Faronics Deploy: Simplifying Software Management in Educational Institutions

IT infrastructure and software of myriad varieties have become integral to the success of organizations in nearly every industry. One sector where this is evident is education. Schools, universities and school boards rely on their software for administration, lesson plan creation, tracking student accounts and teaching their students to use said software. 

However, managing and updating this software — not to mention ensuring compliance — is rarely easy. The task is especially challenging for educational institutions with multiple campuses or those that practice remote learning. Faronics can help.

Software Management in Education

While software management can be a challenge in any sector, in education, there are specific issues. These include:

User Management

School systems often experience high user volume. Usage comes in peaks and valleys. For example, school or course registration is a period in which many students use the system simultaneously. This can put a great strain on a school’s IT infrastructure. 

Access Control

A school’s software often needs tiers of users. Typically, it’s not ideal for students to be able to make changes to the system (especially when the students are children). However, it may be necessary to have different access levels for teachers and administrators. These varying degrees of access can be difficult to control and track.

Integration With Legacy Systems

Integration is a common issue with IT management and cybersecurity. Educational institutions may rely on older, legacy systems that don’t integrate smoothly with new applications, learning management systems and student information systems. Ensuring seamless data flow between various systems without data loss or corruption requires careful planning and the right tools.

Compliance

Managing software licenses across multiple devices and ensuring compliance isn’t easy. Schools often have to navigate different licensing models. Adding to these headaches are questions of compliance. Educational institutions must ensure their software complies with data protection laws (such as FERPA and CIPA in the U.S. or GDPR in the EU).

Cybersecurity and Data Privacy

It’s a sad truth that educational institutions and organizations are often the target of cyberattacks. Threat actors may see schools as easy targets and they know educational agencies oversee vast amounts of data — often containing sensitive information of students, teachers and other staff. Developing and maintaining a robust backup and recovery strategy is key for an educational institution. It’s crucial to have a plan in place to mitigate the impact of potential security breaches or system failures, besides having safeguards to prevent them in the first place.

Budget Constraints

A limited budget can cause or exacerbate all the issues we’ve looked at. And schools and educational organizations often have limited budgets.

Cost management means schools can’t spend a lot on IT management. Finding a top-of-the-line solution that can provide the software management schools need for a price they can afford is crucial.

Faronics Deploy

Faronics Deploy is a valuable asset for clients in many industries, but it’s particularly helpful for schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations. Here are some ways Faronics Deploy can help educational institutions:

Cost-Effective IT Management

Faronics Deploy is a cost-effective method for achieving IT objectives. With automated deployment processes, fewer IT resources are necessary for routine maintenance, which helps schools with limited budgets. By reducing manual labor and minimizing errors, Faronics Deploy can lower maintenance costs and improve the lifespan of IT assets.

Scalability

From small elementary schools to large universities, Faronics Deploy is easy to scale, meaning deployment always remains efficient regardless of how many devices are involved. 

Enhanced IT Efficiency

Faronics Deploy can reduce downtime by scheduling deployments during off-peak hours, minimizing disruptions. This can be especially helpful when students are using lab computers or accessing critical educational applications. Deploy also supports swift distribution of updates and new applications, ensuring all devices are consistently up-to-date with the latest software versions, security patches and configurations.

Streamlined Software Deployment

Faronics Deploy allows IT teams to manage and deploy software across multiple computers from a single console. This centralized management means, instead of installing software individually on every device in a computer lab or across a whole campus, administrators can push updates and applications automatically. Deploy also automates routine deployment tasks. This reduces manual work, minimizes human error and frees up IT staff to focus on other critical tasks.

Security and Compliance

With uniform software deployment, schools and educational organizations can maintain consistent security settings and compliance standards across all devices. This helps in adhering to data protection regulations and internal IT policies. Furthermore, administrators can pre-configure settings and applications that match the school’s security protocols, reducing the risk of unauthorized software installations and protecting against potential vulnerabilities.

Master Software Management at Your School With Faronics Deploy

Deploy is perfect for educational institutions because it simplifies the management of software deployments across diverse and often widely distributed computer environments. With Deploy, school administrators, teachers and students can enjoy a secure, consistent and cost-effective IT ecosystem that supports their academic mission.

Additional Benefits

Faronics Deploy not only fulfills a need felt by many educational institutions and agencies, it’s easy to use. You can initiate Deploy in minutes with one-click setup and implementation. With easy onboarding and powerful automation, you can enjoy productivity benefits immediately.

Another bonus for Deploy: You can manage it from anywhere. With cloud-based architecture and out-of-network access, Deploy is perfect for schools with multiple campuses or those that have remote learning setups. You can oversee applications, Windows updates and OS deployment from one console for both PC and Mac in real time. 

Last, Faronics Deploy offers intuitive UI Design for visual management of your IT infrastructure. A top-down view, combined with advanced search and filter functionality, allows you to isolate information at a glance. 

With great value and high performance, Faronics Deploy is the ultimate solution for simplifying software management in educational settings. To learn more about how Faronics Deploy can help your educational institution, please reach out to our experts today.