School innovation that pays for itself

Arena works with many clients in the education sector, helping them with the common issues they face relating to the management, control and security of their vital documents. In addition to copy and print, and managed print services, Arena Group has developed mstore for Education, its own electronic document and records management system (EDRMS). mstore delivers a user-friendly mechanism to improve the whole document storage, retrieval and archiving process, whilst adding a level of security and functionality to improve legal compliance and the security of critical files.

Follow @ArenaGroup

Website: www.arenagroup.net/ Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Image courtesy of supplier.

Making the most of technology does not have to be an expensive luxury for schools. A recent study of four education organisations - one Further Education college and three Secondary schools - demonstrated that by implementing mstore for education, Arena’s electronic document management platform, significant returns on investment can be gained, making this a cost-effective choice.

Each one of the four organisations uses mstore in different ways to support critical parts of their operations. The FE college is using mstore for HR records. The Secondary schools, meanwhile, have adopted the resource for:

Pupil/ex-pupil records in one instance;
Across multiple departments in another; and
As an archive-only solution for ex-pupils, finance and HR documents in the third.

Using raw data from the mstore history logs and overall counts of documents/pages stored, the following illustrates the value of the solution in terms of time-savings (ie retrieval time) and document actions (ie prints and filing) saved:

Average time savings equated an average of £7,250 per year, with one organisation saving an impressive £13,600 each year. This resource “One organisation saved an impressive £13,600 each year.”cost is incurred every time a document is retrieved from paper filing, along with the second trip to return the paper file to storage. This does not include those times when the right document or file is found to be missing, or when more remote paper archives need to be accessed.

Direct cost savings of up to £6,800 per year were estimated in addition to the above - an average of £5,100 per year with the exception of the archive-only solution. Savings were achieved particularly relating to reduced print and mailing costs. But with the increasing requirement to ensure personal data is securely stored and access controlled, costs of storage or transportation could add to this total significantly.

Given these cost reductions above alone, the initial system investment in mstore for education could be returned in 8.5 months.

Any rise in requests for personal data through the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) from May, exercised as right to “GDPR could put further pressure on scarce school resources.”erasure or subject access requests, could put further pressure on scarce school resources. Ensuring that the right documents or information is only a click or two away will further enhance the financial appeal of moving away from cumbersome and archaic paper-based systems, such as school and personnel records.

This demonstrates that effective technology - resources enabling safeguarding, compliance, and productivity, as well as removing unwieldy and unsecure archives - can be embraced within limited school budgets. mstore for education delivers a wealth of benefits, and transforming how school teams work with paper for the better, bringing innovation within grasp and transforming the workload of key staff.

Check out the usage analysis study in more detail, and find our recent webinar on practical approaches to the GDPR for education, at www.arenagroup.net/education.

Want to receive cutting-edge insights from leading educators each week? Sign up to our Community Update and be part of the action!