Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate, UK

Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate, UK

Cost effective upgrades with Techbuyer have educational value

“You can use any manufacturer for RAM and SSDs and the only real difference is price. Brands like Intel are a lot more expensive and there is no real gain. If hard drives were failing all the time, then I wouldn’t use them, but that’s not the case.” 

- Dave Millington, Director of ICT at Thorpe Underwood 

SAVING

Up to 90% saving on Cisco pricing

PEACE OF MIND

100% Cisco certified and compatible

WARRANTY

Covered with lifetime warranty

Background

Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate is an independent boarding and day school for girls and boys located in Thorpe Underwood, between Harrogate and York. It caters for children from the ages of 3-18 across four different sites on campus.

The IT department upgrades end touch devices on a rolling five-year plan as technology becomes obsolete. They have used mini computers for some time because of their smaller desk footprint, which is important in a school environment. The mini computers are also an excellent way to enrich learning. With supervision, children as young as 7 are able to “build” their own computers by inserting the RAM and SSDs into the machines.

The Challenge

Queen Ethelburga’s have used mini computers for some time. However, the ZOTAC model that they used previously was difficult to find. They needed to replace them with Intel NUCs, together with SSDs and RAM. They were looking for a hybrid solution of Intel NUCs with third party options on the SSD and RAM, which have become commodity items. In addition, they were looking for a local supplier to fulfil the order.