IT software and services provider, Anittel, has signed managed services contracts with three major Western Australia schools, Kingsway Christian College, Mandurah Baptist College and Peter Carnley Anglican Community School.
The combined contracts are valued at about $2 million covering a two-year period.
Anittel, which was recently acquired by Inabox Group (ASX:IAB), has about 45 private and independent school contracts in Western Australia including Perth’s Guildford Grammar School.
It has set up embedded teams who work full-time on campus, which also be supported by off-site field engineers and professional service teams providing support for desktops, notebooks, iPads, servers, storage, networking and wireless infrastructure, as well as professional learning programs for teachers and hardware and software procurement services.
Two major school initiatives include supporting the adoption of the BYOD (bring your own device) program and transitioning schools to cloud computing.
Anittel Western Australia regional manager, Sam Meegahage, said BYOD programs were being seriously considered for schools as a way to continue the 1:1 computer to student ratio following Government’s decision to end funding for the Digital Education Revolution.
“A number of schools are adopting BYOD. When it is done well, it can be empowering for both the students and the school. Student owned devices encourage collaborative and self-directed learning, and offer more opportunities for learning to continue at home,” Meegahage said.
“It also allows schools to direct their resources to more strategic IT issues and explore cost-saving initiatives such as cloud technology.”
Anittel supports Western Australian schools with a combination of Cisco, Dell and Apple hardware, and Microsoft and VMware.
