MARKET REPORT Vertical Horizon
“Despite the UK government declaring that more money than ever before is being pumped into schools
across the country, one does not need to stray too far to notice that they are struggling.”
Matteo Tadjo Kotch, Cloud Business Development Manager at Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise
Channel in Education
In this series of features we will be looking at industry verticals the Channel is currently serving with a view to
determining opportunities, challenges and market movements which are impacting those partners selling into that
particular vertical. Pay attention, this time around it’s the turn of Education
Money is often too tight
to mention in the
Education sector – it’s
difficult for head teachers
and principals to put together a
meaningful IT budget when the
roof is leaking and there’s only
funds for one pick.
But despite this the
Education sector remains
a huge investor in IT and
communications equipment.
To include:
• What are the IT and Comms
trends in the Education
sector?
• Which products and services
are selling well?
• How is the purchasing
behaviour of this vertical
changing?
• What are the major
considerations for partners
wanting to enter and succeed
in this vertical?
• Can you be a generalist or is
it essential to specialise in this
vertical…why?
According to the Institute
for Fiscal Studies (IFS),
Education spending is the
second-largest element of public
service spending in the UK
behind health, representing
about £90billion in 2017–18 in
today’s prices or about 4.3% of
national income.
The IFS also says that the
level of UK education spending
has risen significantly in real
terms over time, growing
particularly fast from the late
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1990s through to the late
2000s, before falling in real
terms from 2010 onwards.
Whilst important, such overall
trends in total education
spending tell us little about
what has happened to the
different areas of education
spending.
Responsibility for Education
in the UK is devolved to the
four countries, England, Wales,
Northern Ireland and Scotland.
According to the British
Educational Suppliers
Association (BESA), the average
primary school budget in 2017
was £1,048,000 and the average
secondary school budget was
£4,617,000.
How many computers are
there in UK classrooms? Well,
according to BESA the figures
for 2017 were 3,392,100 with
the average primary school
having 69.8 computers and the
average secondary school having
430.7.
Return on Investment
In their State of Technology in
Education survey, BESA found
that almost all educators (94%)
recognise that EdTech can
improve engagement levels, and
the majority (72%) think that
behaviour can potentially be
improved with technology.
“It’s a simple equation:
engaged, well-behaved
pupils lead to better levels of
attainment. Higher school
results promote an outstanding,
high-achieving school with a
greater profile.
If you can provide students
with high-quality devices,
you’ll positively impact their
learning experiences and study
outcomes.
Educational technology that
is purchased for ‘technology’s
sake’ rarely sees the same
ROI as a carefully considered
investment that addresses
the goals of your school. An
impressive piece of kit like a 3D
printer, for example, may not
drive as much long-term value
as an upgradable front-of-class
display like an ActivPanel.
So, when outlining your next
tech investment, BESA advises
schools to consider;
• What type of learning
environment you’d like to
see within your school in 2-3
years’ time
• How teaching methods will
have changed and how will
your tech investment support
this change
• If your staff feel confident
delivering effective, engaging
lessons
• How new tech will be
embedded into the school and
what training will be required
to make it a success
• How and where learning will
take place, and what role will
students play
So what does the channel
make of this?
Matteo Tadjo Kotch, Cloud
Business Development
Manager at Alcatel-Lucent
Enterprise says that a history of
government-initiated austerity >
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/www.commsbusiness.co.uk