zag Posted October 30, 2007 Posted October 30, 2007 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 Posted October 31, 2007 Posted October 31, 2007 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 Posted October 31, 2007 Posted October 31, 2007 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 Posted October 31, 2007 Posted October 31, 2007 http://store.stonecomputers.co.uk/ They have been very good for us.
localzuk Posted October 31, 2007 Posted October 31, 2007 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 Posted October 31, 2007 Posted October 31, 2007 RM etc, very poor value for money. Did you see the miniBook?!! Anything but poor value.
torledo Posted October 31, 2007 Posted October 31, 2007 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 Posted October 31, 2007 Posted October 31, 2007 RM etc, very poor value for money. 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.
zag Posted October 31, 2007 Author Posted October 31, 2007 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 Posted October 31, 2007 Posted October 31, 2007 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 Posted October 31, 2007 Posted October 31, 2007 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 Posted October 31, 2007 Posted October 31, 2007 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 Posted October 31, 2007 Posted October 31, 2007 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 Posted October 31, 2007 Posted October 31, 2007 RM etc, very poor value for money. 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.
gwendes Posted November 1, 2007 Posted November 1, 2007 We use Novatech for PCs - (for us it's local too)
alexknight Posted November 1, 2007 Posted November 1, 2007 What do you think of these? http://www.sclonline.co.uk/stockdetail.php?stock_code=SYSAIO/005 Alex
Elky Posted November 1, 2007 Posted November 1, 2007 I think they are great! Seriously though, these are very popular. If you are looking for a number of PCs then why not contact us if you want to discuss taking a unit on evaluation so you can have a look at it yourself? Just an idea
torledo Posted November 1, 2007 Posted November 1, 2007 RM etc, very poor value for money. 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. At a starting price of £169 it's not a very expensive experiment is it ? And if you take the plunge with a small initial investment you'll get the answers to your questions. Alternatively wait for revision 2...the 10inch model due out next year. Agree with you about the rapidly reducing cost of small 12 and 13 inch notebooks. Not so long ago you're only real options were very expensive Sony Vaio ultrportable models. Now the market is awash with cheap ultraportables. But when you get down to the sub 1kg level you really do come across major hurdles in terms of heat dissipation and you generally need to make some comprises in order to be in that featherweight divsion. (Magnesium Alloy adds cost, ULV processors , fanless operation). Only the Panasonic R500 which weighs 1.2kg and get's hotter than a cat on a hot tin roof comes close to ticking all those boxes. Most of the laptops you're referring to cannot reach that level of portability and even in their current form factor battery performance is truly abysmal. Unless ofcourse you've got £1500+ for a 12inch panasonic magnesium-alloy toughbook.
accura2000 Posted November 2, 2007 Posted November 2, 2007 Been using SCLonline for nearly 2 years now, and beofr ei started in education for several years before, I speak to a guy there called Mark, easy to talk to, dont sell you rubbish you dont want and totally up front if you ask them if anything is good or not. Never had a problem with any of thier kit, support is excellent and with 3 year warrantys on almost all thier kit thier well worth a look.
witch Posted November 7, 2007 Posted November 7, 2007 Schoolcare offer a complete solution and I have been very happy with them for the past 7 years: They offer a much more flexible and cheaper system than RM or Viglen (I have been in extensive talks with both) and it sits lightly on top of your 2003 server or whatever so that you can do what you want if you have the expertise, or not if you don't! They are a preferred supplier for Dorset County Council Call Jason Dempsey on 01202 486338 or PM me for more details I know some people don't like them, and obviously you could probably get the kit a bit cheaper but they are fairly competitive and do offer the whole solution. As I say, they are good at letting you get on with it, offering tech support where necessary
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