Google, Synnex Partnership: More Chromebooks In Schools
Synnex is set to empower Google Chromebook resellers supporting North America K-12 schools and commercial customers. The strategic Google-Synnex relationship will help resellers to deploy and centrally manage fleets of Chromebooks within schools and vertical market settings. The move comes only a few weeks after the search giant further enhanced its Google Apps partner program for resellers.
Chromebooks are web-enabled notebooks that run Google Apps and other SaaS services. The low-cost devices were slow-sellers in 2012 but gained critical mass in 2013. The devices commanded 21 percent of laptop sales in 2013, according to NPD.
Still, Chromebooks have been somewhat of a mystery to channel resellers. On the one hand, there are now more than 6,000 Google Apps resellers. Some of them now attach Chromebook sales to their cloud migration projects. But overall the “channel” for Chromebook resellers has been in its infancy.
Part of the challenge: Making sure schools and resellers can easily manage the devices. That’s where Google Chrome Management Console enters the picture. Synnex — which offers Acer, HP, Lenovo and Samsung Chromebooks — now offers a range of console services to its North America channel base. The services include:
- Pre-sales Consultation: Stretching from wireless assessments to console set-up and proof-of-value school trials.
- Pre-deployment Service: Here, Synnex updates Chromebooks, configures neworks and delivers Chromebooks pre-enrolled to the school district.
- End-User Concierge Desk: For teachers and administrators; offered on behalf of the solution provider.
- Onsite Teacher Training: This is the biggest item of all, in The VAR Guy’s opinion. Within a local school district, The VAR Guy has heard teacher missteps have been the biggest stumbling block to effective Chromebook use. The kids are ready to run. Google has an effective solution. But the teachers themselves need training, The VAR Guy has heard directly from local community members.
The question marks about Chromebooks are “over. We’re here. We’re the only game in town right now,” said Synnex VP Eddie Franklin. “We’ve got thoughtful answers to the what-if scenarios with the Chromebook Management Console.”
Franklin made it clear that Synnex isn’t playing platform favorites — the company continues to support a range of operating systems and devices. But resellers who can’t describe how Chromebooks potentially fit into a K-12 setting will most surely find that they’re losing business to rivals that have embraced the opportunity, Franklin said.
Much of Chromebook’s interest
Much of Chromebook’s interest in schools is in the price. I have already read comments from early adopters of Chromebooks in schools about problems with the hardware, lack of compatibility with existing material and issues with updating their networks to accommodate the added stress of so many devices accessing their network. I like my Chromebook but I demand so little from it other then web access and a few apps that it is not a roadblock for me. I find education is trying to make Chromebooks work because they are inexpensive. Sometimes that does not equate to success. I would also say this about iPad’s which have their own set of negatives. Such as support life is limited and costs and repair options are higher. Tablets and Chromebooks share a limited ability to repair and they are far more at risk for breakage. I do not embrace tech being so involved in a school district that it restricts that district on what materials to use.
Chromebooks may not be for
Chromebooks may not be for everyone, but they do make sense for schools. They’re easy for students to use and easy for IT staff to manage. They boot up very fast, so students don’t have to wait half for their laptop to be ready at the start of class. And they’re inexpensive and easy to replace.
On the other hand, many web-based education applications require Java, which Chromebooks do not support. And some schools may still be running Windows applications. One possible solution for such scenarios is a product like Ericom AccessNow, an HTML5 RDP solution that enables Chromebook users to connect to any RDP host, including Terminal Server and VDI virtual desktops, and run Windows applications or desktops in a browser tab. That means that you can open up an Internet Explorer session inside a Chrome browser tab, and then connect to the applications that require Java and run them on the Chromebook.
For more information about AccessNow for Chromebooks in Education, visit:
http://www.ericom.com/Education-ChromebookRDPClient.asp?URL_ID=708
Please note that I work for Ericom