Dive Brief:

• A number of districts have used virtualization technology to gives network users access to district desktops and their software from any computer that can access the cloud.
• District Administration reports the York County School Division in Virginia made a $2.5 million investment in the equipment to make virtualization possible, and it pays $380,000 in annual Citrix licensing to offer the flexibility of anywhere, anytime access. Many districts making similar moves have seen cost savings in less maintenance, stronger security and improved productivity.
• Biloxi Public Schools in Mississippi virtualized five computer labs and all the student computers in one elementary school, giving users cheaper and more energy efficient thin-client devices that save the district licensing costs, make updates faster and prevent users from installing bad software.

Dive Insight:

While the up-front costs for a shift to virtual desktops can be hefty, experts estimate the cost savings can be so significant they pay for the actual hardware in just a few years. One major benefit of the thin client route Biloxi schools took is the security. School districts are so vulnerable to hackers because there are users with vastly differing levels of tech expertise accessing the network from a variety of endpoints in an environment that often stretches the use of technology as far as possible. Fewer tech updates means less access to the latest antivirus programs and techniques.

The incidence of ransomware has skyrocketed in the last year, and schools are feeling the heat. Beyond up-front protection through virtualized desktops, schools can use cloud storage and automatic back-ups to prepare for such attacks.