Windows Multipoint Server - Reducing the cost of computer labs by 66%

Visualize for a moment a complete room filled with computer equipment that delivers the equivalent computing horsepower that you now hold in the palm of your hand. It probably does not require much imagination, as many of you have witnessed the advances in technology that have made this possible.

But is another exponential improvement in computing capacity possible? Indeed. It has been with us now for several years.

Introducing one of the latest (drum roll): Windows MultiPoint Server! Tah dah…

Okay, so advances in computer technology don’t excite you? Here is something that will. The cost to provision a full computer lab for your school just dropped by 66 percent. The technology that brings this huge cost savings is Windows MultiPoint Server, a new operating system designed for education.  Offered by Microsoft, it is roughly a marriage of Windows 7 Desktop Operating System and the Windows Server Operating System.

Because of the tremendous power in a single desktop or workstation, you can now literally power multiple and unique computer sessions for several students using one computer, with extra keyboards, video displays, and mice of course. This might take a little imagination, so follow along.

Think about a basic desktop computer that has been configured with two keyboards, two video displays, and two pointing devices such as a mouse. Two students sit on opposing sides of a library desk and view their respective computer sessions, which are individual and unique in every sense. They can run programs, browse the Internet, and do everything they currently do on a Windows based computer. The only commonality in their experience is proximity and connection to the same physical PC.

Now let’s stretch your imagination and the library table cited above. Think about four students or more, (up to twenty) all sitting at the same table connected to that single computer each with their own keyboard, video, and mouse. And you now have a conceptual view of Windows MultiPoint Server. And aside from the matter of how to physically connect all of the keyboards, video displays, and mice, the configuration is a function of the Windows MultiPoint Server Operating System design.

Of course there are limits to how many users you can attach to a basic computer workstation. We recommend four, unless you invest in more powerful workstations. Even basic computer workstations now come with four processors (Quad Core) and with memory capacities previously found only in server-class computers. If you provide sufficient memory to accompany the powerful processors, you end up with a very similarly equipped PC that you would find in traditional configurations. The difference is you are only purchasing cables and devices to make the physical connection, rather than an actual computer workstation.

Now let’s start adding up the cost savings: 75 percent savings on computers, annual maintenance, and power consumption, a serious reduction in the cost of cooling a computer lab, and a significant reduction in help desk calls to replace parts or to fiddle with configuration issues.

Some of you with “thin client” experience may be thinking this is just a modern day version of a rather old centralized computing setup of years ago. Not so. While similar in appearance, the essential difference is Microsoft Hyper-V technology. This is an advanced computing concept where computer sessions are created “virtually” and on demand. Each session is just like having a brand new computer with a fresh copy of Windows 7 installed and configured according to the type of user experience desired.

Only specially designed “thin clients” (actually termed "zero Clients") work with Windows MultiPoint Server and they exist primarily to provide a more efficient and cost effective way to connect so many keyboards, video displays, and mice to a single piece of hardware. In fact a “zero client” connection is just one of three supported configurations using Windows MultiPoint Server. You may alternately choose to connect via USB or by adding video cards directly into the host computer.

There is one other cost saving we recommend in this solution. By using a Microsoft Open Volume Subscription for Education Services (OVS-ES) you would have all of the Software required to operate all of these “virtual’ computer sessions. And FYI, the cost savings numbers we quote are not ours alone. They come from a study done by Microsoft. Your savings may in fact be more.

Putting a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution to work in your school

A core assumption in the Charter School movement is competition. Most competitive measures are geared toward educational outcomes. But before you can compete in the area of outcomes you must compete in the arena of sound business management. Running the business side of a Charter School is enormously challenging. In addition to the key metric of recruiting students, you must manage all kinds of relationships with parents, teachers, administrative staff, board members, volunteers, the community, vendors, and regulatory agencies.
Managing a school is a relationship management intensive undertaking! And how well you manage these crucial relationships will have a far reaching impact on your organization. But how many of you are using any kind of a Customer Relationship Management program? More specifically, how many of you are using a CRM system that is deeply integrated into your existing information systems?
Increasing numbers and types of businesses are adopting Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems.  CRM systems cover a lot of territory: sales, marketing, case management, and documentation; so making general observation here is not really going to help. But try to imagine how different your school would look if you had a system in place that could help quantify measures of performance, more clearly define and manage processes, automate administrative tasks, centralize information, and increase the capacity of your staff to work in a more unified manner.
A CRM system is not a simple solution to implement, but managing the business of a Charter School is not a simple undertaking. And while complex systems require thoughtful planning, testing, and deployment; the complexity exists whether or not you have such programs. Traditional school districts have a huge advantage. Although they deal with the same array of relationships they also have significant resource advantages and economics of scale, often employing an entire team to accomplish what a solitary administrator is expected to do.
The best way to overcome this inherent disadvantage is a Customer Relationship Management System designed specifically for Charter Schools.
From a funding perspective, students and their families are your paying customers. But in reality you have a long list of “customers”, or groups without which you could not function.  And as simple as it may sound, keeping them happy is most likely to occur when using a Customer Relationship Management system designed just for that purpose.
Nobody likes a hard sell, and perhaps that is what comes to mind when you hear about CRM software. In fact effective CRM programs do more than just build brand awareness, deliver consistent marketing messages, and track interaction with potential customers until you “sell” them. CRM systems help you manage all of the aspects of the important relationships that define your organization and make it as easy as possible to do business with you.
Customer Relationship Management software has been successfully implemented in all kinds of businesses, and for the same reasons it makes sense for your school. Consider things you could do with a CRM system designed for a Charter School:
Contact Management

• Centralize the essential contact information for students and their families and tie it to their Student Information Records
• Consolidate all other contact lists for the school into a single source and enjoy a much more accurate source of information
• Identify relationships among the various contacts to better understand communication requirements and preferences
• Communicate effortlessly with any combination of individuals within groups and track those communications for accountability
• Streamline the records update process by distributing the task to the end points of interaction
• Provide financial and case management records for context (as allowed by security roles) within your contact information

Marketing

• Create, execute, and measure campaigns for recruiting, fundraising, and volunteering
• Communicate with potential students at the frequency and intensity of their interest level
• Track all interactions with potential students, donors, and volunteers and measure defined goals of those relationships
• Build better relationships through consistent messaging, improved responsiveness, and uniform processes
• Manage Social Media campaigns

Case Management

• Establish workflow and manage documentation for new student from application to entrance
• Manage facilities and contractors with workflows and centralized documentation 
• Manage support issues (help desk) for all kinds of issues - technical, personnel, facilities, finance
• Track grants and funding opportunities with better reminders of deadlines and tasks management
• Comply with Board Meeting minutes publications using permission based workflow and oversight
• Manage questions, complaints, or discipline with current students (outside of SIS)
• Streamline communication with key team members by centralizing information stores
• Develop a centralized policy and procedure knowledgebase
• Manage field trips, group events, and meetings

Fee Management

• Manage student fees and simplify the reconciliation process for finance
• Centralize accounting for all sales or service fee collection for all groups in or out of the  student store
• Improve the process for collecting library fees, yearbooks , DVD sales, and sporting equipment
• Integrate the accounting and development functions for fundraising and donation management
• Document and improve collection for property damage fines
• Improve inventory management for all product based items

As you can see, this is a pretty comprehensive list of features touching many departments and individuals both in and out of the school. As such the architecture of this system is vital. In order for this system to succeed it must have a common and familiar interface, utilize existing rather than new policies and procedures, and it must be a cloud based solution with unrestricted availability from anywhere on any device.
Our recommended solution is Microsoft Dynamics CRM online configured specifically for use in the Charter School Community and managed with familiar tools you use every day – Microsoft Outlook, Word, and the other Microsoft Office programs. But whatever solution you choose it must be capable of delivering administrative efficiencies to support the non-academic aspects of your school.
One last point - while we did not directly address the educational side of your organization, it too will be greatly enhanced by a CRM system.

It’s time to upgrade to Windows 7… really it is.

Have you stopped for a moment, between fiddling with your Windows XP desktops, to consider the practical ramifications of running this outdated and no longer supported Operating System? You may be surprised at how much support time and resources are spent retaining it in your organization.

Sure, it still works and runs your existing programs. And yes, it will still work on those 10 year old computers, but at what cost?

The consumerization of desktop/laptop computers continues to bring prices down and features up as manufacturers compete for more business primarily through price. The benefit to you, the consumer, is that a new PC can be purchased for the rough equivalent of about 5 hours of modestly priced technical support. And how many times have you spent more than 5 hours, either all at once or piecemeal in resolving a computer issue.

Economics aside, consider what it really means when Microsoft “sunsets” an operating system, or it plain language, stops supporting it.

It does not mean that the software all of a sudden fails, nor does it mean that it will stop functioning at all in a steady state. In simplest of terms it means that Microsoft no longer does regression testing on new product releases. In other words, all patches, fixit utilities, service packs, hot-fixes, and new version roll-outs are not tested for backwards compatibility.

Due to the near infinite number of hardware combinations, system configurations, and software customizations it is impractical, if not impossible to test for backwards compatibility. Even assuring programs run on current Operating Systems is difficult enough. Furthermore, most new software is written or programmed for the new operating system architecture. Bottom line is you are on your own with Windows XP technical support.
In the back of your mind you probably know the upgrade is coming. But large upfront costs of purchasing and installing new workstations may persuade you to put it off. While that seems a reasonable course of action, the old saying of “Penny wise, pound foolish” really does apply. What you will begin to experience is support cost creep, an incremental, almost unnoticed, but constantly increasing expense to maintain your desktop/laptops.

Sadly, if your support personnel are paid on an hourly (break-fix) basis, rather than a support contract, they may not be motivated to push for the upgrade either.

Do yourself a favor, and do the upgrade to Windows 7. You’ll save money in the long run, and probably even in the no-so-long run. Even if you don't purchase new computers, do the upgrade! Windows 7 performs well on a large variety of not-so-new PCs
Now for some great news! The upgrade to Windows is very inexpensive for education customers. When you enroll in a Microsoft OVS-ES agreement for your school, you get blanket coverage for all computers in your organization. Furthermore, you also get a license to run Windows Office Professional 2010 on all of your computers in the school. Finally, there are many other software benefits you enjoy, such as work at home versions of the same software.

The cost of an OVS-ES agreement is determined by counting your full time staff and multiplying that number by $55.00 (approx.). Do the math and you will find this to be an extraordinary value. Windows 7, Office Professional, Core Client Access, and other benefits for a few dollars per PC.