Why choose our ICT Consultancy service?
Every relationship comes down to trust – trust that your academy or school has a true picture of its ICT risks, challenges and opportunities. Trust that every recommendation is in the best interests of your learning organization, pupils and teaching staff.
As a standard, our ICT consultancy service helps you to:
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Understand your current ICT situation & risks
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Identify and prioritise ICT improvements
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Make best use of your ICT budget
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Identify and analyse the value of new ICT technology
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Maximise the value of your existing technology
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Enrich your learning environment
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Support the delivery of the school curriculum
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Improve child teacher interaction & confidence with technology
Our approach
Our flexible approach to ICT consultancy promotes sustained growth, nurtures new technology and embraces your legacy equipment to ensure that your systems and data are safe and that you’re making the best use of your ICT budget.
Rather than tying you into a traditional IT Consultancy day rate with no plan or potential end date, we prefer to work to a detailed plan and timeframe. We find that this is enormously beneficial to the academies and schools that we partner with.
As such, there are three core offerings within our ICT consultancy service, including:
- ICT Discovery and Analysis – an in-depth review of your current ICT, either across your entire estate or a single school.
- ICT Solutions Planning – building on the ICT Discovery and Analysis, a detailed plan on how to resolve each issue, in priority order, with projected costs.
- ICT Scoping Specification – a clearly defined ICT scoping document providing a detailed specification ready for ICT partners to tender.
Crucially, and for absolute neutrality, if we prepare your ICT Partner Specification, we will not tender for the work ourselves as we feel it would be a conflict of interest.
ICT Discovery and Analysis using Gap
Once we’ve got to know you and understand the organisational structure, we agree the scope of our ICT Gap Analysis.
As a starting point, our ICT Gap Analysis includes a detailed review of your current IT infrastructure using GAP Analysis methodology with simplified scoring to provide a clear and concise overview.
Our ICT Analysis is not your standard audit. As ICT consultancy specialists, we take the time to talk with your current IT staff and get to know your business stakeholders and their aspirations for the future. This enables us to provide an ICT Analysis that is not only technically robust but also helps to inform a creation of needs that aligns with your ICT budget.
The data and information generated in the ICT Gap Analysis is extremely accurate to provide the best possible advice, and typically covers the following areas:
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IT Security
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Backup and Disaster Recovery
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Email Systems
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Asset Management and Hardware
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Server Infrastructure and Data Storage
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Software and Licencing
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Cloud Computing
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Printing and Photocopiers
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Network and Wi-Fi Infrastructure
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Telecommunications
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Broadband and Internet Connectivity
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IT Support Provisioning
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Internal usage policies and documents
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Energy/Environmental Conditions
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Relationship Management (unbiased review of current IT relationship and review of options)
Crucially, the resulting report can be easily understood by your Board and Directors so that they are fully understanding of the current IT provisioning, concerns, issues, and risks.
ICT Solutions Planning
Once we have conducted your ICT Discovery and Analysis, we will collaborate with you to create an ICT solutions plan (strategy).
As an ICT Consultancy partner, our aim is to help you mitigate risk, enhance performance, keep you operational, realise benefits and cost-savings, and help you plan for the future.
We will produce a clear ICT strategy that balances the long-term goals, while tending to your immediate ICT needs. In doing so, our ICT Solutions Planning is cross analysis-based, revealing potential savings and budgetary planning.
If you want us to, we will also provide a full written report with a formal presentation to your senior management team and consult on any areas of concern.
Our aim is to provide you with good solid data and recommendations to make informed strategic ICT decisions that align with your overall business plan.
ICT Scoping Specification
Following our in-depth ICT solutions planning, we will work strategically with you and your senior management team to prepare a clear ICT scoping specification with clearly defined ICT partner scope, service expectations and budgets.
By consciously removing ourselves from the tender process, you can be sure that our recommendations are purely in your best interests.
If you do not already have these, we can also assist with an ICT procurement checklist for you to fairly assess the suitability of a new ICT partner.
We are also happy to revisit the scope of your ICT Strategy at regular intervals (before a contract comes up for renewal) and attend ICT strategy meetings to ensure you have everything you need to support ongoing and new projects.
Let’s work together
01206 700930Working with Essex and Suffolk academies and schools since 2010, we have a vast amount of experience in shaping ICT Consultancy Services to generate the best possible results. If you’d like to know more, please call us on 01206 700930 or send us a message using the form below.