by Natalie Schlueter
Expect the unexpected. This is something that Higher Education Institutions have had to develop a strong understanding of in the past 18 months, and will continue to do into the foreseeable future.
Technology advancements and the need for 1:1 student devices in laboratory settings and general learning environments requires technology solutions with a management system that is above average from years’ past.
With virtually every student, faculty member and staff requiring devices to do their job efficiently and effectively within their institutional setting, organizations need to invest quality thought and care into their device management strategy. Included in this strategy should be IT emergencies, potential limited availability of devices, and data breaches / theft.
How higher education institutions manage their emergency plans for technology can make or break their success in classrooms, job duties, and ultimately all student and faculty success.
Charging solutions might seem like they are an unnecessary part of a device management strategy, but when it comes down to managing a strategy efficiently for a large fleet of devices, or multiple different fleets, charging solutions can assist in a multitude of ways and ensure that a small problem does not become a tech emergency.
Find out how higher education mobile device management strategies can be supported with charging solutions below.
Complex software or large deployments of devices can cause extensive work from the IT department to manage tier 1 tickets that come in. The management of coordinating schedules and issuing new devices can be a stress in and of itself.
When managing large fleets of devices, this can be an entire day or more for IT technicians to reach the device needing work. Technology is great at assisting students and faculty in a multitude of ways, but when it is not working it limits capability, communication and overall function. Waiting days to coordinate schedules to repair a device can be draining.
With a break/fix, contactless IT solution, loaner devices can be ready at the end users disposal and IT teams can focus on their responsibilities rather than schedules. What kind of solution has this functionality?
Bretford’s TechGuard Connect® Charging Lockers supply IT teams and end users the functionality of immediate assistance. The faculty member, staff member, or student can enter an individualized PIN given to them when they join the organization, insert the device into a bay, and choose a loaner device from another bay within the same locker.
This way they have a device to assist them in moving forward in their week, and can rest easy knowing that their original device will be restored back to its original state in no time.
While it is important for all students to manage their belongings and all responsibility should fall on them in a higher institutional setting, there are times when that is just not feasible. When a student or faculty device is getting repaired or looked at, they could potentially be out of device for a week or more.
Having spare devices in classrooms and spaces that rely heavily on technology solutions provide students access to the learning technology they need. These devices can be left in secure charging stations that are mounted to the wall to support device necessity in classrooms. Or, if a class is in a mobile setting and needs devices, moving from classroom to classroom with a charging cart would be the correct solution.
Student learning relies on technology. If a student does not have access to technology because of something out of their control, there can easily be a solution to assist them in higher education institutions.
To mount devices to a wall and securely and safely store, charge, and potentially sync devices, you should invest in charging stations like the CUBE Micro Station® or the PureCharge Station®. These solutions are good for small spaces that need small footprint solutions to hold devices overnight.
To have a mobile solution that moves from classroom to classroom with environments that utilize technology at the forefront of the lesson plan throughout the day, invest in a charging cart solution. These solutions offer compact, small footprint capability or large device storage capability.
For a small solution, invest in a CUBE Cart Mini® charging cart. This cart has small spaces in mind while maximizing the space on the inside for the largest amount of devices possible.
For a larger solution, invest in a CUBE Cart®. This cart is a heavy duty, large scale solution to store up to 36 devices at the same time.
Forget about broken devices; what would happen if there was theft or data breaches for your entire organization? Recent research suggests that 41% of data breaches are caused by lost or stolen devices.
How do you prevent data breaches from happening? Ensure that devices are returned at the end of the day with assigned numbers to students or faculty, or manage laptop security updates from one central location, even with a large fleet.
Managing a large fleet of devices with complex workflows and data for the optimal, personalized learning or work experience for everyone at the organization can feel like a feat to overcome.
With a charging solution that charges, syncs, and securely stores all laptops in one central location, IT technicians and administrators can de-stress and feel organized with the assurance that there will be limited opportunity for breaches or theft with their system.
What solution can do this?
Bretford’s Link® Cart allows IT teams to push updates to a large fleet of devices automatically. This allows for expedited services that could potentially take days to do manually. The Link Cart stores up to 32 laptops to be automatically managed throughout the year with minimal IT support or time invested.
To find your perfect solution today, visit our website and connect with an expert Sales Representative by clicking our “Buy Now” button, or calling (800) 521-9614.
School technology management can be easy with the right solutions in place. Talk to us, today!
Keep laptops secure, charged and up to date. This rugged Link® Cart is equipped with Ethernet cables, dedicated space for a rack-mount network switch, and two fans for cooling. This cart makes it easy for IT administrators to push updates to all devices simultaneously.
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