How Smaller Schools Can Benefit from Economies of Scale with Managed IT Services

Smaller educational institutions and schools often grapple with the challenge of achieving economies of scale, making it difficult for them to stay relevant and support their mission effectively. This issue is particularly pronounced in the realm of IT infrastructure. Small schools require a robust, 24/7 monitored, and redundant IT infrastructure but generally lack the financial capacity to afford it. Consequently, they are vulnerable to IT failures that can severely impact their educational efforts.

Understanding Economies of Scale

Economies of scale refer to the cost advantages that enterprises obtain due to the scale of their operations. As the volume of production increases, the cost per unit of the product or service typically decreases. This principle is why large firms can offer products at lower rates per unit compared to smaller firms. For small educational institutions, this creates a significant challenge, especially in the context of technology and IT services for schools.

Consider a small school that needs its technology infrastructure to be available 24/7. Ideally, this would necessitate having an in-house IT professional available at all times. In practical terms, this means employing at least three full-time IT staff members to cover all shifts, which involves significant salary and benefit costs. For a small school, such labor costs are often unaffordable, and during periods when IT issues are not present, these employees may have little to do. Without on-site support, any IT problem can result in substantial downtime, disrupting educational activities and diminishing the quality of education.

However, as the student body grows to several thousands, the per-student cost of maintaining full-time in-house IT support becomes more manageable. The larger scale allows for the distribution of labor costs over a greater number of students, making it sustainable.

Leveraging the Cloud for IT Services

Is there a way for smaller schools to overcome this challenge without waiting to grow large enough to afford a robust IT infrastructure? Yes, there is: the cloud. Cloud computing offers smaller institutions the opportunity to outsource their IT infrastructure to third-party providers. By moving their IT needs to a fully monitored offsite location, small schools can share overhead and hardware costs with thousands of other users. This enables them to benefit from the economies of scale that were previously only available to larger institutions.

Using the cloud, schools can access advanced technology and IT support services on a pay-as-you-go basis. This model allows them to scale their IT resources up or down based on their current needs, without the need for a significant upfront investment. Additionally, cloud service providers offer robust security measures, continuous monitoring, and disaster recovery options, which small schools might find challenging to implement on their own.