11th Hour is set to introduce Our Store on Thursday, January 26, 2012 at the New Jersey Association for School Administrators’ TECHSPO 2012 conference in Atlantic City, NJ. Our Store is a revolutionary concept designed to simplify and expedite the pricing process and procurement of the popular Google Apps for Education, Citrix’s VDI-in-a-Box, and network performance consulting. Schools can now get pricing for end-to-end email, desktop virtualization, and network performance solutions in a few easy clicks, even at the 11th hour.

Today, getting prices for email systems, desktop virtualization, and network consulting is nothing short of daunting. School staff interested in technology pricing have to endure endless meetings, phone calls, and the pressure of up-selling.

“It’s an oxymoron to have products that are amazing at simplifying life and yet have a pricing and proposal process that is much too complicated, ” comments 11th Hour’s Founder and CEO Edwin Wargo. “There’s been a mystique around technology pricing and the technology process for far too long. The good news is that school folks can now get the answers on-demand. Their lives can be simpler,” he adds.

Mr. Wargo knows this all too well, and not from market research or secondary news sources. He has spent time as a public school District Technology Coordinator, District Network Specialist, and K-12 teacher. He notes, “I could spend a good portion of my day just getting pricing. Sometimes, I just needed to see if something was in my budget ballpark. Ultimately, I’d spend a bunch of time only to realize something was way too expensive. And sometimes, I only needed comparative pricing with no real intention of buying. Schools can be fast paced places. There were plenty of times I needed pricing quickly and it just wasn’t available.” He concludes, “I’ve actually lost grant money because I didn’t have quick access to pricing.”

Life is easier now. Schools interested in Google Apps for Education (which is free but requires setup), Citrix’s VDI-in-a-Box, and making their networks better can now get instant price quotes in just a few easy steps. A familiar interface to many, the technology is essentially a shopping cart. To get pricing for Google Apps for Education there are 4 major steps. Desktop Virtualization contains 8 major steps. Each process is highlighted by an easy-to-follow flow diagram.

Once the order is complete, users just have to checkout. Checkout is simple with the standard contact information required. Within seconds an emailed quote is delivered to users. Questions are certainly welcome and encouraged. They can be asked via a Live Chat session, email, or phone – whatever is easier for the client. Simplicity, prices, and easy to use technologies are the hallmarks of Our Store.

11th Hour’s willingness to publish pricing is also a rarity in the industry. While many keep their prices shrouded in secrecy, 11th Hour feels the opposite. Many companies turn their technologies and approach into rocket science. Not 11th Hour. “What we do is far, far from rocket science. We aren’t smashing atoms. We simplify life through products that are simple – simple to implement, use, and support,” elaborates Mr. Wargo. He adds, “If my electrician can pull out a rate book and tell me that a receptacle 30 feet from the fuse box is going to cost $700, we can certainly tell based on our experiences how much Google Apps will cost to deploy. Citrix’s VDI-in-a-box is a bit more challenging since server prices fluctuate. Also, clients may have special requirements that could bring about some variation in pricing. But essentially, turning pricing into a complex process as so many do is a huge disservice to schools.”

As for worrying about price scaring off potential clients, Mr. Wargo notes, “Our prices aren’t over-inflated. They aren’t under-inflated. We’ve spent a lot of time and placed much thought into making sure our pricing is competitive and most importantly fair. Our current and past clients know the educational experience and technical expertise we bring to all of our work. We know learning is at stake when we work with schools. We’ve been there first-hand and our clients appreciate that.”

11th Hour, headquartered in Medford, NJ, serves schools nationwide. 11th Hour simply makes life, communications, desktop virtualization, and networks better. The company’s website where Our Store can be found is http://www.11thhournow.com.

For more information, please contact Jan Kroberger, Director of Sales and Marketing, 11th Hour, at 877-469-1255 x3 or via email at jan(at)11thhournow(dot)com

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For most of “modern” personal computer history (post Commodore 64 and TRS-80 era), desktop decisions were binary: PC or MAC. With a PC, you got a Microsoft Windows Desktop or an Apple Desktop.  When boiled down, preference usually ran along personal preference or utilitarian lines.  One did something that the other didn’t, was better, or the end-user just liked it more. For those of you around then using computers, you know what you preferred.

Apple for one revolutionized the “desktop” in the 1980’s because it offered a graphical version to Windows DOS. Instead of slugging through command line syntax, users saw the desktop graphically. Windows 3.1 brought the Windows desktop GUI (Graphical User Interface) to being. Overtime, both the Apple and Microsoft desktops grew up offering sleeker revisions and enhancements. One thing that remained, long after we ditched our telephone modems and mice with balls, for most users is a burned-in image of a “desktop”. If you needed to surf the internet, check email, pay a bill, make a bake sale flyer, see the game’s score, or whatever, you had to be at your “desktop” to do it.  Ctrl-Alt-Delete was (and still may be) as natural as using a fork.

Smartphones and Tablets, namely Apple, turned this burned-in image of the desktop on it’s head. Now, we can do all of these things and sometimes more (my MacBook isn’t a good flashlight or GPS) with an iPad or iPhone. All we need is an “app”.  Add into the mix “cloud computing” which can store lots of data and do lots of processing at good rates of speed and the “desktop” isn’t needed.  No more Start | Run | Programs.  No more desktop shortcuts. No more dock. Just click on the app.

So it shouldn’t come as a big surprise, the desktop decision is not so binary right now.  By my count, there’s 5 viable “desktop” solutions.  It’s really a quinary (base-5) decision.

1. Traditional PC/Laptops (Apple or Microsoft)
2. Hosted VDI (virtual desktops)
3. Onsite VDI (virtual desktops)
4. Smartphones
5. Tablets

Each of these five options has advantages, disadvantages, limitations, use cases, purchase cost discrepancies, and differences in costs to operate. That’s what makes this all so fun and intriguing!  It’s like solving a cool puzzle.

Dr. Suess is quoted with saying, “Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple”.  I think this quote aptly applies to making decisions around “desktops” especially in K-12 education. We all want students to learn, to maximize learning, to provide ubiquitous access, to do more with less, to provide a stable technology platform, to save money and to make our jobs easier. Those are the easy answers. The complicated questions emerge (and are needed t0 be asked) to ensure the best solution.  It could save a lot of money, time, rack space, and resources.

In the next post, we will look at complicated questions of economics and use cases for each of the 5 “desktops”.

I am a Small Business Owner in New Jersey. My company, 11th Hour, provides technology advising and consulting to K-12 schools primarily in New Jersey.  I am a former K-12 teacher (two different districts) and District Technology Coordinator. I have a Masters Degree in School Leadership and have passed the Praxis examination for the Principal Certificate of Eligibility. I’ve also consulted for Fortune 500 companies as a network engineer. Lastly, I have a daughter beginning public school Kindergarten in September.  This isn’t a sales pitch for my company, particular technologies, vendors, or solutions.  It is based on my professional and academic experiences over the last 15 years.

An interesting phenomena occurs in schools and discussions around improvement. Usually discussions of 21st Century learning, innovation, and education reform are devoid of the technical infrastructure in our schools. We strive to ensure our students have the literacies to succeed in the 21st Century. We want them to be great citizens. We want them to be competitive in the global workforce. However, we very rarely talk about the technology literacy of school systems. I would contend that an important component of successful students is having a technical vision for schools. While curriculum, teachers, instruction, assessment, staff evaluations, school culture, and facilities play a vital role, the technical infrastructure is the conduit for which this learning occurs. The technologies mentioned in this position paper lay the foundation for innovation and fiscal responsibility.

Two current technologies – virtualization and cloud computing – are greatly shifting the technology paradigm for schools. Students (and all school stakeholders) can have ubiquitous access to their applications and data anytime and anywhere as a result of cloud and virtualization technologies.  This technology can also provide great cost savings for schools in terms of capital expenditures and operating expenses. The amount of hardware needed to perform the same tasks is reduced. The reduction in hardware requires less energy, heating, and cooling providing additional cost savings. Having to manage less or little (in the case of cloud computing) reduces operational expenses.

This paradigm shift is still taking shape in all industries as organizations from Fortune 100 companies to the smallest non-profit settle on the best, most cost-effective technologies that produce the best return on investment.  The single greatest need my company sees is the need for schools to have some guidance in the areas of adopting this technology.  Right now markets and the private sector are driving the adoption. However, as markets are concerned with bottom lines and revenue streams, the best interest of the student learning and tax payers aren’t always kept in focus.  We see schools being proposed $40,000 to $70,000 email upgrade solutions when the same commodity services can be had for $1500 to $2000 (cheaper or somewhat more expensive depending on the district size ) for hosted solutions. These solutions benefit the service provider vendors not the schools, students, and taxpayers. Email management can be complex and burdensome especially for districts with limited staff resources. Allowing it to be hosted by a reputable provider frees up time and resources allowing them to focus on the core mission of schools – learning. This is just one example.

Also, it is often said that most organizations spend 70%-80% of their IT budgets just on maintaining the current state of technology. Schools are no different from our experiences. The two mentioned technologies – cloud computing and virtualization – can provide cost savings. These cost savings can be redirected to student learning and staff.  As with any cost and financial model, there is always room for interpretation or debate but there is enough anecdotal, empirical, and historical data to demonstrate there can be financial savings with cloud and virtualization technologies. Admittedly, it isn’t as rosy as many vendors claim but there still can be a significant benefit. Conversely, schools can spend money on solutions that do not leverage this new technology.

Small school districts, often with limited financial means, appear to be on the backside of the adoption curve of these technologies. Faced with aging technologies and limited staff, they could greatly benefit from the virtualization and cloud technologies as capital and operating expenditures are lower – albeit there is usually larger year 1 capital expenses. The overall savings and benefits to students can be significant.  I was just in a small school district yesterday that could benefit greatly from this technology.

I realize that proposing regulations or any guidance may be counter to the Task Force’s mission; however, at this time, the confluence of the paradigm shift driven by the current cloud and virtualization technologies, the current economic climate, and the private sector/market driving adoption, vision, guidance and leadership from New Jersey can bring about fiscal savings.  This savings can be realized through allowing resources to be focused on teaching and learning.

Vision, guidance, and leadership doesn’t have to be in the form of burdensome regulations or statutes. It can come in the form of training much like the statewide Alan November 21st Century series did a couple of years ago. It can also be in the form of technology plan requirements that ask schools their cloud adoption and virtualization strategies and vision. The state need not recommend or endorse products, services, or vendors. Rather, school technology leaders can be offered the opportunity to see this technology, the global market, how its changing the technology paradigm, its impact on learning, and the potential cost savings. Most importantly, they can become informed consumers as there is no universal solution for every school. And please note, I am not advocating or suggesting 11th Hour provide this training.

I greatly appreciate your time. Please don’t hesitate to contact me should you have any questions.  My contact information is:

Edwin Wargo, Partner
11th Hour
617 Stokes Road, Suite 4-205
Medford, NJ 08055
856-599-5175

Respectfully submitted,
Edwin Wargo

What does this mean for K-12 schools looking to get into server virtualization or expand their current server virtualization? For starters, this move surely will make its way into sales and marketing collateral. Each will try to translate their recent acclaim into sales. This makes perfect sense as each wants to continue to penetrate the markets. Service providers and consultants could use this data underscoring their decision to recommend a particular solution.

While each product – VMware, Citrix, and Hyper-V – certainly has their strengths, they also have their weaknesses. Price, complexity, feature, hardware requirements, and licensing are few of each product’s strengths and weaknesses. So what should a school do with Gartner’s Magic Quadrant?

First, its always good to recognize the leaders in a field as part of the decision making process. It’s good to understand the big picture. Don’t be afraid to ask why VMware is still the leader followed by Microsoft and Citrix. Conversely, don’t be afraid to ask why Microsoft and Citrix are in their position. Second, rather than leading with features, bells-and-whistles, and testimonials, start by constructing a solid architecture for your school sans product names.  Once the architecture is completed, then solicit bids from each vendor. Third, and perhaps most importantly, ask how the solution will help with learning and teaching.  Are there cost savings that can be reallocated? Are there personnel savings that can be reallocated in a positive way (help teachers and students)? Will uptime increase to better support/enhance learning and teaching?

In sum, Gartner’s Magic Quadrant can illuminate the big picture while serving as a springboard for questions and conversations.  The same levels of objectivity and global thinking should be applied to local K-12 decisions about server virtualization (and technology in general).  You will see there’s really no magic at all – just technology.

Infrastructure is an item that we would add to the list.  Some of the infrastructure that needs to be in place are IP Addresses, VLANs, Wireless Access Points (WAPs), bandwidth internal to the district, and bandwidth outside of the district to the internet.  See what you have, collect data, and plan accordingly. There are scores of free tools that can help. Students’ ability to get to Google is only as good as the weakest link in the chain above.

This, too, is not just important for iPad apps and browsing sessions but for when technologies such as VMware View 4.5 is planned.  Virtual Desktops are chock-full of benefits on lots of levels.  But they’ll not be fully realized or used if it’s slow or if it’s hit-or-miss with working. Ubiquity is the key.

Our second (and last) item to add to Andrew’s list is to pilot iPads using a class or two.  This works out any instructional, learning, or technology kinks, possible showstoppers, and allows course corrections if deemed necessary.  Once technology proves to be successful, it can then be moved into whole school use.