Technology Management

Technology management in the K-12 organization has many facets and touches every aspect of the organization. Schools can no longer depend on their one or two person technology team along with supplemental contracts for teachers to manage technology in the school. The IP based (digital) technology infrastructure is very complex and impacts everything from classroom technologies to telephones to email to administrative & environmental systems and fire/security systems. The software environment is increasingly complex and expensive to manage and support. Schools continuously adopt more and more technologies which are not well integrated and lead to inefficiencies and disruptions.

Epiphany offers technology management solutions that deliver all the necessary skills needed to operate a modern K-12 technology environment. We typically do this at a cost similar to the district’s payroll and consulting costs.

Illustration of some of the technologies that you find in schools today:

Technology Audit & Recommendations

As part of this service we conduct a comprehensive analysis of technical infrastructure, educational and administrative functional usage and longer term needs. A detailed report is provided with recommendations categorized with priorities.

In-Sourcing (Technology Department Management)

This approach is valuable when the district has technical resources they wish to continue to employ and the existing resources have basic networking and technician-level skills. In some cases they have a good curriculum and functional technology background, however, these resources do not have the range of skill  to function as an IT Director or Chief Technology Office. These roles require superior skills and experience in order to advance strategic organizational goals through the utilization and integration of technology. In cases such as this, Epiphany can deliver management services and work with the administration to develop a technology plan and manage/collaborate with the school resources to operate a high-quality and professional IT department. In some cases, for better management alignment and cost-effectiveness, Epiphany can consider hiring school resources and adding them our payroll.

Outsourcing (Turnkey Technology Department)

Under this approach Epiphany will contract to provide all IT department services. These services can range from management to network, software, telephony and classroom support. The school will remain responsible for hardware costs and some specialized existing services support costs. This outsource approach allows the schools to be supported by a multi-faceted, professionally operated IT department for the same cost (or less) of a district-staffed department.

Government and corporate entities have outsourced technology support for decades, as it provides the organization with the greatest flexibility for supporting a wide range of technologies in the most cost-effective fashion. Additionally, the school administration can focus on core educational issues without distractions.