PowerSchool announces that its CEO, Hardeep Gulati, has been appointed to serve a two-year term on the University of California, Davis School of Education Board of Advisors, offering strategic guidance to drive the goals of the school.
The School of Education’s Board of Advisors supports the implementation of the school’s vision through strategic planning and guidance, philanthropic leadership, and alumni engagement.
“We are so pleased to welcome Hardeep Gulati to our Board of Advisors,” said Lauren Lindstrom, dean of the UC Davis School of Education. “He brings a passion for educational equity and a wealth of knowledge about the ways that technology can enhance teaching and learning opportunities for all students.”
The mission of the UC Davis School of Education is to confront and eliminate inequities among people and communities through the generation of impactful knowledge and the promise of education. Since its founding in 2002, the School of Education has established itself among the nation’s top education schools, renowned across the state and country for leadership in advancing educational opportunity and attainment. School of Education faculty prepare exceptional K–12 teachers and education leaders, and conduct pioneering research that informs national policy and practice.
As the CEO of PowerSchool, Hardeep Gulati leads a company of educators and technology specialists committed to harnessing the power of technology to empower educators and unlock student potential. Under his leadership, PowerSchool has introduced award-winning, unified solutions and made a lasting impact on the future of K-12 education.
Gulati has been recognized by EdTech Digest as Education Technology CEO of the Year and one of the Top 100 Influencers in EdTech. Most recently, he was named a Top 25 Education Software CEO by the Software Report. Gulati received his MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.
“At PowerSchool, we believe every student deserves the best opportunities in life and I am proud to serve on the UC Davis School of Education Board of Advisors with those who share a vision of a quality and equitable education for all,” Gulati said. “As highly visible ambassadors of UC Davis and the School of Education, Board of Advisors’ members expand the school’s connections to the community, and I look forward to contributing to the board’s efforts to impact education.”
Ellucian announces that Gannon University (Gannon), a private, Catholic university in Erie, Pennsylvania, has selected Ellucian CRM Advance to more dynamically build alumni relationships and better support its fundraising efforts.
In 2018, Gannon began a search for a modern customer relationship management (CRM) solution that would enable personalized communication with stakeholders and alumni along with increased operational efficiency and strong configuration capabilities for staff. The university also required more robust analysis and data reporting tools to drive effective fundraising campaigns and increase accountability. After evaluating competitive offerings from other vendors, Gannon selected Ellucian CRM Advance because of its flexible platform, advanced features, and native integration with the university ecosystem.
“We chose Ellucian CRM Advance due to its highly configurable nature and because it enables us to create the exact reporting, data analysis, and functionality we need,” said Gannon University vice president of advancement Scott Rash. “In addition, Ellucian’s detailed demonstrations and commitment to our successful partnership during our search highlighted their standout focus and expertise within the higher education advancement space.”
With CRM Advance, Gannon will have the ability to drive increased campaign performance with customized intuitive dashboards, relevant reporting and more robust analysis of meaningful data. Improved workflow management will enable Gannon to further streamline outdated manual processes and increase overall productivity and efficiency for its staff. Additionally, enhanced features within CRM Advance will allow for more impactful constituent engagement, translating to better long-term relationships between the university and its alumni and supporters.
“We couldn’t be more excited about this partnership with Gannon University and we look forward to watching CRM Advance enable the university to advance its mission, serve its students and community, and inspire philanthropists to transform lives,” said Ellucian associate vice president of advancement Beth Brenner. “Today, it is essential for colleges and universities to have technology that empowers their staff with access to a holistic view in order to develop data-driven strategies and execute innovative campaigns. We’re proud to help such a forward-thinking institution achieve its philanthropic goals.”
You know what you’re doing, and the service you’re providing is helping teachers teach and students learn. In my case, that’s directly what my colleagues and I are doing, putting teachers and students together in web and video conferences, integrated with their learning management systems. I know what we’re doing is making the process of education easier, better and more efficient. We’re absolutely helping more students access their teachers and helping more teachers use the modern tools of teaching.
That’s comforting. And rewarding.
But it is also isolating and challenging at the same time.
The 22 part is that for anyone to recognize your work, they have to see you, know you’re there. They need to understand that great bridges require great bridge builders.
The catch part is that, if you do your education IT job well, you’re invisible. Your IT can be so good, so seamless and so intuitive that no one has any idea you were ever there. Or that it did not simply just work that way to start.
In IT, being invisible is winning, even though it may not always feel that way. I liken it to what a studio-level makeup artist must feel – you know, the person who makes movie stars look great or gruesome, depending on the role. If you’re at the movies and you’re talking about the makeup, something probably went wrong. It’s only when they’re really good that they can fade away.
And sure, knowing you do good work is satisfying. And please don’t misunderstand, I’m not in this business for glory and adulation. I feel certain that almost no one goes into education for that. Still, what we do – those of us who build the bridges and apply the makeup of education IT – is not easy. Or free, unfortunately.
It can also be a marketing challenge. Wrap your head around this sales pitch. “What I do is so smooth and subtle that, once you start using it, you won’t notice it all.” Where do you sign, right?
I exaggerate. People do notice when they have to drive around a river instead of having a bridge to cross. But once it’s up, people don’t remember what it was like before. And people who’ve become used to driving around an obstacle, or not traveling at all, don’t know cool bridges are available.
Polluting my metaphors again, I think back to the talented make-up artist who probably has to go pitch new producers and directors by saying, “You probably didn’t notice me at all in this other movie, but …”
To tell you the truth, though, I’m not deterred by the education IT paradox. Solutions that work are always in demand. Bridges are easy to sell when people have to get somewhere. When people look at nearby towns and cities and say, “hey, how did you get that cool bridge?” the phone rings.
And the big education dynamics favor companies like ours. More and more people are studying online, and more schools are needing to invest in tools that make that reality easier and safer.
But as it does, I feel for others in education IT or in IT in general – on staff or on their own. I know that some of the best among us are the least seen. That’s what happens when we do our jobs well. And it can get old. It’s also not likely to change. I cannot see a future in which IT solutions have pretty construction plaques saying, “Built by Julie Carter at IT Solutions in 2019” or whatever. So, we’re just going to have to accept that as the way it is.
At the same time, we can take comfort in the real value we’re providing, unseen as it may be. Cynical types may say that gleaning value from the service you provide, regardless of recognition is cold comfort. I prefer to think of it as warm comfort. It can be easy to forget that IT is about making connections and helping people do great things, in our case, helping people learn. When we do that, we’re doing right, whether anyone notices or not.
Kivuto announces that it has entered into a strategic partnership with NERCOMP, a nonprofit consortium focused on technology acquisitions by higher education IT professionals. Through this partnership, Kivuto will have exposure to NERCOMP’s higher educational institution members across the northeastern United States, who will have access to purchasing Kivuto Cloud through NERCOMP.
Cloud license management and provisioning is a challenge for academic IT departments as it is difficult to actively manage those who have access, the length of time and amount of access, and the rules around software license use.
Kivuto Cloud addresses these challenges, empowering educational institutions to effortlessly deliver both product key license verification and distribution, and named user license distribution. Kivuto Cloud allows organizations to manage, distribute, and recover costs on any digital resource in a single cloud-based platform.
Jeff Blacklock, president at Kivuto, said:
“NERCOMP is one of the largest education
consortiums focused on technology acquisitions in the US, so we are excited to
be partnering with them. Through this partnership, Kivuto will have access to
NERCOMP’s 300 educational institution members and will have ongoing exposure to
them though various activities and events. This is an important strategic
partnership for Kivuto.”
Kevin Brassard, chair of NERCOMP, said:
“We are so pleased to have Kivuto on board as a
NERCOMP partner, and that our members will have access to Kivuto Cloud. Because
we take the time to vet all of our partners, our members can be assured that we
see Kivuto is a trusted vendor, and that Kivuto Cloud is a key technology that
they should evaluate for use within their organizations.”
Ellucian, the leading provider of software and services built to power higher education, today announced that Gannon University (Gannon), a private, Catholic university in Erie, Pennsylvania, has selected Ellucian CRM Advance to more dynamically build alumni relationships and better support its fundraising efforts.
In 2018, Gannon began a search for a modern customer relationship management (CRM) solution that would enable personalized communication with stakeholders and alumni along with increased operational efficiency and strong configuration capabilities for staff.
The university also required more robust analysis and data reporting tools to drive effective fundraising campaigns and increase accountability. After evaluating competitive offerings from other vendors, Gannon selected Ellucian CRM Advance because of its flexible platform, advanced features, and native integration with the university ecosystem.
“We chose Ellucian CRM Advance due to its highly configurable nature and because it enables us to create the exact reporting, data analysis, and functionality we need,” said Gannon University vice president of advancement Scott Rash. “In addition, Ellucian’s detailed demonstrations and commitment to our successful partnership during our search highlighted their standout focus and expertise within the higher education advancement space.”
With CRM Advance, Gannon will have the ability to drive increased campaign performance with customized intuitive dashboards, relevant reporting and more robust analysis of meaningful data. Improved workflow management will enable Gannon to further streamline outdated manual processes and increase overall productivity and efficiency for its staff. Additionally, enhanced features within CRM Advance will allow for more impactful constituent engagement, translating to better long-term relationships between the university and its alumni and supporters.
“We couldn’t be more excited about this partnership with Gannon University and we look forward to watching CRM Advance enable the university to advance its mission, serve its students and community, and inspire philanthropists to transform lives,” said Ellucian Associate Vice President of Advancement Beth Brenner. “Today, it is essential for colleges and universities to have technology that empowers their staff with access to a holistic view in order to develop data-driven strategies and execute innovative campaigns. We’re proud to help such a forward-thinking institution achieve its philanthropic goals.”
Skyward, an administrative software provider committed to a better experience for every user, is proud to announce it has become a Google for Education Build Partner. As a Google for Education Build Partner, Skyward will soon enable educators to conduct real-time grade syncs from Google Classroom to Skyward’s Gradebook solution in a beta program.
Keeping
student data synced between Google Classroom and student information systems
has been a key issue facing administrators and instructors. With this exciting
new collaboration, school districts using Skyward’s SIS will be able to sync
assignments and grades from Google Classroom directly into Skyward’s Gradebook
solution, saving teachers valuable time.
“We
are thrilled to become a Google for Education Build Partner and soon provide a new
capability that many of our customers have been looking forward to,” explained Scott
Glinski, CEO of Skyward. “Between our collaboration with Google for Education
on the grade sync beta program, Ed-Fi data standards, and OneRoster 1.1
certification, we hope to continue leading the interoperability movement for
student information systems.”
The
integration between Skyward and Google Classroom will also eliminate the need
for double grade entries, reduce the number of tools teachers need to master,
and lessen the possibility for error in grade entries.
“Our
collaboration with Google for Education is about saving time for teachers, so
they can focus on what matters most—students,” explained Kevin Duda, director
of product management at Skyward. “By providing one place to enter data, teachers
can be more confident in their data while continuing to use the tools that work
best for their needs.”
For
more information, visit www.skyward.com/k-12 and fill out the interest form for the
Classroom grade sync beta program here.
At a time when schools systems are collecting more data than ever and implementing new technology to improve their classrooms, education leaders must act to better secure the personal information of their students, staff and stakeholders. Unfortunately, instead of bolstering security, reports are showing that the education industry ranks dead last in cyber security, pointing to low awareness, limited budgets and a lack of expertise, making many schools easy targets for cyber criminals.
The
growing threat against schools
Educational data is a valuable black-market commodity because student records often contain information such as birth dates, addresses, Social Security numbers and, in some cases, financial records. In fact, since 2016, K-12 institutions have been hit with more than 400 cyber security incidents, and in 2018 alone, there were 122 publicly-disclosed cyber security incidents impacting schools in 38 states, according to the K-12 Cybersecurity 2018 Year in Review report.
Additionally, in December 2018, a hacker stole the personal details for more than 500,000 staff and students from the San Diego Unified School District. And just a few weeks ago, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards issued a statewide emergency declaration in response to a cybersecurity incident that affected several school districts. That same month, Watertown city school district in New York was hit with a severe attack that prevented employees from logging into accounts or accessing files. The bottom line is, based on the treasure-trove of data educational organizations have access to, coupled with a lack of budget, awareness and protocol, schools are vulnerable to advanced cyber attacks, and criminals know it.
New technology
brings new risk
Fortunately, awareness is spreading. Technology chiefs indicated in the CoSN IT Leadership survey that cyber security is now one of their top priorities. Education leaders are also recognizing that these attacks not only have the potential to cause financial loss for schools, donors, students, and staff, but they can also erode trust in the educational institution itself. For students, it’s not just about their privacy and preventing identity theft, but also about their future academic and workplace careers. Ultimately the problem for school systems rests in constrained budgets, inadequate cyber security staffing, and in some cases, senior leaders who may not truly understand the threats they are facing. Out of 17 industries analyzed, education ranked last in cyber security, according to the 2018 Education Cybersecurity Report.
Most schools are accustomed to putting student education at the forefront, and while they may also devote energy and resources to physical security, it can be easy to overlook the modern threats lurking in connected systems. Behind the promise and excitement of smart boards, smart TVs, laptops, tablets, and IoT devices, criminals are waiting to exploit vulnerabilities.
One major issue is the large number of staff and administrative users with personal and school devices that expands the attack surface. Many schools now have students utilizing their own laptops during school hours, bringing more points of vulnerability into the school. For example, students or faculty could be working remotely on an unsecured Wi-Fi network, opening the possibility of an attacker gaining access to a school’s system. Many also use apps such as Office 365, Dropbox, GSuite and Slack to communicate and collaborate on projects. While these apps do offer some security, they are often no match for the advanced cyber threats that are changing daily. If a student were to unknowingly share a document infested with malware to Dropbox, it could compromise the entire system.
Taking action
There are
several actions that educators should take to mitigate cyber risks. One place
to start is with a simple risk assessment to identify vulnerabilities. This
could include an inventory of all devices and connections in the system,
including BYODs, along with apps and software. During this assessment,
questions should be asked such as “How is the technology being used?” and “What
processes and protocols are in place?” Comprehensive risk assessments can often
reveal several simple ways a school can improve its security.
Other cost-effective steps that leaders should take include:
Establishing
a cybersecurity plan that covers the management of networks, maintenance of
equipment, establishment of policies and how human practices and solutions will
protect the data.
Identifying
endpoint security, application security and processes for ensuring patches and
updates.
Requiring
strong password and protection on all devices.
Prohibiting
visitors from using the WiFi.
Additionally, schools, much like enterprises, should have a system to backup data and a plan for recovery should an attack occur. For it is slowness or lack of preparedness that often leads to the most serious disruption.
Finally, as human awareness is a critical component of cyber security, students, faculty and staff should be educated on cyber security issues, how to reduce the risks and what procedures to follow in the event of a breach. For all employees, such training should occur before every school year and for students, computer security literacy should begin as early as the third grade. While cyber security risks will always be a reality in today’s digitally-connected environment, school-wide awareness, planning, and education can reduce many of your vulnerabilities lowering their risk and better protecting the sensitive data of their students and faculty.
Academic institutions face many challenges due to how the ever-changing nature of technology affects the management and distribution of licenses. No longer can schools afford to leverage traditional models to ensure their students, faculty, and staff are equipped with the right technology to succeed. Innovative and scalable new IT solutions must be developed to create the backbone for academic success and greater user experiences. This includes such things as exploring sustainable licensing criteria, centralized funding models, and risk reduction initiatives.
Sustainable
Licensing Criteria
Faculty
at higher educational institutions need the freedom to choose the tools they
use to teach. But when resource procurement is decentralized, there is no
visibility into what tools are being ordered, in what quantity, from which
vendors, and at what price. This makes it impossible for institutions to
optimize their budgets and ensure compliance with all laws, terms, and
conditions.
It is
crucial for institutions to develop enforceable and sustainable licensing
criteria that include clear guidelines around what products their faculty can
license, in what quantities, and from which vendors. Organizations can
accomplish this by giving faculty more visibility into what resources are
available and what terms and conditions they come with; or by establishing a
request-and-approval process for faculty wanting to adopt resources their
school has not already licensed.
The
University of Utah did both, setting up a secure, centralized repository
containing all assets available to faculty. Educators have self-serve access to
all resources the school has already licensed, and requests for new assets can
be submitted directly through the repository and are visible to other users who
may need the same resources. By ensuring faculty are aware of what’s available
and what’s been requested, and by requiring them to get approval for new
resources, the university has established a more efficient and less risky way
for educators to select their teaching tools.
Central
Funding Models
In an
ideal world, all software would be procured and funded centrally at the
enterprise level, ensuring that compliance requirements are met, and that the
lowest prices are secured. Unfortunately, central funding models can be too
rigid for many institutions as they often require that a certain level of
demand for a product before any licenses are ordered. This can result in
frustrating waits for faculty and students who need resources that aren’t in
high demand. Alternatively, these models may result in institutions
over-ordering certain products and losing money on unused licenses. So
institutions often allow individual departments, or even individual faculty, to
handle the procurement of their own resources.
To
counter this, Queen’s University explored the option of implementing a
cost-recovery plan. Under their model, software would be procured centrally at
very high volumes to get the best pricing available. The school could then
‘sell’ licenses to individual end users for far below the equivalent retail
price or other volume-license/academic pricing. These chargebacks, combined
with the savings the school sees by purchasing in bulk, would save Queen’s a
significant amount compared to the cost of ordering licenses on an as-needed
basis.
Risk
Reduction
Software
licensing is complex, and with complexity comes risk. Institutions are
responsible for ensuring compliance with all terms and conditions attached to
every piece of software they license, from campus-wide essentials to niche
products used by a single faculty member. This is already an uphill battle. As
vendors transition their products to the cloud, move to time-based delivery
models and inflexible clickwrap agreements (which are often updated without
notice), software management and distribution will become even more complicated
– and riskier.
IT
teams need visibility into what software is being purchased, installed, and
used at their institutions. They must ensure that the number of licenses
installed does not exceed the quantity purchased. All stakeholders should
clearly understand all usage rights and restrictions attached to every product
they use, and comply with them diligently. Procurement and IT teams need to vet
service agreements against their own legal, privacy, accessibility, and
computing policies, as well as applicable laws.
Risk
reduction must be a core priority in any college or university’s software
licensing strategy. Aggregated and centralized management of software licenses
can help with this by reducing the overall level of risk to schools through
visibility and education.
Technology has revolutionized industries, organizations, and institutions while bringing with it the power to solve many of our nation’s greatest challenges.
Education is no different.
Perhaps, education presents bigger challenges than others given the varying stakeholders, political climates, school cultural distinctions, state/county/district laws – not to mention the availability of funding.
Make no mistake, technology holds the same power for our nation’s schools by helping to prevent tragedies like Newtown, Parkland, Santa Fe, and so many others from happening at all – or at least starting to reduce the number of tragedies and threats of violence occurring on a daily basis.
Integrating disparate security technology systems to work together make it possible to both share information and connect red flags on threats.
For example, SafeVisitor is integrated with access control to share excluded parties photos and use existing cameras to flag them before they get to the door; when integrated with the student information system, it also shares excluded parties and custodial issues to flag them; and integrating crisis alert systems with SafeVisitor makes it possible to share emergency notifications for quicker response time.
As we approach the back-to-school season, our nation’s schools continue to grapple with keeping our students, teachers, and administrators safe.
The Top-Three Threats
The facts are clear.
According to the Safe and Sound Schools Report, all stakeholders were asked to identify the top-three threats they were most concerned about in schools.
While the threat of an active shooter remains the top concern for students and parents in 2019, “mental health emergencies” rose to the top of the list for educators, public safety officials, and general community members.
Secondary concerns were “bullying” and “an intruder” for educators and parents; students chose “mental health emergencies;” and “active shooter” for public safety officials and community members.
The third-most concerning threat for public safety officials and students surveyed was “an intruder;” “mental health emergency” for parents; “active shooter” for educators; and “drug/alcohol abuse” for community members.
Based on the findings of this report, there is a strong perception with stakeholders that schools have a high sense of false security.
Mental health/behavioral indicators are essential to reducing the likelihood of school violence and this is the top issue for educators, public safety officials, and the general public – but not the top concern of parents and students who are focused more on the threat of an active shooter.
Herein lies the risk in having tunnel vision on an active shooter as the only threat to school safety. How do we reconcile this?
There are More Threats Than You Think
For instance, sexual violence ranks extremely low by stakeholders, when this threat is actually toward the top.
For example, based on WRTV Channel 6 report and research in Indiana of teacher license revocations from 2012-2018 (this number excludes unlicensed employees, vendors, and volunteers, which would make the number much higher), there were two active shooter incidents compared to 97 allegations of criminal misconduct, 57 of which were sexual abuse, child sexual abuse, or child solicitation.
Additional challenges include vendors feeding on the fears of parents and students by selling gadgets and products like bulletproof backpacks that do not promote school safety but instead put fear into students rather than empowering them to focus on what they are at school to do: learn.
Visitor Management Systems
An essential component of school crisis response is the reunification of students with their primary caregivers, so reunification is a critical piece of preparedness.
Have the capability to run an excluded parties list on every visitor/volunteer.
Offer a comprehensive background screening combining, the National Criminal Database Search, the County Criminal Court Search, and the Federal Criminal Court Search.
Must be cloud-based, as well as work on cellular or separate WiFi networks (school networks are often blocked during an event).
Integrate with a school database and check-in kiosk for scan-in/scan-out and authentication verifications for national ID’s
Provide arrest-alerts in real-time for Volunteers and Employees.
Offer geofencing capabilities to set perimeters
Expedite getting students to parents/guardians quickly and ensure their release to no one other than parents/guardians.
Emergency/Denial notification buttons
Technology Experts with Law Enforcement Training on Spotting Red Flags
The Safe and Sound Schools study finds that most stakeholders point to the principal as the person in charge of school safety – a flawed assumption that MUST change.
Every school must have a threat assessment team comprised of stakeholders inside and outside of the school. Such a threat team is coordinated with technology systems that communicate to internal security and outside law enforcement, like student information and incident reporting systems.
Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting in Parkland, Florida
All schools should develop a threat assessment team. To often each group (counselors, SRO’s, probation/law enforcement, administration) work independently and so they might see a single red flag but as part of a team would connect a student who might have multiple red flags.
When my children lost their mother, the school was actively involved. Counselors were monitoring, and I would assume, creating reports in a system – maybe the student information system.
Parkland is a perfect example of how multiple stakeholders were aware of problems with the shooter, Cruz.
First, he lost a family member. (My three kids lost a mother when they were young – nine, six and three months.) This is traumatic and intervention is a must.
Then Cruz lost a second parent… a second MAJOR red flag.
Cruelty to animals, threats that were reported to law enforcement and FBI but never shared. It’s a perfect storm of disconnected red flags.
Parkland surely would have known about loss of each parent and monitored grades and behavior which would each be potentially recorded in separate systems – student information system and incident reporting system.
Threats internally or anonymous reporting of concerns or threats with Cruz could be in the same or different systems.
External threats were also uncovered on social media and with law enforcement that were in a different system but not shared with the school.
Red flags and suspension should have placed Cruz on an exclusion list using technology, such as integration with a student system, to import his photo to SafeVisitor as excluded and shared with access control – camera systems – in hopes that it could have flagged him outside the school as he arrived, which could possibly have created an auto alert via text or email to security and law enforcement.
Integration with a crisis alert system could have created lockdown by immediately sharing information with law enforcement through the crisis alert as seconds matter.
Unfortunately, the technology cannot alleviate slow officer response… or a school resource officer standing behind a tree and not engaging the shooter.
Technology can be the hub of a threat assessment team, connecting the individual security systems, student information systems, etc. to work together as one system and aggregate flags and uncover problems long before they become an active threat.
Additionally, working with a partner whose background is in law enforcement and has training on how to spot red flags is key. School security requires the same approach as it is in law enforcement.
Walmart Workplace Shooting in Southaven, Mississippi
In the recent Walmart shooting in Mississippi, the shooter made an implied threat just three days earlier by raising his shirt and showing a knife to a co-worker during an argument.
The implied threat three days prior to the shooting in Mississippi was likely not understood by either the employer or law enforcement.
Understanding threats is a critical component to neutralizing a threat early.
Threat assessment was the foundation for our Domestic Violence Division in Nashville in 1994 that reduce the 25 women and children killed annually to 12 or less each year after implementation – more than a 50% reduction in domestic homicide by recognizing threats, signs and behaviors.
Prepare for and Prevent Tragedies with Technology
Law enforcement is the cavalry you want coming in an event like this, but we must prepare our schools to have systems, processes, and procedures in place to be what I call “left of bang” (to assess threats before they happen) so that they can focus on education. Working with the right technology partner with law enforcement expertise is key to achieving this objective.
“At bang” is when protocols, training, and technology, kick in. “Right of bang” is the law enforcement response.
Seconds matter so everything done in preparation reduces the time it takes to get law enforcement on the scene and neutralizing the threat.
Moving the needle for our schools to help them become “left of bang” instead of “right of bang” – is paramount. Workplaces like Walmart and schools have it within their control to manage employees, students, administrators, vendors, and volunteers through the power of technology.
“See something, say something” is very important because students often see things on social media or hear things at school and can share this information. However, without technology and creating integrated security solutions that drive important data to a threat assessment team, we run the risk of red flags not being connected, like in Parkland.
Technology is consistent, unbiased, does not minimize a potential threat because it does not understand it, and can uncover problematic behaviors early. Technology is the foundation for prevention and can be the solution that shaves seconds off law enforcement response which saves lives.
Kivuto, a provider of academic digital resources, announces its partnership with The Douglas Stewart Company, North America’s distributor of educational software and technology products. Together, they will provide a tailored solution for the management and distribution of the Adobe Student License Pack for Higher Education.
Cloud license management and provisioning is a challenge for academic IT
departments as it is difficult to actively manage those who have access, the
length and amount of access, and the rules around software license use. Kivuto
Cloud addresses these challenges, empowering educational institutions to
effortlessly deliver both product key license verification and distribution,
and named user license distribution for schools where software is required by
students, faculty, and staff.
With the release of Adobe’s new VIP Student License Pack for Higher
Education, Kivuto and Douglas Stewart will work together to provide a tailored
solution for customers and their reseller partners that automates the entire
digital supply, while eliminating the complexities tied to licensing individual
end users. Douglas Stewart’s global reach and extensive education portfolio of
products and services offers Kivuto the opportunity to extend its reach to a
vast array of additional educational markets.
Jeff Blacklock, president at Kivuto, said: “Getting solutions into the hands of key individuals within educational institutions is challenging. Kivuto recognizes Douglas Stewart’s strength in the market and the reputation they have built over the past 65 years as an education reseller. We are pleased to have the opportunity to partner with them, adding extended value in the academic IT sector. With this partnership, Kivuto and Douglas Stewart will work together to solve some of the most challenging problems educational IT departments are faced with today.”
Charles Hulan, president at Douglas Stewart, said: “By partnering with Kivuto, we are now able to offer a solution that enables IT within educational institutions to safely, securely, and confidently verify and distribute software and resources to authorized students, faculty, and staff. Kivuto Cloud enables IT departments to have full control over a centralized model that can provide the much-needed adoption and insights that have been missing for so long. Kivuto Cloud will be a great addition to the solutions we offer to our clients.”
