Power Management, EndPoint Security, Safeguarding - latest DNA updates

[Al_NetSupport]

I know for many the road map and seeing what is upcoming is an important part of choosing the right Enterprise solution for schools, so with an update a couple of weeks away i just wanted to share a few of the highlights with everyone.

 

Power Management and energy savings is a big area of focus for schools, so in the latest update we have extended our power management so as well as the current power / on off schedules schools can also now apply Inactivity policies, defining rules for system that have been inactive for longer than a predefined time. Systems can be set to sleep, logout, power down etc based on multiple profiles. In the DNA way, it is all done in one very clear and visual interface.

 

Based on feedback from Schools, we have also included the option to stagger the power on process to avoid the risk of tripping the fuse box in older schools with a sudden surge of devices starting up.

 

 

We have also extended our Safeguarding model, again based on feedback from schools we have built on our existing features to now allow schools to control the activity that keyword and phrase monitoring occurs -

 

(1) By Student activity : When typing, When copying ( Clipboard) and finally by web page title

 

 

(2) and then we have also added the option to exclude certain applications. So from a safeguarding perspective if students are typing in an Excel Spreadsheet or Powerpoint, you may choose to exclude their activity from monitoring, focusing instead on the areas of risk - online activity. This of course also helps reduce false alarms too.

 

 

and then we have also added an extra layer of safeguarding "independence" for students by providing a link they can access for online resources and helplines in their chosen country. Staff can manage the pre-populated list and add any additional ones they feel are appropriate. Another useful tick in the box when ofsted arrive.

 

 

To ensure the safeguarding module can be managed by staff and not the IT team, we have added some extra easy admin options too so they are self sufficient with the module.

 

 

We have also extended our USB end point security so as well as our current functionality for limiting USB access and approving memory sticks for staff and students, memory sticks can now be approved on the fly for just the current day, a week or indefinitely, ideal for quick authorisation for Temp Staff and avoids schools needing to remember to revoke rights once they have left.

 

 

 

We've added lots of extra little tweaks based on feedback and ideas for extra functionality and i'll share a full list once the update is available. Currently we anticipate this will be week 14-18th March. It's all done but we have another week of testing to ensure we don't miss anything silly.

 

Hope that's helpful and as always, please feel free to message me if you have any questions or would like us to do an online demo for you.

 

Best wishes

 

Al.

[altecsole]

NetSupport DNA certainly looks like it's got the e-safety side of things right. I've got a demo booked for next week, along with one for Impero, so it'll be interesting to compare the two - I'm only really interested in the e-safety aspect.

[mrforgetful]

Have you looked at e-safe? We get it through out LEA and it's monitored solution so no workload to analyse for us.

[altecsole]

Have you looked at e-safe? We get it through out LEA and it's monitored solution so no workload to analyse for us.

 

Thanks. I have looked at e-Safe and had a quote via Smoothwall (our current filter provider) who seem to be partnering them. The quote is for £6-£7 per user, per year. We have 1600 users, so that's a complete non-starter.

 

I had a demo today on NetSupport DNA and actually really like the e-Safety part of it (which is the bit I'm most interested in). The thing that really stands out is the ease of use, which is (in my view) essential if you're going to ask a non-techie to monitor it - which we definitely want to do. We will still continue with an Internet filtering solution but I'd like to relax that a little to give pupils more freedom, whilst being able to keep an eye on trends and identify any concerns. I'd rather a pupil who was at risk (of self harming, for example) flagged alerts in school where there would be people to support them, rather than researching in their bedroom at home.

 

I've a demo of Impero later in the week, so it will be interesting to compare their e-Safety solution.

[altecsole]

Well, I had a demo of Impero today and, comparing the e-Safety components, I would have to say that the NetSupport DNA solution looks like it will suit our requirement better. I think I'll install a trial version on our network and do some testing.

 

Impero looks good in other areas but, as a complete package, it's too expensive for me.

[mrforgetful]

I had a demo of Impero and liked the look of it, pulls a lot of things together into one package - not had a price yet as not in a position to be buying, but will definitely keep it in mind.

 

Thins like shutdown policies can be more complex than AB Tutor that we use right now, as in you can tell shutdown to only happen if nobody is logged in, or to refrain from shutdown should a certain program be running.

[gaffer1011]

Yep im in the same situation, trying out Impero and Net Support until the end of term.

I like both, really like the fact that Impero is all in one.

Both are finding violations and recording them for evidence, which is exactly what the main use will be for.

 

My guess is im not going to be able to split them so its going to come down to prices!

[mrforgetful]

My guess is im not going to be able to split them so its going to come down to prices!

 

Which is your best bargaining tool of all.

 

Hi, I like them both the same, what's your best price as whichever comes in lowest gets bought.

[altecsole]

I've completed our evaluation of NetSupport DNA and posted my thoughts on another thread (http://www.edugeek.net/forums/enterprise-software/167655-impero-support-alive-4.html#post1452413).

 

However, the bottom line is that we were so impressed with DNA that we went ahead and purchased. It does exactly what we want and at a very good price. The support has been excellent too.