At a time when many ICT departments are responsible for the safekeeping of thousands of pounds worth of their education establishment’s IT equipment and resources, Parago Software has been helping a Scottish Further Education college to effectively manage their IT assets.

 

Kilmarnock College, based in Ayrshire, Scotland, has approximately 6,000 students aged 16 plus over three campuses. Over the past few years the Finance and ICT departments of the College have been using a combination of a computerised asset recording solution, spreadsheets and Net Intelligence to manage their assets. However, with over 800 PCs and a total of 10,500 asset and inventory items, David Swan, MIS/ICT Manager at Kilmarnock College, wanted to find one solution to manage all and recognised the need to put a specialist asset management solution in place.

 

As David explains, a full asset and inventory verification programme had not been undertaken at the College for a number of years and was now required to be completed in a relatively short timeframe. Alongside this sizable task, the tricky job of software license management also needed to be addressed as despite having a comprehensive record of installed software, David admits it was difficult to tally these individually with the licenses and realise over and under licensing.

 

To address the issues Kilmarnock College was facing, David attended a seminar at Microsoft Edinburgh, hosted by leading software supplier SBL. During the day, David saw a presentation of Parago, the leading asset management system to over 1,000 schools and colleges in England, and admits he was instantly interested.

 

He says:

 

‘I liked the look of it. It was the first system I had seen that managed all assets in one solution, and its user-friendly interface looked like it could be used by all members of staff. The presenter said the company was keen to have their first Scottish college using the system so I pointed out that their pricing model needed to be amended to accommodate our education infrastructure. Many of our colleges have less than 1,000 PCs which is smaller than most of our English counterparts.’

 

After assurance that Parago could include another pricing level for the Scottish market, David took the details back to his colleagues.

 

He continues:

 

‘The decision process was made a lot easier by the online videos with voiceover that guide you through each part of the system. Members of our Senior Management Team attended the online demonstration and liked the look of the system and the flexibility of reporting and tracking. Later, an online presentation by a member of the Parago support team confirmed this was exactly what we were looking for.’

When listing the main benefits that Parago has already brought the College, David cites the biggest one as the huge cost savings.

 

He says:

 

‘Parago enabled us to stop using our two previous systems. We can now carry out audits and regular sample checks easily as the PC Discovery and SAM System updates automatically and Parago Mobile audit mode makes tracking all other assets extremely efficient. It is so easy to navigate around the system as it enables you to create a plan of our three College campuses.’

 

David also believes that the installation of a Parago system will help the College to make important decisions on IT acquisitions in the future. He continues:

 

‘The reports produced for managers will make a huge difference. It is not just the knowledge of what is there, but also the ability to plan what is needed in the future.’

 

Another practical but crucial benefit of installing Parago has been the peace of mind it offers David and his colleagues, should anything untoward happen to the College or any of its IT equipment.

 

David says:

 

‘Another major benefit of the solution relates to business continuity. With all our asset and inventory data being stored at a major UK hosting centre, the College can provide the relevant information to insurers in the event of a major incident such as a fire.’

 

David concludes:

 

‘I presented Parago to our Audit Committee at the end of March 2010. It was received very well and I believe that the Parago solution is a fantastic way for managing and tracking all College assets.’

 

Click here to find out more about Parago Software and its products.