How Educational Institutes Can Address Major IT Challenges in 2019
Last updated on August 17, 2021
IT-Related Challenges in Educational Institutes
A plethora of challenges faces IT teams in academia, brought on by developments like bring-your-own-device (BYOD) adoptions, the influx of non-Windows mobile devices and the rising demand for anytime, anywhere access to digital tools for learning and schoolwork. These challenges put too much strain on already overloaded IT teams.
Running Windows on macOS, iOS, Android and Chrome OS devices
The mobile platforms used in educational institutions have evolved into a mix of Windows, macOS®, iOS, Linux, Chrome OS™ and Android. In fact, according to a 2018 Futuresource Report, Chrome OS held a 59.6% share in institutional purchases of mobile computing devices (notebooks, Chromebooks and tablets, but not desktops) in the United States K-12 education market in Q4 of 2017.
Since Windows applications are still commonly used (not just Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint but also Windows-based educational programs), IT teams are forced to find solutions that can run those applications on non-Windows mobile devices.
Providing users with secure access to digital assets on and off-campus
Faculty, staff, and students increasingly seek the ability to connect to the office, teaching and learning digital resources, whether they’re just on campus or in a coffee shop across the city. This is putting pressure on IT teams who have to ensure these end users are connecting and using digital resources securely at all times.
Achieving bold technology initiatives, even with a small IT team
The solutions commonly used to address those first two challenges are overly complicated, even needing several highly skilled administrators to configure, deploy and manage them. With limited IT staffing, most academic institutions are forced to either hire expensive third-party specialists or abandon the initiative altogether.
How to address those challenges using Parallels RAS
Parallels® Remote Application Server (RAS) is the perfect answer to these challenges. As a highly versatile and admin-friendly virtual application and desktop delivery solution, Parallels RAS makes it easy for IT teams to deliver Windows applications—and even entire desktops—to iPad®, Chromebook or any other mobile device.
Because Parallels RAS supports both Remote Desktop Session Host (RDSH) and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), it’s designed to deliver those applications and desktops through a network.
It’s also packed with several security features like Transport Layer Security (TLS), multifactor authentication (MFA), encryption and policy control.
Lastly, Parallels RAS is architected to be easy to deploy, configure and manage. Even IT teams with limited staffing can administer it with ease.
Download a free 30-day evaluation of Parallels RAS and allow your IT teams to allocate their workload to more pressing projects.
References
ZDNet | https://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-pcs-gain-share-in-k-12-in-the-u-s-but-chromebooks-still-dominate/
TechRadar | https://www.techradar.com/news/google-hails-chromebook-impact-on-schools
ResourceEd | https://resourced.prometheanworld.com/top-challenges-primary-ict/
Software2 | https://www.software2.com/resource-centre/demonstrating-the-power-of-parallels-with-durham-university
TechTarget | https://searchvirtualdesktop.techtarget.com/definition/Remote-Desktop-Session-Host-RDSH
Parallels | https://www.parallels.com/products/ras/solutions/education-it/