School closures forced many schools to transform digitally, to provide more flexibility and to enable their staff and scholars to work from anywhere and from any device without sacrificing productivity or security. Schools had to suddenly adapt to new ways of learning and had to provide tools for teaches and pupils to communicate and access educational resources.
Roedean School partnered with Microsoft partner Argantic to assist with its digital transformation journey by introducing Office 365, Microsoft Teams and Teams Voice. O365 is powerful platforms that puts all classroom tools in one place, it gives educators and staff a single hub for online connection and collaboration.
Previously, the school was encountering numerous challenges including outdated software and hardware. Roedean School approached Argantic to assist with the digital transformation and started with its Office 365 journey by moving to the cloud and implementing Microsoft Teams and Teams Voice.
Microsoft Teams is a digital hub that brings conversations, content, assignments, and apps together in one place, letting teachers create vibrant learning environments. They can now build collaborative classrooms, connect in professional learning communities, and connect with colleagues - all from a single experience.
Roedean School CIO Eric Prinsloo says the migration process was quick and easy, transforming to a remote work environment happened seamlessly. “Our small team wouldn’t be able to handle a migration to Office 365. With 2500 users and only 4 staff, it was critical to have a partner like Argantic.”
“This was our first migration to the cloud whilst Argantic has in excess of 20. This partnership allowed us to benefit from their previous experience. We could use these resources as needed, there was no requirement to use them permanently. This was the key to success,” he adds.
Argantic CEO Garry Ackerman says schools like Roedean require an enterprise grade IT environment but they only have a small team to manage it. “Before moving to the cloud, their IT team was largely focussing on putting out fires. They can now add value to the school by providing value added solutions,”
“Moving to the cloud is easy and beneficial for school budgets. Cloud software and hardware requires no capital expenditure, students only need a computer and high-speed, reliable internet. It enables everyone to store or access learning materials from any device, anywhere and at any time,” he explains.
Prinsloo points to the struggles before migrating to the cloud. "Previously, I was on duty 24/7, always on call. Now I don't need to be on premise all the time, the system is stable and secure. The cloud has changed my role from disaster manager to CIO, I can now operate at a business level and help the school drive its ambition and I'm part of new innovations."
"Digital migration and O365 is the future of education, it has laid the foundation for Roedean School to be innovative in our approach to education. We are now looking beyond the four walls of the physical school and digital migration has made this possible," he concludes.