Moving your school to the cloud

Do I need to change my infrastructure to move to the cloud?

• You need a fast internet connection to move to the cloud. Trailblaze IT can provide a full fibre connection which is 100 x faster than standard broadband.
• Your school network will need sufficient connectivity.

Sometimes a 'hybrid' solution may work best for your school, which is a combination of both an onsite server and a cloud solution.

We can visit you and provide a free assessment to ensure that you are ready to move to the cloud, and we will discuss your requirements to plan the best cloud solution for your school.

Does my school need a new server?

No, the cloud hosts your entire system and services online - so you do not need a server. One of the advantages of moving to the cloud is that you no longer need to spend out on expensive server replacements. This can save you between £5,000 to £10,000 every 5 years. You also do not need to worry about server maintenance costs anymore. If your school server is coming up to 5 years old or due to be replaced soon, then this is a perfect time for your school to move to the cloud. You will also save money on energy bills, due to no longer needing to power a server at the school.

Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace for education?

Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are both the leading cloud solutions for education.

Google offer four different licence options, starting with their standard free ‘Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals’. This comes with apps such as Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms and more. Their other paid subscription licences include enhanced features, such as improved security or advanced teaching and learning tools. Read about the licence options for Google Workspace for education here: (link to Google education website).

Microsoft 365 offer three licence options. A1 is their free option for schools and provides cloud management and the main apps such as Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Microsoft Teams and more. Their other two licence options are A3 and A5, which offer increased security, management and enhanced learning features. Read more about the Microsoft 365 options for education here: (link to Microsoft 365 website).

Trailblaze IT can discuss the features with you to help you choose which cloud solution best suits your school. We can then implement your cloud migration on your preferred date - we are happy to work out of school hours or over school holidays. We can also provide training so that you can get the best out of your cloud solution. Contact us today to discuss cloud migration for schools.