Remember back in the day when your school ICT budget discussions centred around what type of desktop computers to purchase, how many computers to purchase, and how these computers would be allocated around the school? And if your server needed an upgrade? And maybe some networking to a previously unconnected building?
Times have certainly changed – and school ICT budgets provide a valuable insight into how school-owned ICT responsibilities have evolved to reflect those changes.
For most schools the next planning cycle for ICT infrastructure will complete the shift of responsibility from the purchase and maintenance of a fleet of computers to the provision of a robust wireless network across the school campus to support mobile devices increasingly owned by staff and students.
The once critical tasks associated with the provision and maintenance of file-sharing services will be outsourced to cloud providers, for 24/7 access on and off campus, via a range of client operating systems.