Managed Telecom Services for Schools

The sophisticated needs of schools have grown dramatically in the last two decades. We’ve moved beyond the basic needs of answering and transferring calls to include alerting for emergency communication and notification, as well as mobility and remote access capabilities to match any potential future needs. The burden of telecom management has become a significant challenge, highlighting the complexities of handling telecommunications.

As we all know, the pandemic introduced connectivity requirements that nobody expected would ever be needed within schools. Those requirements introduced complexities and system interoperability needs that make schools a great candidate for a partnership with managed telecom services. Before getting too ahead of ourselves, just know this article will detail the benefits and you'll feel confident in outsourcing your telecom needs to the seasoned experts at Midwest Dial Tone.

What Are Telecom Managed Services?

Let’s break it down: managed telecom services involve outsourcing the management and maintenance of a school’s telecommunication infrastructure to a third-party provider. The primary objective is to offload the telecommunication requirements, allowing the IT department to concentrate on its core job responsibilities instead of juggling contracts, billing, legacy equipment, and various user issues. By partnering with an MSP (managed services provider), there are cost reduction opportunities and redundancies built directly into the system, but we’ll get into that later in the article.

Managed telecom services help individual schools and school districts standardize their communications infrastructure, making for all-around simpler management. Specifically, at Midwest Dial Tone, we focus on lowering costs by doing complete system audits to identify where changes in services or hardware will help you achieve better results for less money. Technology is constantly changing, and our focus has been on K12 schools and knowing what works and what doesn’t. Our expertise didn’t happen by chance either; we saw the need within the K12 environment and decided to devote our resources to get schools where they wanted to be.

A telecom consulting optimization approach can prevent project delays and uncontrolled costs by offering a cohesive, integrated solution tailored to both short- and long-term goals.

Related content: The IT Manager’s Guide to Hosted PBX for Schools

Benefits of Working With a Telecom Managed Services Provider

There’s something to be said for partnering with dedicated service professionals to get the most out of a solution. When you work with a telecom-managed services provider, you get someone who’s well-versed in the ins and outs of the telecommunications industry.

It’s more than just the technical knowledge, too. Since telecom is a gateway into the rest of your IT infrastructure, they have a deep understanding of how systems will work together. Inventory management is crucial for maintaining a comprehensive database of equipment, including details like serial numbers and purchase dates.

They can also be used as a collaborator to enhance operational efficiency by managing shrinkage and serving as a foundational resource for new equipment procurement.

Here are some additional benefits:

• Multi-sport athlete: Managed telecom service providers bring a blend of expertise, state-of-the-art tools, and proactive methodologies, offering schools a feeling of ease knowing they’re fully taken care of.

• The fixer: Due to their depth of industry knowledge, MSPs help schools streamline communication, enhance IT infrastructure, and reduce costs.

• Behind-the-scenes partner: Telecom management services providers help school IT leaders focus on their core responsibilities by ensuring their telecommunications requirements are in the hands of experts who provide remote monitoring and regular system updates.

• Swiss Army knife: Although focused on telecom, most MSPs offer a comprehensive solution for schools by addressing many aspects of networking, security, and data specialties.

Related content: Future-Proof Your School’s Communications with Midwest Dial Tone

Key Features of Telecom Management Services

A crucial facet of telecom management services is the items and tasks beyond what you’d likely imagine when working with an outside provider. Disaster recovery audits are essential in ensuring schools have complete disaster recovery plans that include telecommunications. Traditionally, you’d be left to cover the ongoing maintenance and day-to-day troubleshooting after the initial phone system installation had concluded. That level of support, or lack thereof, is replaced by a hands-on telecommunications professional who will continue to be there for the long term.

Below are some other services to expect when working with an MSP:

• Technology consulting and optimization to help plan a strategy that takes short- and long-term goals into account. There are strict budgetary concerns, especially in education, so creating detailed plans will help maximize what can be done.

• Contract negotiations with service providers to spot areas of improvement and enforce service level agreements (SLAs). It’s the business of telecom managed service providers to flex their industry muscle to get you the best pricing and outside support you can get.

• Inventory and hardware lifecycle management to optimize operational standards and control costs. Equipment and services procurement is crucial for finding the best deals and ensuring high-quality offerings, relying on vendor relationships and experience to secure necessary telecom equipment at competitive prices.

• 24/7 help desk and support to address equipment or connectivity issues promptly, minimizing downtime and keeping school communication up and running.

• Project management to control missed deadlines, cost overruns, and supplier delays, keeping communications projects progressing as they should be. The last thing you want or need are projects that are seemingly never-ending because of a disjointed process.

Telecom Services for Schools and Universities

Telecom services play a vital role in the daily operations of schools and universities. A reliable and efficient telecom system is essential for communication between faculty, staff, students, and parents.

In the world of education, telecom services include VoIP phone systems, unified communications, and cloud phone systems for schools and universities. These services enable seamless communication, collaboration, and management, ultimately enhancing the learning experience and productivity.

A managed telecom services provider can help schools and universities optimize their telecom services, ensuring that they have the right equipment and software to meet their specific needs. By outsourcing telecom management to a managed service provider, schools and universities can free up resources and focus on their core mission of education.

This partnership ensures that the telecom infrastructure is robust, scalable, and capable of supporting the dynamic needs of educational institutions.

Proactive Monitoring and Maintenance

Proactive monitoring and maintenance are crucial for ensuring the reliability and efficiency of telecom services.

A telecom management services provider can monitor a school’s or university’s telecom system in real-time, identifying potential issues before they become significant problems. This proactive approach enables quick resolution of issues, minimizing downtime and ensuring that communication services are always available.

Regular maintenance is also essential for ensuring the optimal performance of telecom equipment and services. A telecom services provider can perform routine maintenance tasks, such as software updates and hardware checks, to prevent issues and ensure that the telecom system is running at peak performance.

This continuous oversight helps schools avoid unexpected disruptions and maintain a smooth, uninterrupted flow of communication.

Importance of Data Security and Compliance

Data security and compliance are critical concerns for schools and universities, particularly regarding telecom services. Telecom systems often handle sensitive information, such as student records and financial data, which must be protected from unauthorized access.

A telecom provider can help schools and universities ensure the security and compliance of their telecom systems. This includes implementing reliable security measures, such as encryption and firewalls, to protect against cyber threats. Additionally, a telecom provider can help schools and universities comply with relevant regulations, such as FERPA and HIPAA, to ensure that sensitive information is handled and stored securely.

By outsourcing telecom management to a managed service provider, schools and universities can ensure that their telecom systems are secure, compliant, and optimized for performance. This enables them to focus on their core mission of education while leaving the management of their telecom services to a trusted partner.

Custom Solutions for Education

Typically, businesses can function with basic calling features and some advanced routing; schools, on the other hand, require interoperability across the entire IT infrastructure.

Maintaining daily operations during emergencies is crucial, and telecom services play a vital role in quickly re-establishing these endeavors. The need to jump into action at any moment doesn’t allow for possible downtimes or disruptions, so backups and redundancies are necessary. According to a Pew Research study, 40 percent of schools had “panic buttons” or silent alarms directly connected to law enforcement.

The point is that off-the-shelf systems won’t be enough to fulfill the needs of educational institutions, but that doesn’t mean you’ll overspend on custom solutions. In actuality, a provider focused on schools can create custom solutions that are simple to use but feature-rich without breaking the bank, addressing legacy equipment user issues and other challenges.

Enhancing Communication and Collaboration in Education

Schools need to be nimble and ready for anything that may come. Whether that’s from a natural disaster, interruptions from construction upgrades to the campus, or the need to meet the needs of the connected generation that’s currently in school, your communication system must cover you when these situations happen.

For example:

• Unified communications can help schools and universities enhance communication and collaboration among faculty, students, and staff. When you offer expanded communication connectivity, more often than not, people will take advantage of it.

• VoIP phone systems can provide benefits for schools, which include lower costs and simpler management due to VoIP running over the internet lines that are already connected.

• Cloud phone systems can help schools keep technology costs down and provide a reliable and efficient communications infrastructure without being tasked with having a phone system onsite that you must upgrade and maintain. VoIP solutions are essential for schools, offering affordability and efficiency and facilitating constant communication among administration, faculty, staff, parents, and students.

Simplify Your K12 Communications with Help from Managed Telecom Services

There’s more than meets the eye when discussing managed phone systems for schools, and as with anything, working with a professional like Midwest Dial Tone is a smart move.

With the number of unknowns, telecom issues, and situations to account for, you’d be hard-pressed to build a comprehensive communications infrastructure that’s intuitive to use and ticks all the safety boxes all on your own, and you know what? That’s okay. You don’t need to become a telecom expert either; you just need to partner with MDT, who can meticulously craft a system you can count on with the required built-in safety.

Contact us today!