Solution Spotlight: Netbook Deployment
Customer: Major Metropolitan School District
Location: Indiana
Highlights
This major metropolitan school district received a grant to provide each of its high school students with a personal WiFi-enabled netbook to expand access to class materials, improve communication between teachers and students, and generally advance towards the long-term goal of a digital curriculum. MCPc orchestrated the entire deployment process —from procurement management to customization to shipment — and successfully delivered 8,000 HP 2102 netbooks to the schools, all within a tight project schedule.
Benefits
- Every high school student within the district now has constant access to curriculum media regardless of home resources..
- A convenient and efficient means of communication between teachers and students is now in placeImproved printer performance.
- A major step in the shift to a digital curriculum has been successfully accomplished for the school district.
Business Need
This MCPc customer, a large metropolitan public school district in Indiana, received a $700,000 grant from federal stimulus dollars to equip 8,000 of its 9-12th-grade students with personal WiFi-enabled netbooks providing them 24/7 access to class materials. For the district, this project was a major step in the ongoing process of shifting towards a digitized curriculum — an evolution in the way students are taught that has become a mandate for most public school systems throughout the country.
The school district needed an experienced vendor to comprehensively manage the deployment of 8,000 units customized with cellular WiFi cards, virus protection software, asset tagging and recording, BIOS, MAC address and SIM card configuration, RAM upgrades, a school logo engraving and custom packaging that would allow for an organized distribution to students. It was crucial that the entire process — from order placement to delivery — be completed within 60 days so that the district would be eligible for a federal rebate that was part of the stimulus program.
Solution
MCPc was one of 8 vendors that submitted a proposal to the school district. MCPc was eventually selected to lead the project based on our proven reliability throughout an existing 8-year relationship with the client and our willingness to comprehensively own all aspects of the netbook deployment.
MCPc formulated a plan that ensured every phase of the deployment was executed as efficiently as possible. We managed the procurement and delivery of 8,000 HP 2102 netbooks, configured the units to the client’s specifications, coordinated the workflow between ancillary vendors and minimized time on the bench during the labor-intensive phase of installing virus software by anticipating the bottleneck and proactively building automation and scripting into the process from the start.
MCPc manages the warranty maintenance process for all of the netbooks. Our technicians are at the school twice a week to pick up malfunctioning units, get them repaired and return them to students’ hands as quickly as possible.
Results
MCPc’s expertise in efficient personal systems deployments proved to be critical for the success of the project, as unanticipated delays in the internal process of the school district threatened to push the delivery date beyond the deadline required to receive the government rebate. Despite these complications, 8,000 HP 2102 netbooks were delivered to the students on time and according to the district’s specifications, and no units were damaged or lost during the deployment process.
MCPc technicians regularly return on-site to pick up and return units for repair, and the HP relationship — including warranties — is fully managed by MCPc.
Every high school student within the district now has a personal laptop with a cellular WiFi connection during school hours and at home for the duration of their high school career, translating into constant access to curriculum media regardless of home resources. Teachers and students now have a convenient and efficient means of communication. And, most importantly, a major step in the shift to a digital curriculum has been successfully accomplished.
According to feedback given to MCPc by the school district’s IT officials, it was both the largest deployment they had ever done and the best executed.
If your organization is considering a personal systems deployment or similar project, MCPc is ready to talk to you about a customized solution that meets your requirements.