Sustainable Virtual Conferencing for Schools in 2021

How Virtual Conferencing became a sustainable reality for Eastburn School

Eastburn Junior and Infant School is a small community school in Keighley, West Yorkshire. The school is a firm believer in ‘Building Learning Power’, which gives children a sound foundation to enjoy new challenges, and fulfil their potential through resilience and hard work. In keeping with its longer term approach, Eastburn is also a strong advocate of green initiatives and Virtual Conferencing for Schools that reduce waste and damage to the planet.

School Telecom Challenges

Like many schools forced into lockdown, Eastburn quickly faced up to the challenge of sourcing equipment to support new ways of working. Staff needed to stay in touch and communicate effectively with various working remotely.

The school organised video and file sharing via Zoom and Microsoft Teams but needed a stable wireless audio conference integration to pull all the communications together. Unfortunately, the initial solution – to have video meetings over webcams – proved hopelessly unreliable, with lost connections, poor reception and uneven broadcasting.

That left Eastburn needing to rapidly source an effective conferencing solution to enable a more reliable, immersive virtual meeting experience for its staff.

One suggestion, initially considered because of a lack of available alternatives, was for a brand new, top-of-the-range IP conference solution. This would have required engineering services to install and re-programming of their existing telephone system, which was ultimately rejected due to the long lead time and high price tag.

Were there any other cost-effective options the school could try?

Our Refurbished Phones Proposal

Eastburn approached us, and over the phone we were quickly able to assess their needs, before coming up with a viable proposal: what about refurbished?

We do supply new equipment if required, but we are also strong champions of a circular economy, and a leading remanufacturer in our own right of previously-used telecoms and IT equipment. Far from being a second-best alternative, refurbished equipment offers huge savings over buying new, and that’s why smart buyers in their droves are switching to sustainable options like this.

Our greener, budget-conscious suggestion fitted perfectly with the school’s own ethos and its commitment towards more sustainable solutions. We promised to provide a cost-effective conference solution for employees on site, plus headsets for remote/ home workers, all within a specified 72 hour timeframe.

To keep costs down, we offered an entry level Grade A refurbished USB conference solution. We dispatched Jabra Speak 410 speakerphone and Bluetooth / wireless Plantronics plug-and-play headset (USB) devices on a next-day delivery service, on the basis that if staff were not happy with the quality, or it just wasn’t right for them, we would take the units back and offer a different solution.

The school tested the devices promptly and told us they were extremely happy with the service and quality of our products.

“Buying refurbished stock is always our aim if possible, to reduce our environmental impact. I can honestly say we would not have known it was refurbished if you hadn’t told us! Very happy to recommend you whole-heartedly.” (David Hardman, Facilities Manager)

Benefits of Virtual Conferencing for Schools

In a short space of time we were able to equip the school with exactly what they needed – a low-cost, reliable internal video conferencing solution. The equipment we supplied has delivered many benefits including:

• Improved Connectivity – Speakerphones solved all the communication and connection problems, working flawlessly, and being well received by all.
• Greater Mobility – Instead of being tied to one location, staff have been able to offer training and support on the move, with universal headset connectivity across the board.
• Flexible Communication – Meetings between teachers have been possible, either socially-distanced in the same room, in offices around the school, or for people working from home.
• Telecom Cost Savings – On hardware alone the school saved over 70% with our refurbished solution, and that’s without taking into consideration the additional professional services/ installation costs which they would have paid on top for other options.
• Environmental Rewards – Buying Refurbished saves money and improves sustainability, and gives the school something meaningful and laudable to shout about in newsletters for parents and children.

“I was very impressed with your knowledge, the speed of service and your company culture.” (David Hardman, Facilities Manager)

Why Buy Refurbished Telecoms?

As Eastburn discovered, there are many advantages to buying refurbished equipment, including:

• Prolongs cash flow
• Immediate availability
• Sustainability
• High specifications for less
• Compatibility with older, existing devices
• Vast choice of equipment
• Access to quality remanufacturing schemes
• Pre-installed software saves time
• 36 Month warranty on all equipment

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Why Our Virtual Conferencing for Schools?

Founded in 1999, Comms Warehouse offers a comprehensive range of new and refurbished voice and data solutions to both Private and Public Sector organisations.

We supply cost-effective and sustainable products wherever possible to help our clients achieve their budgetary and environmental goals.

We offer a buy-back programme for redundant Telecoms or IT equipment, and a tree-planting scheme as part of our refurbished laptops programme. Please email or call us on 0203 7642 655 for latest deals on refurbished equipment, and immediate assistance on any virtual video conferencing installations.