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High school|

Alcester Alcester Academy logo

Cutting to the chase

Problem

Dept of Education guidelines require shift to print in the cloud

Solution

Modern, cloud-based print with PaperCut Hive

Outcome

Tradition and technology - united in the cloud

Founded as a middle school in 1965, Alcester Academy’s growth pattern mirrors many schools across the country. Located in Stratford-on-Avon, it wasn’t long before it outgrew its original building and additional classrooms were added onsite to accommodate pupil numbers increasing in the 1970s and 1980s.

Today, Alcester Academy is home to 650 pupils aged between 11 and sixteen, and 70 staff members. The school’s popularity – driven by its exceptionally good reputation and fantastic results – means places at it are in demand, but its ability to take on more pupils is hampered by its physical ability to accommodate them.


The day-to-day benefits, from security to ease of use, are too good to overlook."

- Carri Haynes,

Business Manager

Problem

The school building’s organic – if unintentionally haphazard - evolution created challenges for its IT and print infrastructure, as Alcester Academy’s business manager Carri Haynes, explains:

“Like most schools from our era, our IT strategy was often hamstrung by the budget. We had incredibly dated switches onsite, and all our cabling was so old as to be largely non-compliant with modern standards.”

An IT audit conducted soon after Carri joined the school – which coincided with new Department of Education (DoE) guidelines encouraging schools to move as much of their key operations and data to the cloud – triggered the implementation of a new cloud-based IT strategy aligned with DoE guidelines.

“Our print fleet was due for renewal too, so this was an opportune moment to rethink our print strategy.”

Solution

Alcester Academy was a happy user of server-based PaperCut MF, but its IT solutions provider recommended that the Academy migrate to a cloud-based offering: “We just wanted a print solution that did what we already were able to do.”

With that in mind, Alcester Academy’s IT solutions provider recommended two cloud-based print options: PaperCut Hive, and a competitor solution.

“Our experience of PaperCut MF has been highly positive, so it made sense that if we were going to move from server-based print to a cloud-native print management solution, we should go with what we know works; and that was PaperCut.”

Flexible subscription pricing to meet all budgets

It is easy to see why PaperCut’s cloud-based Hive appealed to Carri. It brings the power, control, security, and savings of print management to organisations of any size via serverless printing. Furthermore, the option to pay for PaperCut Hive via a flexible subscription model was another attraction.

“The subscription pricing is great,” Carri enthuses. “Schools have really tight budgets, and we’re no exception. Therefore, we need to be certain about what we’re spending and when we’re spending it. Paying by subscription works for us because we know just that. Budgeting is so much easier.”

Print that’s easy – and under control

Alcester Academy’s print output scales from regular A4 printing, to the production of booklets on subjects like wellbeing and mental health. There are also extra curricula print runs too, including banners, posters and other materials produced to support local events and festivals. PaperCut Hive’s comprehensive reporting simplifies tracking who has printed what; this information helps inform print rules to keep print costs and output down.

Simplicity is one of the many qualities that Alcester Academy appreciates about PaperCut Hive. “All the PaperCut Hive users are happy,” Carri explains. “Secure print release is brilliant for staff members who’ve got confidential material to print. PaperCut Hive makes it simple to print to the right device which is really important to us.”

 

Outcome

Post-transition to the cloud, the big question is: “was it worth it?” For Carri, it’s an unequivocal, “Yes! Once done, so many processes are simplified – including print – and you have peace of mind to know that, in the event of a major disaster, you can still access data.”

If the move to the cloud was the right move, can the same be said of the move to PaperCut Hive, which now supports 18 new print devices? “Absolutely!” states Carri. “I have no issues recommending PaperCut Hive to any education establishment that is thinking about moving print to the cloud. The day-to-day benefits, from security to ease of use, are too good to overlook.”

From a creaking IT infrastructure, old switches and non-compliant cables, to a modern, seamless cloud-based print strategy, Alcester Academy is a lesson in how to move effortlessly from the past to the future.

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