Education customers want easy-to-use tech tools that support student achievement and engagement. But it’s not just about choosing the right software for the latest features and tools. Schools are also faced with deciding among a wide selection of devices with varying capabilities and price points.
What’s more, it’s in education customers’ best interests to standardize on a single device model—which means the device model they pick has to be versatile, easy to use, and fit their budget.
Why should educators go with a single device model? Simple deployments and streamlined management, for starters. Schools have limited IT time and resources, so deploying one model means they won’t have to worry about the time and cost of individualized device setup and management.
Help education customers find—and purchase—the right devices
Your customers will look to you to help them decide which devices will best meet their needs and goals. But don’t worry—you don’t have to go it alone. We can help you find the right education-specific devices to fit any budget, with prices starting around $200.
Once you’ve helped customers pick the right device for their schools, you can also help them with financing. SYNNEX offers flexible purchasing options like Device as a Service (DaaS). With DaaS, education customers will spend one predictable amount each month to get all the software, hardware, managed services, and device lifecycle services they need. They’ll gain predictable monthly expenses while you gain recurring revenue.
No matter what financing option you choose for your education customers, you can count on our longstanding vendor relationships to ensure you’ll have access to the device inventory you need to fulfill orders. And we’ll make sure you and your customers are supported every step of the way—our team of technical experts and former educators can provide on-demand assistance throughout the sales cycle, from sales and product training through device selection deployment, and management.
Pick the deployment model best suited to your education customers
After educators settle on a device model, you have some options to explore with them around deployment. You can:
- Create a single device image and deploy at scale. Windows Autopilot is a great tool for this—it’s a simple, cost-effective way to streamline the lifecycle of Windows devices, from initial deployment through the end of life.
- Allow custom, personalized images for each student. If you sell to schools that already have a lot of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) software like Adobe Illustrator, computer-aided design (CAD) programs, and specialized science software, they may want to go with this customized approach.
After deployment, Microsoft 365 Education offers simplified management through Microsoft Intune for Education. Schools can automate Microsoft and third-party device enrollments and updates via the cloud, to greatly lighten the burden on IT teams. For example, with Intune for Education, one educator went from taking 3 hours to get a device ready for use down to 21 minutes.*
Take advantage of this opportunity—why now is the right time
With Windows 7 approaching end of support (EOS) in January 2020, many education devices will no longer receive updates. It’s a great time to help schools avoid security risks and upgrade to Windows 10 devices, which deliver all kinds of expanded features and functionality for the modern classroom.
Get more details on how you can help education customers prepare for Windows 7 EOS at our Education Resource Hub, or contact us with questions at [email protected].
*Forrester Research Total Economic Impact™ Analysis report, “Microsoft Accessibility and Assistive Technologies for Education,” February 2019.
