when like is not like
When finances are tough and the economic climate continues to be uncertain, it can be tempting to leap at cheap prices. Domestic and corporate internet providers are just that: domestic or corporate. Their products tend to fall short of the education sector’s specific needs, and gaps in their service can end up being costly in other ways. So we invite you to compare like for like.
Responsibility and liability
What is the cost of risk? The head teacher and governing body in every school must meet many legal, regulatory and public demands for e-safety. Users need to be protected from exposure to harmful content or contacts, and data must be safeguarded from corruption or misuse. There are many risks of failure: financial, social and legal. Our Schools Internet Services meet the required safety standards. We update services daily to track changes in the technosphere, so you’re not at the mercy of the latest hazard. And we lift the burden of risk from your shoulders.
Access and availability
What’s the cost of service failure? Think what happens to your school if the internet connection goes down: serious disruption to your classes, staffroom, library, research, admin… Everyone needs to know that the system did work, does work, will work. The South West Grid for Learning gives you Service Level Agreements that deliver much more than the usual, without the usual cost for such support. That’s because we’ve got the power of numbers to negotiate hard behind the scenes – and we know what education needs.
Set-up costs
What is the cost of changing to a different ISP? Choosing a new provider, cancelling the old circuit, smoothing the migration, setting up new systems, training users… these are all resource-heavy procedures that open up new questions.
Will you have cancellation charges to pay (as almost all telecoms companies have termination penalties)? What will you do if the new ISP ceases trading?
Do their contracts and Service Level Agreements cover your school’s needs? What is the capital cost of installing a new line? How much extra will it be to configure the network, set up and manage IP ranges and firewall rules? Do you have the in-house resources to migrate or create email accounts, filtering rules and websites? And is this how you’d want your staff to spend their time? All these questions have happy answers with us. No nasty surprises. No drain on resources. No extra charges.
Ongoing and recurring costs
What is the longer-term cost of using other ISPs? Many domestic and business suppliers hide the costs of necessary services so that you don’t find out about them until later. At your end, there’d be a constant overhead for managing different suppliers, checking bills, penalties and performance. You’d need technical resources to run network security and filtering systems to ensure that your connectivity stays safe, reliable and up-to-date. Such distractions from regular duties can end up costing your school more. Or you could leave all that to the South West Grid for Learning.
Specifications and standards
What is the cost of school connectivity? We recognise that the standards and specifications became a little unclear with the dissolution of Becta. The former guidelines may no longer be right for your school: you might think you’ll be better off saving precious funds with a lower-cost service or non-symmetrical connectivity; you might see ways to make savings or improvements elsewhere and need a service that offers higher quality and capacity. Whatever your situation, we’re here to help you choose the right balance of performance and price. And whatever you choose, you’ll know that it’s been specially developed for education. All of our connectivity services, from ADSL to dark fibre, come with support, safety, security and reliability. And all of our services will be benchmarked for price, to ensure you get best value, now and always. That’s a promise without a use-by date.