Time, as the saying goes, is money. To Mike Rackler, Director of Technology at Portales Municipal School District in Portales, New Mexico, time is his most precious commodity. Rackler’s department oversees all aspects of the District’s technology-related hardware and software, including its Web site, network printers, phone system, student and staff IDs, security cameras, and all computers. With only four technicians in his department, Rackler was determined to save time, eliminate IT headaches, and streamline efficiencies of day-to-day operations.

1. On-Demand Tools for Managing Educational Support Services
About Portales
Municipal
School District
• Portales, New Mexico
• Nearly 2,800 students
• Around 2,500 computers
RESULTS/BENEFITS
• Helped existing staff do the
work of more people, saving
District $40,000 annually. SchoolDude’s IT Asset Management
• Scalable, affordable
solution was suited to needs Solution Saves Time, Maximizes Resources
of small district with limited
IT resources. in Portales School District
• Solution was education-
specific and optimized for IT/
business processes of District. Challenge
• On-Demand solution Time, as the saying goes, is money. To Mike Rackler, Director of Technology
allowed for rapid deployment, at Portales Municipal School District in Portales, New Mexico, time is his most
implementation, adoption, precious commodity. Rackler’s department oversees all aspects of the
and utilization.
District’s technology-related hardware and software, including its Web site,
network printers, phone system, student and staff IDs, security cameras, and
all computers. With only four technicians in his department, Rackler was
determined to save time, eliminate IT headaches, and streamline efficiencies
of day-to-day operations.
case study
“Saving time is critical,” says Rackler, whose relatively small district in
Eastern New Mexico consists of six administrative units and seven schools—
from kindergarten to high school—that educate approximately 2800. As the use
of technology expanded in the district, Rackler’s department was faced with the
daunting task of manually tracking approximately 2,500 computers—an exact
count was unknown. “We did not have a reliable and efficient means of tracking
our hardware, and the situation demanded a sound solution,” says Rackler.
lity information
Solution
erations technology To better manage the district’s computer inventory and eliminate the day-to-
ITAMDirect day headaches of tracking an unknown quantity, Rackler turned to online
solutions from Cary, North Carolina-based SchoolDude, the leading provider of
• Easy to implement and use on-demand operations management solutions designed exclusively for schools.
• Automates asset discovery, In this case, SchoolDude’s ITDirect and ITAMDirect for automated asset
monitoring and reporting management and help desk solutions fit the bill.
• Increases IT staff efficiency
• No hardware investment
required Portales on Track
As the Director of Technology for the district, Rackler manages the technicians
ITDirect who track and monitor the district’s technology assets to ensure they are
functioning properly. “The biggest benefit of ITAMDirect and ITDirect is that
• Resolves IT incidents faster these tools replace the hand audits we used to have to do to track assets,”
• Increases technician efficiency says Rackler. “They have helped us log and track our computer inventory.
• Improves customer service ITAM-Direct, for instance, allows us to maintain a decentralized tracking system
• Tracks and reports on incident that relieves us of much of the clerical burden of conducting manual audits.
status with ease
From an accountability standpoint, all districts, regardless of size, can definitely
benefit from this system.”
➜

2. case study Case Study Continued
“SchoolDude’s
operations management
As a relatively small, rural district, Portales was faced with a common solutions have made the
problem—a lot of assets to track and limited staff to deal with the problem. Technology Department
SchoolDude provided Portales with an affordable solution that is scalable for at Portales ten times
both large and small districts. It enables a technology director such as Rackler
more efficient.”
to do more work with fewer resources. In fact, Rackler says that SchoolDude
was like an extra person on staff, helping them do the work of more people. Mike Rackler,
This helped the district avoid a needed hire, saving nearly $40,000 plus Director of Technology at
benefits. “In a small district, an annual savings of $30,000 to $40,000 in labor Portales Municipal
costs is a big deal,” says Rackler. School District
Another “big deal” for Rackler is the ability to monitor assets remotely with
ITAMDirect. While at an education conference in Albuquerque, some 230 miles
from Portales, Rackler received a distress call from the office. He logged on
to his laptop and found that there was a problem with one of the voice-over
IP phones on the network. Thanks to the SchoolDude system, he was able to
telnet into the server (access remotely) and fix the problem within 10 minutes
of receiving the notification for assistance.
Putting out fires like this one is part of Rackler’s daily routine. In another
instance, Rackler noticed that students were clogging hard drives by
downloading massive amounts of software, music, and other files. With the
help of ITAMDirect, Rackler was able to determine what the students were
downloading and quickly resolve the problem. “We gathered the data,
cleaned up the drives, and easily solved the problem—thanks to SchoolDude,”
says Rackler.
As Rackler’s examples illustrate, ITAMDirect provides Portales with a proactive
model for extracting real-time information about the District’s extensive
equipment inventory. According to Rackler, SchoolDude’s legendary
customer service also has helped his department implement the solutions,
allowing them to be more efficient and productive. “We received outstanding
technical support throughout the implementation,” he says. “In all this time,
we’ve probably called in for support half a dozen times. We’ve always received
immediate service from a live person. We also love that SchoolDude offers
online chat—few companies do. We think they have the best service there is.” Rev. 10.10.08
For more information contact SchoolDude at 1.877.868.3833
salesrequest@schooldude.com www.schooldude.com