Alex Chua, regional director, Promethean
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| Schools tend to regard ease of use, interactivity and value-added content as main criteria for their technology investments. | ||
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Q: What are some ways catering to the education sector differs from other commercial sectors?
The education sector views its return on investments (ROI) differently from the commercial sector.
The commercial sector tends to view the bottomline as the main yardstick for making purchases. Schools tend to regard ease of use, interactivity and value-added content as main criteria for their technology investments.
Schools also work with limited resources in-house when it comes to maintaining IT equipment and solutions. Products and IT solutions for schools have to be easy to learn, easy to use and easy to maintain to ensure that these equipment last and stay relevant for schools in the long run.
Having said that, education organizations are still businesses at the end of the day, so costs, performance and value are still high priority.
True or false: the education sector is insulated from the upcoming recession.
True, to a certain extent--the public education sector receives budget allocations from government. During times of recession, education continues to be a focus for governments and these budgets will not be impacted to a large degree. Some may even argue that education budgets should increase in times of economic turmoil.
Private education organizations still rely on investors and shareholders for funding and these may see an impact on IT spending.
Governments understand the value of pushing education to the next level in terms of interactivity, innovation and leveraging technology to inspire the next generation of leaders. Therefore, technology spending in education is seen as an investment for the society in the long term.
What are some challenges IT departments face?
One major challenge is aligning IT investments to business objectives. In the case of education, it is having to convince shareholders how a certain technology can help improve efficiency within the organization, or help teachers better access the development and level of engagement of students.
IT departments in schools have to provide solutions within a limited budget and often need to anticipate needs of teachers and students before technology requirements become an issue. The major challenge is having to balance the need for IT equipment with how these purchases can add to the learning experience in schools.
IT departments in schools often have to consider how a certain technology will be received by students, teachers or parents, or if a certain technology will be well received. The IT departments have to gauge how receptive these 'audiences' are to using technology in schools.
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