Zyxel Networks is urging the UK’s schools and colleges that are looking to upgrade their network infrastructure before the end of the year and over the holiday period to broaden their horizons and consider all the options and possibilities before they make their crucial purchasing decisions.
Budget pressure on schools is growing. In September, the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) warned that schools are having to make substantial cuts due to extra financial pressures. Despite the overall budget for schools increasing by £3.5 billion for 2023-24, almost half (49 per cent) of primaries, and 41 per cent of secondaries expect to see a deficit for 2022-23
A recent study of UK trusts found that almost one-fifth (19 per cent) of chief executives lack confidence about their financial sustainability in the future, an increase on last year when only 4 per cent said they were not confident about long-term finances. Fewer than half of respondents to the National School Trust Survey, organised by the Confederation of School Trusts (CST), said they felt very or quite confident in their financial sustainability.
Rachel Rothwell, Senior Regional Director, UK and Ireland at Zyxel Networks said, “schools and trusts were already under massive pressure to make cutbacks and this year’s RAAC (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete) debacle has added to that. At the same time, they are expected to provide the latest technology and ensure the online safety of pupils. They are having to think long and hard about how they can reduce costs without having an impact on teaching and they now have very little room for manoeuvre. One area in which they can still make real savings without compromising is in their choice of networking technologies. While the official advice might be to purchase products from some of the more expensive brand names, solutions from Zyxel and other manufacturers can do just as good a job for much less investment.
“Zyxel has excellent, fast, reliable wireless, switching, and unified threat management solutions that are highly effective and much more affordable. Our MSP partners can configure and support all of our devices through the Nebula cloud management platform, so there really is no reason why schools can’t get the very best and latest technologies, without paying a premium.”