An Interview with Paul Rylands, Director of Public Sector, Apogee Corporation, on Managed IT Services (MITS) in the UK Education Sector.
As part of our ongoing Case Study series with Craven College on their deployment of Managed Print Services and Managed IT Services within the UK Education Sector, we sat down with Paul Rylands, Director of Public Sector at Apogee Corporation. Paul’s role leading the Public Sector at Apogee focuses on the digital transformation of educational organisations across schools, Higher Education, Colleges and Universities. Through the use of applicable frameworks, in the case of Craven College, the Crescent Purchasing Consortium (CPC) Framework, primarily through Lot 2 of the CPC Framework, Apogee delivers transformative change in the Education Sector.
At Apogee, we pride ourselves on our industry-leading "Service Excellence" but also on being an organisation you can trust. As part of our ongoing commitment to providing genuine insight into our Managed Workplace Services (MPS), you can read from Paul in his own words below or watch his interview here. This interview covers several aspects of Managed IT Services (MITS) in the UK Education Sector, but most importantly, it gives true clarity on the importance of utilising a Managed Service Provider (MSP) accredited for the relevant Educational Frameworks to deliver digital transformation.
Our history with the education sector goes back a long way through individual frameworks. The frameworks allow us access in a compliant manner to education.
– Paul Rylands, Apogee Corporation
Q. Paul, can you tell us about Apogee in the Public Sector, primarily how Apogee operates within the Education Sector for schools, higher education, Colleges and Universities?
A. Apogee has a significant history with the public sector, going back to the acquisition trail. Apogee is a company made up of acquisitions more recently purchased by its parent company, HP.
Our history with the education sector goes back a long way through individual frameworks. The frameworks allow us access in a compliant manner to education. Other frameworks are open to education, and we try to ensure that we have an allocation of the frameworks to the education establishment.
Q. Paul, can you tell us what Frameworks for the Education Sector Craven College utilised for this digital transformation with Managed IT Services (MITS)?
A. The education framework chosen was CPC, which is the Crescent Purchase Consortium Framework. It is open to all education establishments across the UK. Craven College put the bid out to tender using Lot 2 because of its specific nature to bring technology forward and go through a technology transformation. This is about allowing the College to start from one area and move forward but not take everything on day one.
What the College has done is utilised that framework in a compliant manner, to go to market, to allow them to invest in new technology, which includes print, it includes IT technology, and again, moving forward, it will include a broader sense of what's included in the scope.
The digital transformation is a transition for them, so Crescent Purchasing Consortium (CPC) Framework was the perfect lot for the College, and it will follow them on this journey because they're still at the start as they continue to invest in technology. Lot 2 will provide a compliant way to ensure the College fulfils its needs.
Q. Can you tell us how important the Public Sector is for Apogee, within Managed IT Services (MITS) and Managed Print Services (MPS)?
A. The public sector is a significant part of what we do. It makes up a third of all the business that we transact yearly. The Public Sector is split into parts, which are Central Government, Local Government, NHS and Health, with Education being a major part of that.
Q. Paul, can you tell us about the importance of Managed Workplace Services (MWS), primarily how vital Managed IT Services (MITS) are to the Education Sector? But also how Apogee will be there to support Schools, Colleges, and Universities with Managed Services going forward?
A. As we've seen during COVID, the education sector learned to teach differently. To do that, they've used technology. We are bringing technology to the forefront but, not only supplying IT, providing services that allow it to continue in situ in the next five years. It's of major importance for education because technology will be at the foundation of everything they do.
Over the next five years, we'll see each area of education investing in technology. In that case, we play a major part in providing the hardware but also the services which ensure that when it's in situ, it continues working to the levels that they expect and the levels of service that they require to make sure they can do their core job, which is to educate.
Case studies such as Liverpool John Moores, University of Arts, Royal Veterinary College, and Craven College show how we will develop and move with our customers to provide technology to help them achieve their goals.
The digital transformation is a transition for them, so Crescent Purchasing Consortium (CPC) Framework was the perfect lot for the College, and it will follow them on this journey because they're still at the start– Paul Rylands, Apogee Corporation
We thank Paul Rylands from Apogee Corporation for giving us his unique view on Managed IT Services in the UK Education Sector. You can read the Craven College case study here if you would like to know more about how they implemented Apogee's Managed IT Services (MITS) into their organisation. Apogee provides Managed Workplace Services (MWS) across the entire Public Sector, from Education to the NHS. You can watch our interview with Apogee's Director of Public Sector, Paul Rylands here, or watch our full series with Craven College on YouTube to learn more.
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