Migrating schools to Google (Update)

[TheHyperTechie]

Hi all,

 

I made a post a few weeks back about migrating schools to 100% Google and had some very good feedback... Since then, I have acquired a new job as ICT Network Manager at a very small MAT (2 schools). One school has around 500 students, and the other only has about 120.

 

Both schools are VERY into Google with students and some staff using Chromebooks and using Google Drive etc. The larger primary school has one physical host running Hyper-V with two virtual machines. While the smaller schools server died a while ago, (and the current network manager didn't think it was worth replacing due to the amount they use Google Services).

 

I will be looking to introduce GCPW over the summer for the remaining windows devices, to authenticate users without AD, and I will be managing these devices in something like Action1 rmm. Staff will be able to upload their remaining documents to Google via the drive client, and I will move any on-prem file shares into Google shared drives and reshare them out. The Chromebooks will obviously be managed through the admin console, so no issues there. They both use Arbor so SIMS doesn't need to be hosted anywhere. Our ISP can also host DNS/DHCP on the firewall.

 

I am trying to work out any hidden costs this migration will cost for each school... Not sure if anyone can advise? So far the only immediate costs will be running Papercut mobility print on a desktop £150-£200? and backing up staff folders/shared drives in Google workspace, Cubebackup for example £2 per user a year. I am sure I will be missing some kind of cost out somewhere!

 

TIA

[gszech]

1. Compare prices of Cube backup vs Synology appliance that can backup your Google data (home / shared drives, calendars, emails etc). Synology will work for both schools with no VPN required. It's a one off cost and then you can replace the NAS according to your IT policies.

2. You need a Google Education Plus license for each domain to use use GCPW. This is worth just for additional enhanced security.

3. There is a product called PaperCut Hive that is cloud based. It's quite new product that we are planning to order once our photocopier contract will expire.

4. You need Paxton server, if you are using Paxton doors in the school. There is a Paxton 10 product which is kind of cloud based.

 

Make sure to order 8GB RAM Chromebooks for staff or use ChromeOS Flex to image current devices.

[DGardiner]

2. You need a Google Education Plus license for each domain to use use GCPW. This is worth just for additional enhanced security.

 

not true, works on the free edition, you just dont get the mdm functionality

[TheHyperTechie]

Hi, thanks for your reply.

 

1. I will definitely look into back up options. I did make use of Synology Active Backup at my previous school, and this did work very well. I suppose the idea of a one off cost for a NAS is also appealing.

 

2. I was looking into upgrading their Google licensing, but just wasn't sure if it was needed. I have used Action1 for a while and it handles patch management very well, can deploy updates, run scripts, remote desktop, install/un-install apps. I wasn't sure if using something like this was a better choice.

 

3. I will take a look into this, as it sounds very interesting.

 

4. I am not 100% sure on what they use for door access, most probably is paxton, but I will double check.

 

Thanks for your help!

[gszech]

not true, works on the free edition, you just don't get the mdm functionality

 

If you are just after replacing Windows login with Google you can use GCPW (standalone) with free Google Education Fundamentals.

You need license for GCPW with Windows device management which I've assumed that is needed in this case to deploy policies, bitlocker, wipe data, manage updated etc. from one place.

 

There is Google Workspace for Education Standard license which is cheaper than Education plus.