• Home / remote access.
• Disaster recovery and business continuity.
• Data backed up in an award-winning data centre.
• Hardware maintenance for PCs, laptops, netbooks, printers, servers.
• Hardware maintenance for whiteboards and projectors.
• Fully supported Meru wireless network (if requested).
• Microsoft EES licensing.
• McAfee antivirus.
• Print management software.
• Classroom management software.
• IT Help Desk support.
• Documented SLA.
• Meets procurement rules.
• Data centre meets ISO27001 information security standard.
• Server virtualisation minimising hardware costs.
• Named project manager to guide you through installation.
• Named account manager for regular service review meetings.
• We maintain an up-to-date inventory for you.
• We keep an electronic record of licensing for you.

Most of the IT hardware in your school can be covered by the Hosted School Service.

What hardware is included?

• PCs, laptops, notebooks
  

  We'll check your computers to see if they can be upgraded to Windows 7, and then they'll be upgraded or replaced as appropriate. For new equipment we supply Dell hardware, but the Hosted School Service is flexible enough to include existing hardware from most manufacturers, including Apple.
  

• Printers
  

  We’ll check your printers to see if they work with Windows 7, and replace or manage them as appropriate. We will network all your printers where possible, to obtain maximum benefit for these devices. As a general rule dedicated printers - those attached directly to the desktop or laptop and only available to that device are not supported.
  
  Consumables, such as toner and fuser units are not included.
  

• Multi-function devices
  

  The Hosted School Service allows you to use any MFDs you may have leased. The cost of multi-function devices on a central contract are not included.
  

• Classroom whiteboards, projectors, audio-visual equipment
  

  We will maintain this equipment in your school. If an item is under verifiable warranty then equipment can be replaced; if it's outside of warranty then we will charge for the replacement of parts.
  
  Hall projectors and consumables, such as bulbs, are not included.
  

• Peripheral equipment
  

  Other equipment, such as cameras and microscopes, can be included in HSS - however the software supplied with the peripherals must contain Windows 7 drivers.
  

• Servers
  

  We will replace any existing servers in school with our standard HSS servers. This is likely to reduce the total number of servers you have on site.
  
  In a typical primary school there will be a single server; this server will be remotely managed from our data centre. In a typical secondary school there are usually multiple servers. When the school moves to HSS we will install two new servers and a small storage area network; this provides failover capability, making it more reliable.
  
  The servers are connected to an uninterruptable power supply, which again we can manage remotely.
  
  Normally, we will migrate any other servers in the school (such as SIMS and Moodle) to the new servers.
  

• Apple equipment
  

  HSS has yet to be developed to fully integrate Apple OS X devices into the HSS environment. However in the interim, iOS devices such as iPads and iPods will be supported on a reasonable endeavours basis when operating across the MERU wireless system; they will be restricted to running local applications but with access to personal and shared data storage areas within the HSS environment. A detailed service description will be made available when this work has completed.

  
  

How often will you upgrade my hardware?

The service runs for five years. New equipment will be purchased with a five year warranty and so will be expected to last the life of the service. Pre-existing machines will be upgraded if possible and rebuilt as Windows 7 machines. They will then be replaced when they are five years old.

When we work out the cost of the service, we do so on a like-for-like basis: that is, replacing a laptop for a laptop and a desktop for a desktop. Of course, you can vary the numbers of machines at any time, choosing to have more notebooks and fewer desktops, for example. You have the choice of either paying for that equipment at the time you need it, or rolling it into the cost of HSS (doing so will attract an interest charge).

How will you maintain my hardware?

New equipment is bought with a five year hardware warranty, and so if you experience problems we will swap it with a working replacement. (Apple Macs are covered under an AppleCare protection plan, and the terms are slightly different.)

Hampshire IT or our approved hardware maintenance contractor will try to fix existing equipment onsite. If that proves unsuccessful, we will replace the equipment.

If equipment has to be replaced but it is outside of the original warranty (for new equipment) or support contract (for existing equipment) then there will of course be a cost to the school.

Microsoft

We supply Windows 7 and Office 2010 on the Hosted School Service. Any fixes and upgrades will be handled as part of the service at no additional cost.

Curriculum software

Curriculum software remains licensed by you. When you join the service, we'll ask you for the licences and original media. We then package up the software and it can become available to users in and out of school.

You can add new software titles, subject to a fair use policy. Each time you will need to send us the software to package up. But in time the list of software packages will grow to form a central library. A school will still need to buy a licence for any piece of software on the list, but once this is done, we will be able to make the software available much sooner (we won't need to package it up again).

All software to be used with HSS must meet the minimum standard of the Windows 7 or Apple OS X Lion operating systems. For example, software that was designed only to work on Windows NT, ME, 2000, XP will need to be upgraded.

Some software won't run on Windows 7. If you can't get it upgraded, we can suggest replacement products that will work on Windows 7. You should also consider purchasing web-based software when possible: take care where browser add-ons and extensions are required, but otherwise we believe that web-based software is the most future-proof delivery method for software.

VLE

Any costs for VLE software remain the responsibility of the school. If you have your own VLE server, we can migrate it onto the new HSS server.

PaperCut

PaperCut print management software allows you to manage printer costs by setting printing quotas for staff and pupils, and by generating reports on printer usage and environmental impact.

Is a local network included in the service?

It can be. The performance of HSS is dependent on the local network configuration, so we will perform a complete review of your current network. If you agree to any remedial work it will be done as part of the implementation of HSS and will then be maintained and monitored by us centrally.

Wireless network

If your wireless network needs to be upgraded, we will offer equipment from Meru Networks. This can then be centrally controlled and managed. You can pay for the upgrade up front, or spread the cost over the life of the contract (doing so will attract an interest charge).

• What wireless protocols are supported?

  
  Both B and G are supported at 2.4GHz and N at 2.4 and 5.0Ghz. We expect N to be used for newer equipment.
  

• What about cabling and switches for wireless?

  
  Any new cabling will be undertaken as part of the installation.
  
  The new wireless Access Points (APs) do not require mains power. They will be powered by Power over Ethernet (PoE). This means the power for the AP will be delivered over the network cable. This will require a new switch to be installed that gives gigabit capability with PoE injection.
  

• Will I need a new switch cabinet?

  
  We'll make every effort to minimise changes to existing cabinets or cabling.

Wired network

To feel the full benefit of the Hosted School Service, we recommend that the network infrastructure within your school should be reviewed prior to installation of HSS.

Particular attention should be paid to the capability speeds of switches and cabling; any switches not meeting the requirements of HSS (listed below) will be replaced as part of the project.

The policy for re-use of existing switches:

• must have at least 2 x 1Gb Ports for switch to switch connection, all other ports must be at least 10/100Mb ports
• must be rack mountable and mounted in a cabinet
• must be capable of SNMP management
• must be able to do VLAN trunking
• if the site is to have Hampshire IT wireless then all wireless access points must be able to connect back to a 1Gb port.

Where there is a new requirement for very high bandwidth, for example in a multimedia suite, then we can consider providing gigabit ethernet to those particular devices.

Duration

The service has a five-year contract. All the hardware and software costs have been calculated with a return on investment over this period.

Early termination

In the extremely unlikely event that Hampshire IT persistently fails to meet its SLA terms, a school can leave the service but will have to settle any outstanding debts for new equipment. See the SLA for more details (available on request).

Incidents

All problems or usage issues should be raised with the IT Help Desk. To help the staff process the issue quickly, please state that it is an HSS-related problem.

Issues can be raised by teachers or member of the school's support staff. Pupils do not have access to the service.

Local admin access

We do not grant local admin access by default. If a member of staff in a your school installs software locally, it defeats the value of having that equipment managed centrally: it means software cannot be delivered consistently across the IT estate and to users when outside of school.

Local admin access can be granted to members of staff on a specified laptop at your school’s discretion. This can be useful to trial new software. However, in the event of a machine requiring a rebuild, the machine will be returned to its original configuration and any additional software or data will be lost.

As local printers need drivers to be installed on the connecting PC, we recommend the use of network printers: they give greatest flexibility and the drivers can be installed on the local print server. Local access is granted to this server.

User names and passwords

All network users will have a unique UserID which is used to log onto the network, ensuring users have the correct access to data and applications. Normally each user will have a password to use in conjunction with a UserID.

See the Hantsnet 'user names and passwords' page for details of how the user names and passwords work. [Why is this page not public?]

What items are considered consumables?

This is not a definitive list, but gives an idea of the sorts of items that we consider to be consumables:

• printer paper
• printer ink (cartridges)
• printer laser fuser units
• laptop batteries
• TFT-LCD screens (but not laptops or netbooks) - these are so cheap (relatively) that maintenance charges would outweigh the cost of replacement
• keyboards
• mice.
  

Accidental damage

The Hosted School Service does not cover damage to equipment. It will be the responsibility of the school to pay for the repair. If the item is beyond economic repair then we will be happy to provide a replacement at cost.

Additional storage requirements

Your data is stored in our dedicated data centre and is accessible to you through web-enabled devices. The annual charge for the data storage is based upon the amount of storage area needed.

During the technical audit our consultant will investigate how much data you are currently using. The total amount of data used plus 50% is included in the initial annual charge.  

Example:

Data used on your D:\ drive = 150GB
150GB + 75GB (50%) = 225GB dedicated storage area for your school

Additional data storage may be purchased as necessary at a cost of £10 per additional gigabyte. It is the responsibility of your school to undertake regular housekeeping exercises.