 4 Americans go to school every day. (79.7 million out of
302 million Americans )
Concentration 307 districts (2%) contain 36% of students. 482 college campuses (12%) contain more than 50% of
students.
Financial Scope More than $750 billion in government funds spent annually on K-
12 and higher education – not counting parental contributions 7.4% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
CoSN March 2008
Technology Environment: Unique to Schools
Extensive security issues with children and children’s data Kids using multiple computers in a day, rather than one Multiple versions of operating systems, as well as multiple operating
systems Different instructional applications loaded for each class No common “profile” for the student Tech support often less robust than in business Greater diversity of brands and models than in business Far greater support expected for older versions of operating
systems and applications than in business environments
Education Technology Budgets Growing
$11
$16
2006 2011 (Projected)
Total Technology Budget (Billions)
7.59% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
Source: America’s Digital Schools 2006 © 2006 The Hayes Connections, The Greaves Group
CoSN March 2008
Budget Pressures on Ed Tech Increasing diversity of devices
Laptops and tablet computers iPods Cell phones PDAs Interactive whiteboards
Growing number of programs to support Learning Management Systems Online Assessment Special Needs Credit Recovery and Home Schoolers Online Education and Webinars 1:1 Computing
Higher expectations of 24/7 support At home and at school For teachers, students and parents
Tech Support Cost Increases
Tech Support costs in K-12 schools have increased by 50% in the last four years from 14% to 21% of the technology budget.
America’s Digital Schools 2006
Technology Budget by CategoryHardware
33%Tech Support
21%
Software22%
Professional Development
10%
Networks8%
Maintenance6%
2006 Technology Budget compared to 2002 Hardware down from 41% Networks down from 14% Software up from 20% Tech Support up from 14%
Sources: QED’s Technology Purchasing Forecast, 2002-2003 America’s Digital Schools 2006 © 2006, The Hayes Connection, The Greaves Group
Tech Support Growth
Category Pct. of Tech
Support
Pct. of Tech
Budget
Compound Annual Growth
Rate (2006-2011)
In-house Tech Support
78.3% 16.7% 5.7%
Professional Consulting
12.5% 2.7% 8.9%
Outsourced Tech Support
9.2% 2.0% 10.4%
Average Compound Annual Growth Rate: 7.9%
CoSN March 2008
The Research
Unique Challenges Facing the IT Professional in Education.
IT Staff is Spread Too Thin
54% say half of workload is reactive, rather than proactive.
55% say first area of need is more staffing for curriculum integration.
60% couldn’t complete software installations in a timely fashion this year.
54%55%
60%
Reactive not proactive Workload
Need more staff for curiculum integration
Couldn't complete software installatiionson time
Pct. of Respondents
Source: Unique Challenges Facing the IT Professional in Education ©2007 eSchool News
CoSN March 2008
Staffing Ratio Low Compared to Best Practices
MEAN NUMBER OF COMPUTERS PER TECHNICIAN National
Less than 500 Students
500 - 999 Students
1,000 - 2,999 Students
3,000 - 4,999 Students
5,000 - 9,999 Students
10,000 - 24,999 Students
25,000 or More Students
Student computers per technician 219 140 92 179 204 246 430 449
Lab computers per technician 203 78 271 157 212 183 263 383
Staff computers per technician 128 123 61 102 131 150 164 247
TOTAL COMPUTERS PER TECHNICIAN 550 341 424 438 547 579 857 1,079
Software-based Help Desk
Help Desk, 45%
No Help Desk, 55%
Pct. of Respondents
55% of respondents don’t have a software-based help desk in their district.
10% of non-respondents are pursuing this solution.
29% of non-respondents have more pressing concerns.
Source: Unique Challenges Facing the IT Professional in Education ©2007 eSchool News
Disconnect Between IT & Funding
50%
83%
38%
They understand theimportance but are notsupportive financially.IT Security is a districtpriority
IT Security is funded inalignment with its prioirty
How well do the school board and district leaders understand the importance of IT as it relates to the overall goals of the district?
Source: Unique Challenges Facing the IT Professional in Education ©2007 eSchool News
Most Important IT Issue
Funding (46% of respondents)
Consequences of lack of funding: Can’t support technology assets
already purchased Can’t meet district IT expectations Can’t recruit, train, and retain qualified
IT staff members.
Source: Unique Challenges Facing the IT Professional in Education ©2007 eSchool News
CoSN March 2008
The Good News
Resourcefulness of CTOs
Use knowledgeable teachers for classroom technology support; ask them to help out other teachers and staff who might need some tech guidance
Build support system across districts; one educator suggested that states should create regional support and design centers to help smaller districts get and maintain the technology they need, without every school district trying to find and pay their own personnel.
Source: Unique Challenges Facing the IT Professional in Education ©2007 eSchool News
Software as a Service
53% of respondents said they currently use one or more Software as a Service (SaaS) applications. Of these, nearly 3 out of 4 said they are using SaaS applications for their ease of deployment, which helps free up IT staff time for other tasks.
Source: Unique Challenges Facing the IT Professional in Education ©2007 eSchool News
Communications
80% of those surveyed said that they conduct an inventory of IT assets and report these results yearly to state and local education leaders.
Also, many respondents said that a lot of problems were caused by a lack of communication among IT staff, administrators, and educators in their school and as a result, educators were given training for technology that was never implemented and have had trouble accessing many files.
Source: Unique Challenges Facing the IT Professional in Education ©2007 eSchool News
CoSN March 2008
Voices from the Field
Comparison to Business IT
“We are in a unique position of having to meet many of the same needs of a large public or private-sector organization, such as security, storage, uptime, and federal and state mandates—but we have significantly less staff and funding.”
A Technology Director from Portland, MI
Staffing
“We have two full-time ‘Tier 1’ technicians serving 2,900 students, 300 teachers and administrators, and more than 1,200 computers in a 6-school district with campuses spread across suburban Dallas. Managing IT in our district is like constantly putting my finger in the dike to keep it from leaking. Longer-term planning is a joke.”
A Technology Manager in Irving, TX
Source: Unique Challenges Facing the IT Professional in Education ©2007 eSchool News
Staffing
“[Our] staff can only dedicate…time for quick fixes and rushed projects to achieve basic operation. The behemoth of technology continues to grow in K-12 education, but support models are static and staffing levels frozen. Many days, all we can do is keep the ship afloat—and there is no time left to check our course.”
An IT Systems Administrator from Long Beach, CA
Source: Unique Challenges Facing the IT Professional in Education ©2007 eSchool News
Long-Term Planning
“We need to reinvent IT in schools so that more focus can be placed on the classroom. One way to accomplish this is to move to products on the server and on the desktop that are more robust, user-friendly, and need less attention. That way, less time is spent with servers and more is freed up for bringing technology into the classrooms. Doing this requires a staff willing to take the risks necessary to blaze a new path in the K-12 environment, and a supportive administration!”
An IT Director from Potomac, MD
Source: Unique Challenges Facing the IT Professional in Education ©2007 eSchool News
CoSN March 2008
Lessons Learned
Education Tech Support Staffing Ratios
Average ratio: 1:4881 technician to 488
computers
Extremely High: 1:1000
Extremely Low: 1: 206
Business Ratio: 1:200
Source; Workshop Poll. NSBA T+L Conference, Nov. 9, 2006
CoSN March 2008
Too Much “Stuff”Not Enough Staff
Industry standard for IT support is typically 1 technician per 100 - 200 computers
School standard for IT support is typically 1 technical per 300-500 computers or even higher!
Money for “stuff” (capital), but not staff (operating budget)
CoSN March 2008
Improvement Model
Data Data Data
CoSN March 2008
Do what you always did. Get what you always got!
Paper work order forms Email based incident requests In house systems Manual PC infrastructure audits Excel utility tracking and “analysis” Accounting “add on” module “Free” OS asset management systems
AKA: “DoNothing.com” or status quo
CoSN March 2008
If you aren’t doubling output every 3-4 years, you are getting behind.
CoSN March 2008
Four Step Program to Get More Resources
1. Change your image.
2. Establish a respected methodology.
3. Educate the decision makers and decision influencers.
4. Present your request for staff and money.
Professional Image –The Perception Gap
PerceptionGapWhat you do
What others think you do
CoSN March 2008
Notes from the Field
Lee Niebo, Director of IT, Brick Township Public Schools, Brick, New Jersey
About the Presenters
Meris Stansbury is an Assistant Editor of eSchool News.
She graduated from Kenyon College in 2006 with a B.A. in English Literature. She was the Education Program Manager for The World & I, a monthly educational publication, and joined the eSchool News team as Assistant Editor in July, 2007. At eSchool News, Meris covers the current issues and latest trends in educational technology.
About the Presenters
Jeanne Hayes has 25 years of experience in tracking the ed tech market, first in her role as founder and CEO of Quality Education Data, Inc., a Scholastic Company, and second in her current role as a consultant to publishers and producers of ed tech products and services.
Lee Provost, together with Kent Hudson, founded SchoolDude.com in 1999 and started providing educational facility, IT and business administrators with a powerful and innovative solution for streamlining their operations. Prior to that, Lee worked at both ACT and Honeywell Systems.
CoSN March 2008
Contact Us
Jeanne Hayes [email protected]
Meris Stansbury [email protected]
Lee Prevost [email protected]
