News in the Channel - issue #14

EDUCATION SECTOR

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processes, says Graham. “Schools often start to prepare for the summer period as early as October,” he notes. “A long-term relationship with customers also enables businesses to touch base on a regular basis, offer hands-on sessions, and nurture the relationship for the upcoming school years.” Tim adds that while AV and technology installation into education tends to be seasonal around typical school holidays, particularly the long summer break to avoid student disruption, selling into the edtech sector isn't limited to a specific season. “Successful partnerships in this market require building year-round relationships and understanding the changing needs of educational institutions your supply. With the ongoing evolution in teaching methods and technology integration, continuous engagement with education providers is crucial,” he says. Lance echoes that sentiment. “Education requires constant support and interaction,” he says. “Typically, conversations are started in Q1. Trials/assessment completed over the February half-term and Easter. Budgets are confirmed in April and the summer holidays are the main period of purchase/install, with Easter in second. The October and February half-terms continue to be more challenging install period due to the limited time, and Christmas is by far the quietest. Few IT personnel want any tech going live/installed over the Christmas period.” This shows that there is appetite for technology within the education sector, but resellers must be careful to demonstrate how solutions deliver value for money in the short- and long-term. If they can do that, then there is still money to be made in this sector.

is no question that investment in infrastructure and security is badly needed in the sector, but budgets are tighter than ever. “Schools, academies and colleges need to consider all the options and possibilities and make smarter buying choices,” she says. “Schools and trusts are having to think long and hard about how they can reduce costs without having an impact on teaching and they now have very little room for manoeuvre. While the official advice might be to purchase products from some of the more expensive brand names, solutions from us and from other manufacturers can do just as good a job for much less investment.” WiFi 6 and 7 Rachel adds that this is especially true when it comes to the latest technologies, such as WiFi 6/6E and WiFi 7, multi-gigabit switching and multi-layered security. “We have excellent, fast and reliable solutions in all these product categories that are highly effective and much more affordable,” she says. “Our MSP partners can configure and support all our devices though the Nebula cloud management platform, so there really is no reason why schools can’t get the very best and latest technologies, without paying a premium. “Zyxel recently became one of the first networking vendors to launch a WiFi 7 access point. It has also recently launched a new range of firewall appliances that provide multi-layered protection at the gateway to the network.” Timing is everything With such a range of products to consider, resellers need to have a year-round relationship with customers in the education sector, as that plays a crucial role in sell-in

Rachel Rothwell senior regional director UK & Ireland

zyxel.com

Zyxel recently became one of the first networking vendors to launch a WiFi 7 access point. “ ”