K–12 Schools Make the Case for Hyperconvergence
K–12 technology directors looking to streamline IT services and make data storage and management more efficient are embracing hyperconvergence.
At Iron County School District in Utah, IT leaders replaced the district’s legacy systems with a Scale Computing hyperconverged infrastructure, significantly decreasing the time it took to complete previously burdensome tasks.
"We’re talking minutes now, compared with what used to take days,” Ken Munford, ICSD network and security manager told EdTech.
Munford’s district and others would not be enjoying faster network and data management without the buy-in from district administrators.
To convince superintendents and school boards to get behind a switch to hyperconverged infrastructure, it is important to be able to explain the benefits of the technology.
For K–12, Hyperconverged Systems Are Worth the Cost
Hyperconverged solutions often come with a higher price tag than traditional three-tier infrastructure storage or server components, but IT teams shouldn’t be “deterred by the cost difference, because there are so many benefits that come along with choosing the hyperconverged route,” says Cassandra Anderson, systems administrator at Janesville (Wis.) School District.
“It’s less expensive than the traditional full stack it replaces. HCI also is easier to manage and scale, which reduces operating costs over time,” Anderson says.
In the long run, a hyperconverged infrastructure can produce substantial savings, Anderson adds: “I’ve been able to spend my time on other projects that bring the district forward rather than just trying to keep old equipment afloat.”
Hyperconverged Systems Optimize School Data Storage
The new system, HPE SimpliVity, also saved the district substantial storage space. Today, the district uses 23 terabytes of storage, compared with nearly 1,007TB used by the old system, Anderson says.
ICSD experienced similar gains in efficiency as well as significant savings on power and cooling costs. The team there also managed to see a faster return on the HCI investment by taking advantage of discounts, Technology Director Troy Lunt says.
“By negotiating, working toward end-of-quarter sales windows and making commitments toward growth, we were able to get the pricing far below what we were originally given as a budget,” Lunt says.
To learn more about how K–12 districts are taking advantage of hyperconverged infrastructures, check out Hyperconvergence Hits Mainstream in K–12 Data Centers.
