IT Directors at independent schools face significant challenges managing and securing the technology required to run a complex educational organization. Learn how SecureWon helps Nashoba Brooks School provide a safe and effective technology environment for their students.
Situated on a beautiful 30-acre campus in historic Concord, Massachusetts, Nashoba Brooks School enrolls all genders in Preschool through Grade 3, and students identifying as girls in Grades 4 through 8. Nashoba Brooks is an independent school designed to build community, character, and confidence in its students.
CHALLENGESHank Bryant, the Director of Educational Technology and Innovation, manages the technology and network infrastructure at Nashoba Brooks School. “We’re a school of about 250 students with 75 employees or so and a tech department of two,” Bryant said. In addition, he runs a makerspace type STEAM lab with faculty members that provides experiential learning opportunities for the students. In addition to his IT responsibilities, Hank also works with teachers to develop interdisciplinary curriculum which infuses robotics, coding, and other technology literacy skills into the core curriculum.
Because of his busy schedule, Bryant wasn’t able to keep up with system upgrades, security updates, and other critical maintenance duties required to maintain the network infrastructure alone.
Security is always a top priority. Parents are most concerned about their children’s personal security and their privacy. “Protecting financial and personal Information in our computing systems is a top priority,” Bryant explained. “But with a limited staff, keeping up with software updates, monitoring systems, and looking for data breaches was not one of our key competencies. We needed a partner with cybersecurity knowledge and experience to protect our systems.”
Prior to SecureWon, Bryant worked with an IT services provider that was absorbed by a bigger company. The level of service declined from that point. Bryant explained, “The people we worked with on a daily basis were assigned to other accounts. We found their engineers had a difficult time solving problems, and the meetings we had were more like sales pitches.”
SOLUTIONSUnhappy with his managed services provider, Bryant conducted an exhaustive search and found SecureWon to provide the best combination of technical expertise, friendly service, and response.
“The first thing SecureWon did was conduct an extensive cybersecurity assessment,” Bryant said. “They identified a number of vulnerabilities and acted quickly to resolve them.”
SecureWon also implemented a complete upgrade of the school’s network switches and completed those changes within two months.“
SecureWon also knows how to implement and manage physical security systems,” Bryant added. “They are helping us integrate new security features to provide added safety to our students, faculty, and staff. They have a tight relationship with the camera vendor and walked me through their demonstration center to explain the different options and features.“
“In addition to being cybersecurity experts, SecureWon primarily works with independent schools, nonprofits, and municipalities,” said Wayne Audette, Founder and CEO of SecureWon. “Our support and technical team understands the needs of independent schools.”
Bryant agrees, “SecureWon knows how to work with independent schools. Their technicians are professional and personal, so you can trust them to work around the students.”
SecureWon is also a strategic partner for their customers, providing advice on capital improvements, technology investments, and future growth plans, such as building new facilities.
Bryant is an advocate, “SecureWon has a proactive nature. If something happens, they’re so responsive. They care about their customers.”
“SecureWon knows how to work with independent schools. Their technicians are professional and personable, so you can trust them to work around the students.”
Hank Bryant
Director of Educational Technology
Nashoba Brooks School
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