Resource Constraints and Cybersecurity Concerns Top the List of Challenges with IT Professionals at K-12 Schools, Surveyed by TeamDynamix and Kaseya

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COLUMBUS, Ohio –  In a recent market study evaluating the IT maturity of K-12 school district IT departments conducted by TeamDynamix and Kaseya, 45 percent of participants stated that resource constraints are their top concern followed by cybersecurity (at 29 percent) going into 2018. The study also evaluated IT maturity among K-12 districts to determine what type of IT projects they will undertake this year.  A significant majority—59 percent—seek to enhance self-service capabilities, currently at the low end of the IT maturity scale, to reduce cost and improve satisfaction and productivity of IT support groups. Additionally, districts self-ranked on the high end of the scale for their ability to deploy mobile learning devices, while their lowest marks were in resource-intensive areas or those that pose a serious cybersecurity risk. Click to Tweet

School districts face growing challenges, such as 1:1 classrooms, blended learning environments, STEM initiatives, virtual and mixed reality, makerspaces, etc., which push technology needs and resources to their limits and put district IT departments under constant pressure.

This research identifies five key areas of IT improvement and opportunity for K-12 school districts:

1. Self-service portals - Districts will embrace the implementation of portals where users can place service requests online or even solve issues without IT intervention.
2. Knowledge-centered support (KCS) - Knowledge-centered support places problem-solving capabilities in the hands of users where they can search for solutions to common problems and share information via a crowd sourcing model that benefits from the collective experience and knowledge of all users in the community.
3. Endpoint control/security standards - The growth of the ransomware/malware trend shows no sign of abating, so having unified visibility and control for on- and off-network devices and users is critical.
4. Use the ITIL Framework - ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) is a set of practices that imparts practical and strategic guidance for IT service management. When properly implemented, service to users improves and the specialized capabilities of the process, people, suppliers, and technology are optimized.
5. Change Management - According to the IT Process Institute, 80 percent of unplanned downtime is an internal issue caused by IT itself. Implementing ITIL’s change management process helps mitigate unforeseen consequences that stem from improper planning and resource management.

“As the needs and expectations of students, parents, and teachers evolve with each school year, districts must continually work to improve and operate efficiently across various departments. With growing complexities in managing school operations, many districts are realizing the limitations of legacy solutions,” said Andrew Graf, head of product strategy for TeamDynamix. “We surveyed K-12 districts so that TeamDynamix can better forecast the market’s needs and align our services with key priorities in 2018.”

TeamDynamix is a cloud-based service management and project portfolio management platform for institutions of higher education, K-12 and state and local governments. Organizations rely on TeamDynamix to manage technology resources and personnel and support systems. The company annually surveys IT leaders in vertical markets to forecast service needs in the coming year.

Download the full research e-Book here.

About Kaseya
Kaseya is the leading provider of complete IT management solutions for managed service providers (MSPs) and midsized enterprises. Through its open platform and customer-centric approach, Kaseya delivers best in breed technologies that allow organizations to efficiently manage and secure IT. Offered both on-premise and in the cloud, Kaseya solutions empower businesses to command all of IT centrally, easily manage remote and distributed environments, and automate across IT management functions. Kaseya solutions manage over 10 million endpoints worldwide. Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Kaseya is privately held with a presence in over 20 countries. To learn more, visit www.kaseya.com.

About TeamDynamix
TeamDynamix cloud-based work management software gives service organizations in non-corporate environments the ability to align, work together, and simplify their work management processes. TeamDynamix transforms IT from order taker to strategic innovator. Colleges and universities, K-12 districts, state and local governments, and nonprofits use the TeamDynamix project portfolio and service management platform to work together smarter, faster, better. More at TeamDynamix.com, @TDXBuzz, LinkedIn. See TeamDynamix at booth 2652 at FETC January 24-26, 2018.

Tweet: Survey of K12 IT pros: resource constraints, cybersecurity are top concerns @TDXBuzz @KaseyaCorp #edtechchat http://bit.ly/TDXpulseK12

Tags: TeamDynamix, TDX, IT, information technology, IT maturity, cybersecurity, resource constraints, K12, K-12, survey, Kaseya

Summary: Survey of K-12 school leaders finds IT pros concerned about resource constraints and cybersecurity. 59 percent aiming to add self-service portals to increase efficiency.