Case Study

OVERVIEW

Ryde School with Upper Chine is a day and boarding school located on the Isle of Wight, catering to students aged 2-18. Ian Arnold serves as the Head of Computer Services, overseeing all IT software and hardware deployments to ensure that student devices are effectively managed and safeguarded.

IT MANAGEMENT

“I oversee all IT within the school. I’ve got a team of dedicated experts,” Ian explains. “We handle everything IT-related, from VoIP and Wi-Fi to devices, software, and purchasing. If it’s IT-related, it comes through us.” The school manages a diverse range of devices, which will expand further as they transition to a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy. “Currently, about 70% of our devices are BYOD, but starting in September, it will be fully implemented,” Ian states.

CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS

Upon joining the school, Ian recognised that excessive time was spent on manually configuring and updating devices. One of his primary goals was to find a mobile device management (MDM) solution to streamline these processes. After evaluating various options, Ian and his team chose Lightspeed MDM for its customisable control over devices, which ultimately saved them valuable time.

“Without an MDM, managing and securing devices is incredibly challenging. Initially, we had to perform all software rollouts manually, which could take a week just to install a single software package for 100 devices,” Ian recalls. “Now, with Lightspeed MDM, I can select a package, click a button, and it’s done.”

CUSTOMISABLE CONTROL

Lightspeed MDM allows Ryde School to customise device features and policies based on students’ age and subject matter. “Using the profiles feature to restrict access to Siri on-site, for example, is very useful,” Ian notes. “Being able to apply settings across multiple devices without configuring each one individually saves an incredible amount of time.”

Another significant advantage of Lightspeed MDM is its hierarchical app management feature, which enables remote deployment and customisation of apps on student devices.

“Installing apps used to be a major drain on our resources, especially when a staff member needed a specific app for their department,” Ian explains. “At the start of the academic year, we had a quick turnaround for a teacher needing the Kami app installed. That feature was a major draw for us.”

DEVICE TRACKING AND POLICY MANAGEMENT

For devices that are lost or stolen, Ian and his team utilise the real-time geo-tracking capabilities of Lightspeed MDM to locate and recover them. “We are currently tracking a lost device, and we can see when it last checked in and its last known location,” Ian shares. This feature is incredibly useful. Given that many devices are taken home by students, it was crucial for Ryde School to implement flexible rules based on location.

“The on-campus rules feature in Lightspeed MDM was a key factor in our decision,” Ian explains. “It allows us to apply different policies when devices are on-site versus off-site.”

CONCLUSION

With Lightspeed MDM, Ryde School can now deploy and manage all devices via the cloud, eliminating the tedious manual configurations that were once necessary. This ensures that both students and teachers have the device and app customisations they need, while also allowing Ian and his team to focus on other important tasks.

“I would recommend Lightspeed MDM to other schools,” Ian concludes. “It’s functional, user-friendly, cost- effective, and tailored for education. It was an obvious choice for us.”