Schools need to manage their ICT infrastructure continuously. The approaches they adopt should be consistent with the policies and advice of the school system or sector to which they belong.

Effective technical management

Ongoing technical management of the infrastructure is required to ensure that:

• the school’s goals and needs, as set out in the school’s overall strategic plan and its ICT strategic plan, continue to be met
• basic infrastructure management principles, such as those identified by Becta, are supported, ensuring that the infrastructure is:
• reliable
• coherent (different components work together effectively)
• affordable and sustainable
• managed and supported
• the functional requirements of the school are met.

The technical complexity of ICT infrastructure and the interconnectedness of the many hundreds of components mean that technical management needs to be holistic in its approach to the four infrastructure categories:

• access devices
• network infrastructure
• application software
• support resources.

Technical management tasks

Important technical management tasks must be undertaken in a timely and efficient manner. Becta has identified six categories of management tasks for schools in the United Kingdom, which are also relevant to Australian schools:

• design—the design of appropriate ICT infrastructure by qualified personnel in accordance with relevant functional and technical specifications
• provision—the acquisition of high-quality access devices, network infrastructure and application software
• implementation—the installation and testing of ICT components, including the integration of new components with existing components
• proactive maintenance—the ongoing monitoring and maintenance of the ICT infrastructure
• reactive service and support—the provision of a technical support service that responds to problems and issues
• training—the ongoing technical training of ICT staff to ensure their technical skills remain up to date.

Approaching technical management

The school’s approach to the technical management of ICT infrastructure needs to be based on factors such as:

• the technical support advice and services provided by the school system or sector to which the school belongs
• the school’s size and budget
• the school’s prior level of ICT investment
• the location and availability of technical providers
• the school’s current level of ICT readiness and the degree of change that it plans.

Many school systems and sectors now provide a comprehensive range of policies, advice and technical services to their schools. These include:

• consultancy services
• help desks
• technical management guides
• detailed technical specifications and standards for infrastructure
• managed contracts for technical services
• managed contracts for technical products (for example, bundled support services, including warranty services).

Such services provide significant value to schools and should be used where they are available.

Key elements

The key elements of effective technical management are:

• leadership and coordination
• processes
• documentation
• skills
• supplier arrangements
• budget and asset planning.

Leadership and coordination

ICT infrastructure management needs to be coordinated by a person with suitable technical and management expertise.

Some large schools employ a full-time technical manager who undertakes this role. In many schools, a senior staff member has part-time management responsibility for the ICT infrastructure and is supported by external resources. Some school systems and sectors provide expert consultancy services to assist. In other school systems and sectors, schools are advised to engage external technical resources.

The person coordinating the ICT infrastructure management needs to involve the people who use the infrastructure. They also need to work within the school’s ICT governance arrangements and relevant ICT procurement processes.

Processes

Effective technical management requires sound processes for delivering the required management functions. These sound processes:

• are well understood by the people who rely on the ICT infrastructure and the people who provide technical support
• are accessed through clear channels, such as help desks
• involve clearly defined roles and responsibilities
• are managed to ensure responsiveness.

A number of internationally recognised frameworks have been developed to describe effective ICT infrastructure management processes. Becta has developed a framework that is suitable for schools and which describes processes for the following functions:

• service desk management
• incident management
• problem management
• change management
• release management
• configuration management
• availability and capacity management
• service level management
• service continuity management
• financial management.

Documentation

Processes need to be supported by effective documentation developed within the school, including:

• infrastructure plans covering hardware, cabling and other components
• equipment registers
• software registers, including details of software licensing
• procedural guides
• school infrastructure management policies.

Many school systems and sectors provide advice and templates for such documentation. Schools should use these where they are available.

The user manuals and training documents supplied with the various components of the ICT infrastructure are also important resources. They help ensure components are effectively used and managed. They can also help maximise the effective operational lifetime of components.

Skills

ICT infrastructure management requires access to a wide range of technical skills. These technical skills are different from the pedagogical skills of teachers and the administrative skills of school staff. Teachers and school staff are skilled in the use of the technology while technical staff are skilled in its implementation and maintenance.

Technical skills will generally be available from a number of sources, including:

• ICT staff employed by the school
• ICT consultants provided by the school system or sector to which the school belongs
• technical providers.

Supplier arrangements

Many technical management tasks are undertaken by suppliers of ICT products and services. Some suppliers of ICT hardware and software products also provide associated support services. Other suppliers are engaged to provide specific ICT services.

Decisions about the selection of ICT suppliers and services need to be consistent with the school’s overall ICT infrastructure management arrangements, and with any services and advice provided by the school system or sector to which the school belongs.

Budget and asset planning

It is important to budget for the ongoing costs of managing ICT infrastructure and for the scheduled replacement of components.

Jurisdictional resources