www.coastal-connection.net SmartWorks Managed IT Services
In 2020, many colleges’ and universities’ daily operations experienced significant disruption and major glitches, causing management to take a critical look at their existing IT infrastructure to determine what steps could be taken to better accommodate faculty and students.
As remote and hybrid learning environments continue to become the norm amid the lingering COVID-19 pandemic, many decision-makers may still be thinking – ‘what else can we do to improve the learning experience?’
If this scenario resonates with you, continue reading to learn the benefits of partnering with a managed service provider for your institution’s IT.
Managed Services for Higher Ed IT Support
The higher education industry is facing more challenges than ever before, from budgetary constraints to school security concerns. Partnering with a managed service provider will ensure your IT solution and ongoing management is one less thing you have to worry about.
Here are some of the biggest benefits of managed IT services for higher ed.
Keep Faculty, Students & Staff Connected
In the era of online school, 24/7 connectivity between staff, students, and faculty is critical for a seamless remote learning experience for all.
Through proactive monitoring and management of IT infrastructure – including network maintenance, server support, and connectivity troubleshooting – managed service providers can minimize disruptions, reduce technical downtime, and increase productivity for technology users.
Leveraging a managed service provider’s support desk offering will also increase efficiencies throughout the college. With dedicated resources to address IT tickets and requests, in-house staff will be freed up to focus on other IT initiatives. Furthermore, institutions can use a support desk to handle overflow or after hours tickets or even expand operations to 24/7.
More and more colleges and universities are having success migrating their IT infrastructure to the cloud, as it offers a more scalable and cost-effective solution while providing students and staff with more flexibility and accessibility.
Obtain Business Application Support
Today’s online learning environment relies on numerous application types ranging from document collaboration to file sharing to hosting on-demand lessons. A few of the most common tools in a virtual higher education setting include:
Learning Management Systems
Video conferencing platforms such as MS Teams or Zoom
Microsoft 365
These applications require dedicated support channels to ensure consistent availability for users, but this can be difficult to maintain.
A managed service provider will have the experience and bandwidth to assist with new technology rollouts, including troubleshooting and rectifying onboarding issues and providing continuous support post-deployment.
Get IT Resources When You Need Them
Because technology plays such an integral role in higher education today, it is important to have dependable resources for IT projects, technical troubleshooting, and more.
In this regard, managed service providers can be your all-in-one partner or act as an extension of your team to supplement your staff as workloads increase and new initiatives are realized.