February 2002 — Industry Perspective
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A 21st Century Model for Maximizing Technology Purchases
The goal of the tool is to provide specific feedback to decision-makers and IT professionals at educational organizations as they work to identify the appropriate technology platform for their students, teachers and administrators. This model provides decision-makers with a methodology to understand all the costs associated with computer systems, and a decision-making tool on how to best manage and improve their systems and purchases. This model empowers schools and universities to develop and implement long-term technology investment strategies that drive down support costs, increase time benefits and support improved learningoutcomes derived from their information technology investments. The tool consists of three general sections:
Introduction. The first section describes the factors to consider when making a platform decision, including references to case studies, facts about the market and other information that may be useful when answering assessment questions used in the tool. This section also describes some of the research methods schools can use to gather data and statistics.
Assessment (Q&A). The second section presents platform decision factors, phrased as interview questions, to help schools come to a decision.
Summary. The final section provides a recommendation based on answers provided in the Assessment section.
The data and statistics that are included in the Platform Decision Tool come from various sources, including the following:
1. Case studies and white papers based on school district TCO analysis and best practices.
2. Microsoft Corp. The Microsoft corporate Web site was used extensively to gather data about training, support, vendor health and other topics. Business and platform studies performed by Microsoft were also included.
3. Apple Computer Inc. The Apple corporate Web site was used to gather data about training, support, vendor health and other topics.
4. Linux.org. This Web site is a comprehensive source for Linux information and resources.
5. Red Hat Inc. Recognized vendor dedicated to open source and the makers of Linux.
6. Dell Computer Corp. white paper. Dell developed a white paper in which superintendents and their personnel, IT professionals and teachers from 18 K-12 school districts were interviewed. The study concluded that an overwhelming number of districts have standardized on a Windows platform, a few have standardized on dual platforms and fewer still have standardized on an Apple-based platform.
7. Consortium for School Networking (COSN.org). COSN conducted extensive studies regarding the TCO involved in implementing new technologies in the classroom.
8. Quality Education Data Inc. (QED). QED is a national research and database company focused exclusively on education. Data from the QED Web site was referenced extensively for source information.
9. Software and hardware resellers and academic vendors. Various company Web sites were used to gather data about hardware and software available on different platforms.
Conclusion
There's no doubt that making effective and efficient technology purchases requires a long-term outlook, as well as the input and insight of key stakeholders. If school districts and higher education institutions do not utilize comprehensive planning for their technology budgets, they may not have sufficient resources to provide training to teachers, or to keep software up to date.
Contact Information
Microsoft Education
Solution Group
Redmond, WA
(800) 765-7768
www.microsoft.com/education/?id=platform
