INDUSTRIESI02Education
Technology that serves
the curriculum.
IT for New Zealand schools and education providers. We work across both Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, help you choose what genuinely fits how your teachers teach, and find the savings that let the budget go somewhere useful.
WHAT WE HEAR
The four sentences we hear most in your sector.
- 01
We are on Google, but half the staff want Microsoft.
Both are capable, and the answer depends on what your teachers are teaching and what your students go on to. It is a curriculum question wearing a technology costume, and it should be decided that way.
- 02
Setting up classes at the start of the year takes a week.
It should take an afternoon. Class and group creation can be driven straight from your student management system so teachers walk into a classroom that already exists.
- 03
N4L handles our network, so who handles everything else?
N4L delivers the managed network, filtering, and cybersecurity to state schools on behalf of the Ministry. Devices, your Google or Microsoft tenancy, classroom setup, and licensing are still yours, and that is where we come in.
- 04
We cannot justify the spend to the board.
Usually because nobody has separated what is genuinely required from what has accumulated. Education licensing has free and heavily discounted tiers that plenty of schools are not fully using.
THE STACK
The systems you actually run.
Not a list of logos. These are the platforms we support, migrate, and get called about in this sector. If yours is missing, it usually means we have not worked with it, and we will say so rather than nod along.
Learning platforms
The daily environment for staff and students. We run both properly rather than preferring one because it is easier for us.
- Google Workspace for Education
- Google Classroom
- Microsoft 365 Education
- Microsoft Teams for Education
- OneNote Class Notebook
- Minecraft Education
Student management
The source of truth for who is in which class, and the thing your platforms should be reading from rather than duplicating.
- KAMAR
- eTAP
- Edge
- MUSAC
- Hero
- SchoolTalk
Devices
Mixed fleets are normal in schools. The trick is one management standard across all of them rather than three separate processes.
- Chromebooks
- iPads
- Windows laptops
- Google Admin console
- Apple School Manager
- Microsoft Intune
Safety and wellbeing
Filtering is only the first layer. What matters is visibility for teachers and a process for what happens when something is flagged.
- N4L managed network
- N4L web filtering
- Linewize
- Securly
- Hapara
- Classwize
WHERE WE HELP
Four things we do for education specifically.
- 01
Choosing the platform against the curriculum
We sit down with your leadership and teaching staff, look at what is actually being taught and how, and give you an honest comparison of Google and Microsoft against that. We support both, so we have no reason to push you either way, and sometimes the right answer is to keep both for different year levels.
- 02
Classroom and Teams setup that works on day one
Classes, groups, and permissions created from your student management system rather than by hand, so teachers start the year with their classes already there. Then short, practical training for staff on the parts they will actually use.
- 03
Device fleets that stay manageable
Chromebooks, iPads, and Windows laptops enrolled, configured, and locked to a standard, with a clear process for breakages, leavers, and the start of each year. Mixed fleets are fine. Unmanaged ones are not.
- 04
Finding money in the budget
Education licensing includes free and heavily discounted tiers that many schools are not fully using, and device fleets are often bought at retail when they need not be. We go looking for that money first, because it is the cheapest improvement available.
WHAT IT COSTS
Per device or per staff member, with education pricing
We price against your device count or staff head count rather than student roll, so the number is predictable and does not spike with enrolment. Education licensing from both Google and Microsoft includes free and discounted tiers, and we will make sure you are on the right one before we quote anything on top. Projects such as a device rollout or a platform migration are quoted separately so they fit a board-approved budget line.
WHERE TO START
The services that matter most here.
FAQ
Questions from your sector
01Should our school use Google Workspace or Microsoft 365?
Both are strong and both have free education tiers, so this is not a cost decision. Google tends to suit primary and intermediate settings where simplicity and shared devices matter, and where Chromebooks are the fleet. Microsoft tends to suit secondary and tertiary settings where students need desktop applications they will meet again at work or at university, and where Windows devices dominate. We run both, so we will give you the comparison against your curriculum rather than a recommendation we happen to find easier.
02What does N4L cover, and what does it not?
N4L is the Crown-owned company delivering a managed network on behalf of the Ministry of Education, covering broadband, Wi-Fi, filtering, and network-level cybersecurity to state schools. It is genuinely good and it is already paid for. What it does not cover is your devices, your Google or Microsoft tenancy and its configuration, classroom and class setup, staff support, or licensing decisions. Those are the parts we do, and they sit alongside N4L rather than replacing it.
03Can you set up classes automatically from KAMAR?
Yes, and it is one of the highest-value things we do for schools. Classes, groups, and permissions can be driven from your student management system so that they exist correctly at the start of the year and update through it as students move. The alternative is a teacher creating each class by hand, which is a week of the term gone and a term of drift afterwards.
04How do we handle devices when students bring their own?
With policies that protect school data without trying to manage a family’s device. A student device accessing school accounts can be required to meet basic conditions without the school taking control of the hardware, which is both the right boundary and the one parents accept. For school-owned devices the standard is different and much stricter, and it is worth being explicit with families about which is which.
05How can a school reduce what it spends on technology?
Start with licensing, because it is free money. Both Google and Microsoft offer education tiers that many schools are not fully using, and plenty of schools pay for products duplicating something already included. Then look at how devices are bought, since retail purchasing on a fleet is a meaningful premium. Then look at what is being paid for and not used at all. In our experience the first two cover most of it.
06Do you work with kura and Māori-medium settings?
Yes. The technology questions are the same and the curriculum questions are not, so the platform conversation has to start with how you teach rather than with a template. Te reo Māori interface support differs between platforms and is worth checking as part of the decision rather than after it.
Start with a licensing review.
It costs you an hour, it usually finds money, and it tells us more about how your school actually runs than any questionnaire would.
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