Top 3 Benefits for Schools Who Partner With an MSP

The US is in the middle of a severe labor shortage, which some say is the worst since WWII. The latest data from the US Chamber of Commerce shows over 11 million job openings but only 6 million unemployed workers. It’s becoming increasingly hard to find and retain talent in just about every industry, including education. Several reports indicate an alarming scarcity of teaching and non-teaching staff in various school districts.

Today, most schools are keen on embracing modern technologies to improve the teaching/learning experience and automate key business processes. But a shortage in skilled labor could impede digitization in schools. And in more bad news, a scarcity in semiconductor chips is threatening the global tech supply chain. So, maintaining and growing a school’s IT infrastructure is far from easy, especially on a tight IT budget.

But even with these challenges, IT management is a breeze with the proper guidance.

Let’s look at the top three ways that partnering with a managed IT services provider (MSP) benefits your digital strategies and institution as a whole:

Affordable IT support expertise

Delegating your day-to-day IT support duties to an MSP is one of the easiest, fastest, and least costly ways of getting around the ongoing labor shortage. First of all, managed IT costs way less than an internal IT department. Yet, you get a team of highly skilled IT professionals working for you around the clock, helping improve the quality of life for both students and staff. You don’t have to go through a tedious, time-consuming, and expensive hiring process; the MSP is ready to go right out of the box.

The MSP can take care of all the nitty-gritty support tasks, from handling support tickets and patching systems to monitoring networks. With these out of the way, teachers, students, and non-faculty members can focus on more important duties.

Hassle-free cloud migration

Over recent years, the cloud has become an IT lifeline in many organizations. Transferring learning, teaching, and business operations to the cloud will minimize your IT investments, give you access to powerful computing resources, and open your institution to new opportunities such as hybrid work and distance learning. The cloud helps minimize and optimize your IT footprint while cutting costs and improving digital efficiency. Also, migrating to the cloud is a convenient workaround to the rising cost of computing hardware.

Unfortunately, cloud migration can be a complex maze to navigate on your own. But one of the benefits of having a managed services provider for your school is they can guide you on the right path to adopting the relevant cloud solutions in the safest and most efficient ways possible.

Robust cybersecurity

With digitization comes cyber risks, which is true even in the education sector. The K-12 Cybersecurity Resource Center report shows a worrying trend in cyberattacks such as ransomware, phishing, DDoS, and data breaches targeting staff and student data in schools.

Cyber insecurity in schools is such a big problem that the federal and state governments have gotten involved (mainly through legislation) in protecting school students and staff from cybercriminals. For instance, the recently enacted Senate Bill 820 requires every learning institution in Texan school districts to implement and prioritize cybersecurity planning. 

The bill’s main stipulations are:

• Adopt a cybersecurity policy in line with Texas or NIST cybersecurity framework
• Superintendents to appoint a designated cybersecurity coordinator
• Report all “breach of system security” incidents to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and district families

A managed IT partner will guide you in setting up a robust cybersecurity infrastructure to actively repel and counter threats while maintaining legal compliance.

Get the most out of managed IT services by partnering with CTSI. We’ve been helping schools adopt and implement cutting-edge technologies for the last three decades, even with limited budgets and endless challenges. Leave us a message or call us at 806-793-8961 to get started on improving your school’s digital posture.