Efficient IT Asset Management for Schools: Severn Academies Educational Trust Success with VIZOR

Severn Academies Educational Trust, in Worcestershire UK, reduced costs while increasing efficiency by transforming their IT asset management processes using VIZOR. Joshua Bissell, Network Manager at SAET, shares how VIZOR helps his team manage over 2,000 Chromebooks across the trust.

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Severn Academies Educational Trust (SAET)

SAET's Journey to Increased Efficiency and Reduced Costs

Severn Academies Educational Trust (SAET) is a Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) in Worcestershire UK with approximately 3,500 students across eight schools. SAET, which provides Chromebooks to its students, needed a more efficient and comprehensive system to manage these devices. Joshua Bissell, Network Manager at SAET, selected VIZOR resulting in a transformation to their IT asset management processes while reducing costs.

VIZOR has provided our team with an automated and highly customisable asset management system, which allows us to easily keep track of 1:1 student and staff devices."

Joshua Bissel Network Manager at Severn Academies Educational Trust

Challenges before using VIZOR

Before implementing VIZOR, SAET faced significant challenges in managing their student devices. Joshua Bissell, Network Manager at SAET, shared, "Maintaining an accurate device inventory and keeping on top of damage and repairs was a major challenge for us." The team relied on inefficient spreadsheets and outdated asset management software, resulting in a convoluted process for tracking 1:1 student and staff devices. "Our previous asset and repair tracking system was convoluted, causing underutilisation and a lack of repair history for specific users or devices," Joshua explained.

Benefits Experienced with VIZOR at SAET

Since adopting VIZOR, SAET has experienced numerous benefits that have streamlined their IT asset management processes. "VIZOR has provided our team with an automated and highly customisable asset management system which allows us to easily keep track of 1:1 student and staff devices".

Joshua Bissell shared his insights on the benefits from VIZOR seen at Severn Academies Educational Trust:

Versatile and Centralised Asset Management

Joshua Bissell describes VIZOR as "versatile," highlighting how VIZOR has adapted seamlessly to SAET's needs, centralising their IT asset management. "We describe VIZOR as versatile because it adapts to our needs seamlessly. The centralised management system gives us complete visibility into our asset inventory and compliance". VIZOR has provided SAET with greater visibility into their asset inventory, ensuring they stay compliant and manage their resources efficiently. This enhanced control and oversight has reduced manual workload and improved overall productivity in managing school IT assets.

Google Integration

A standout feature for SAET is VIZOR's Google bidirectional integration. Joshua explains that being able to write-back to Google and pull users from Google admin has significantly improved their workflow. This integration ensures that their IT team can easily manage user data and Chromebooks without duplication, streamlining processes and enhancing productivity. "Our favourite feature is the Google bidirectional integration, particularly being able to write-back to Google. This has significantly improved our workflow and productivity."

"Our favourite feature is the Google bidirectional integration, particularly being able to write-back to Google. This has significantly improved our workflow and productivity."
Joshua Bissell Severn Academies Educational Trust

Efficient Device Allocation

VIZOR has transformed how SAET allocates and tracks devices, particularly those that students take home. Joshua highlights the importance of accountability and easy management, noting that VIZOR allows them to keep track of what devices are signed out to students and when. Using VIZOR with a barcode scanner has made tracking devices more efficient for SAET. This feature has been crucial in maintaining control over their assets and ensuring that devices are used responsibly. "VIZOR allows us to allocate devices and keep track of what devices are signed out and when. This is particularly important as students take their devices home, ensuring accountability and easy management." "Using VIZOR with a barcode scanner has made tracking devices more efficient, which is a game-changer for our team."

Automated and Customisable

VIZOR has provided SAET with an automated and highly customisable asset management system, eliminating the need for spreadsheets. This automation has increased their efficiency and reduced costs, allowing their IT team to focus on strategic projects rather than getting bogged down by manual tasks. "VIZOR has provided us with an automated and highly customisable asset management system, eliminating the need for spreadsheets. This has increased our efficiency and reduced costs."

"VIZOR has provided us with an automated and highly customisable asset management system, eliminating the need for spreadsheets."
Joshua Bissell Severn Academies Educational Trust

Increased Efficiency and Cost Savings

Joshua notes that VIZOR has had a positive impact on SAET IT services, streamlining IT asset and student device management. This has led to increased efficiency and cost savings for SAET. Joshua recommends VIZOR to other schools, praising its robust features and ease of use. VIZOR's user-friendly interface and customisable workflows have enhanced their IT processes, making it an invaluable tool for managing their IT infrastructure. "VIZOR streamlines IT asset and student device management, increasing efficiency and reducing costs. We would recommend VIZOR to other schools for its robust features and ease of use."

School IT Management Transformation

Use Case	Before VIZOR	With VIZOR
Asset Management	Relied on spreadsheets and outdated asset management software, resulting in convoluted and inefficient processes.	Automated and highly customisable asset management system, making it easy to track 1:1 student and staff devices across the trust.
Student Device Inventory	Difficult to keep track of which devices were signed out, particularly for devices taken home by students.	VIZOR enables efficient tracking of device allocation and provides a clear record of which devices are signed out to who.
Repair Tracking	Convoluted repair tracking, leading to lack of repair history. It was difficult to keep on top of device damage and repairs.	Streamlined repair tracking with clear repair history for each user or device. The team can now easily monitor device repairs and maintenance.
Workflow	Inefficient workflow with data siloed in spreadsheets or Google admin.	VIZOR's bidirectional integration with Google writes-back to Google removing the need for duplication of data entry.
Workload	Management of 1:1 student and staff devices was complex, involving spreadsheets and manual processes.	Barcode scanner integration now streamlines device allocation to students, reducing workload and ensuring accurate device inventory.
Overall Efficiency	Inefficient, leading to increased workload and costs.	Increased efficiency and reduced costs for the trust due to streamlining of IT asset and student device management.

Conclusion

The experience of Severn Academies Educational Trust (SAET) underscores the significant advantages of using VIZOR for IT asset management in a Multi-Academy Trust. By replacing inefficient spreadsheets and convoluted processes with VIZOR, SAET successfully enhanced their device management, repair tracking, and overall efficiency in managing school IT assets. Joshua Bissell concludes, "We are really happy with how VIZOR has helped us transform our IT asset processes at SAET. VIZOR has been instrumental in enabling us to focus on our core mission of providing quality education while ensuring our IT infrastructure is well-managed and compliant."