Educational hardware providers

[ittech]

I have been asked to find a few companies to send a letter of tender for our ICT needs for the next 3 years. Quite a big project, so I need some companies that specialise in education ideally but anyone who can come in a give us a quote for our future needs.

So far I have Akhter, RM and Viglen on my list, what other companies are people using? Any opinions on them?

[john]

Insight, Misco, PCWB, Proband are all BIG names that spring to mind, what things are in this document as you may find the smaller firm can help more, like my usual shout of CCL Computers etc

[Jose]

europc are very good for Dell desktops, Dell themselves are cheap.

Try to avoid CSE, RM etc, very poor value for money.

Good Luck

[beeswax]

http://store.stonecomputers.co.uk/ They have been very good for us.

[alan-d]

Yep - Stone Computers here as well

[localzuk]

Originally Posted by Jose

europc are very good for Dell desktops, Dell themselves are cheap.

Try to avoid CSE, RM etc, very poor value for money.

Good Luck

Oh I don't know about CSE - we use them for cabling, they offer very good value for money there. And they are a HP partner now, so offer very good prices on HP servers/switches and the like.

I'd say they are our 2nd choice supplier.

Our first choice being European Electronique. Good service, good prices, nice staff - no pushy sales people, they work around what I say we want, not what they think I want.

[Dos_Box]

RM etc, very poor value for money.

Did you see the miniBook?!! Anything but poor value.

[torledo]

Originally Posted by john

Insight, Misco, PCWB, Proband are all BIG names that spring to mind, what things are in this document as you may find the smaller firm can help more, like my usual shout of CCL Computers etc

+1 for PCWB as a hardware supplier. You can source pretty much anything
from them and 9 times out of 10 you'll struggle to get a lower price. Plus they've got by far the most comprehensive online catalogue.

Pugh are great for most things software. Plus go with your LA for Microsoft
if they've got Select.

Solutions-inc for all things Mac

If you want a solutions provider i.e someone to come in and do a project or two for you - can't really help you there as we try and do as much as possible in house. Ofcourse things like AV installations or CCTV we tend to go outside but I couldn't recommend anyone in particular. BTW the CCTV was before my time we would have done it in house otherwise.

[torledo]

Originally Posted by Dos_Box

Did you see the miniBook?!! Anything but poor value.

Ahhh yes, otherwise known as the Asus EeePC. I'm a big fan can't wait to get my hands on one. £169 is incredible value for such a lightweight computer - the small screen worries me a tad but the OS and apps should have been optimised for the small screen.

[ittech]

I was thinking more companies that could offer a full service, not just hardware. I guess they are a dieing breed these days.

Personally I would go with a direct supplier like Dell but schools seem to be different for some reason

[localzuk]

Companies that offer full service don't, IMO and IME, offer best value for money. They charge over the odds for hardware and usually have problems with support.

There are only a couple of 'all in' education providers like that now - as the market is closing, as they are not the best way of doing things any more really.

[torledo]

Originally Posted by ittech

I was thinking more companies that could offer a full service, not just hardware. I guess they are a dieing breed these days.

Personally I would go with a direct supplier like Dell but schools seem to be different for some reason

Why not go with Dell or any supplier to source the hardware that you want to buy. Not these so-called solution providers who'll sell you what they want to sell you. And they do charge over the odds and definitely don't represent best value.

for instance I've had a number of companies contact me selling bundled solutions. Sometimes they'll tell me all the items that come with the bundle so that I can go away and shoot down their insane markups and say thanks but no thanks. Other times they won't which is even worse because you'll end up paying (or rather management will because they're blinded by the sales pitch) 5 thousand pounds for something when the actual components come it at half that. So the remaining cost is you paying for the priviledge of them coming up with the idea of packaging it together. I'm sorry I could do that myself AND I wouldn't be obsessed with selecting the cheapest components so as to maximise profits.

Some things you will need to get an outside contractor for - but the service and price is so variable you're probably better of letting your business manager arrange it so that he has to deal with all the headaches.

But for things like PC's, software, Servers, networking gear buy it yourself (and buy quality) and install it yourself. Nothing gives me more satisfaction than seeing something work that I've procured, installed and configured myself. I've never bought a server from say RM but I would buy a minibook or software from them - but that's only if they offer all-round best value. Not because they're an education supplier.

[Elky]

I'd like to throw our name in to the ring, the humble Hardware Forum Sponsors that are SCL Online

We don't offer the full on service, installation etc I'm afraid but we do offer excellent value hardware and we look after our customers every step of the way.

I won't go on - just please bear us in mind

[nicholab]

You need a normal business network with some extra tools. If you go with RM you will be tied to them upgrading your servers.

Are you saying you what a totally managed service?

Remember when you've got Edugeek why do you need to pay for support.

[Jose]

Originally Posted by Dos_Box

Did you see the miniBook?!! Anything but poor value.

I would wait and see how these machine work in a proper school environment first,

how long will these batteries last before they no longer hold their charge ?
How much will replacement batteries cost ?
are there any h&s things to consider when using such a small screen for long periods ?
How long are the warranties, laptops have always been expensive to fix compared to normal PCs ?

When dealing with laptops you have to read the small print when it comes to warranties and insurance, sometimes the screen is not covered etc..

On the surface it looks ok, but with RM once they have suckered you in the reality hits. We will only really know if they are suitable in 3-4 years time once we have seen other schools use them over a period of time.
Remember you can get good laptops for between 350-400 pounds now so if these drop in price in a years time then it would make more sence to use proper laptops.

I shall stand back and let the RM Luddites have their say.