LGfL selects 'simplicity' of CentraStage over 'over-complicated' Kaseya

Simplicity of user interface made LGfL select CentraStage's remote management tool

The London Grid for Learning (LGfL), a charity that provides services for schools, selected managed services provider CentraStage's remote systems management tool because the alternative from rival Kaseya was "too complicated", according to Darren King, network manager at London Borough of Sutton.

King was part of the "technical theory group" that helped LGfL select its new remote systems management software. LGfL is owned by all 33 London boroughs and aims to provide services and online learning resources to London schools.

It needed a solution that could allow its IT department to view, manage and control its devices. King told Computing that both CentraStage and Kaseya were interested in providing the required services, while Microsoft's System Center was also initially discussed.

"The Borough of Sutton, which I work for, had CentraStage installed already so I knew its benefits, and another borough's network manager had Kaseya implemented, so we came together to outline the pros and cons of each and then report these back to the LGfL," King said.

He explained that the main difference between the two options was the ease of use of CentraStage.

"It was the simplicity of the CentraStage product [which appealed to us]. It carries out some complicated functions but it has a simple interface that we felt the majority of LGfL staff could benefit from.

"Kaseya is very advanced, and in some ways offered a more configurable and customisable system than CentraStage. However, the flip-side to this is that it was a much more complicated system to use. We would need to provide more training and support to school users trying to make use of the Kasaya product," he said.

King explained that CentraStage was built with more understanding and was simpler to use.

"CentraStage still provided all of the functions and features we were looking for and presented a much simpler user interface, meaning it would more likely be used by schools looking for a simple yet highly functional solution for remote support, audit, software deployment and device management," he said.

Simplicity was key as many smaller schools, particularly primary schools, do not have a dedicated technical member of staff.

"A system that is simpler to use will suit them far better than something highly configurable with hundreds of options but which is also more complicated," King said.

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LGfL selects 'simplicity' of CentraStage over 'over-complicated' Kaseya

Simplicity of user interface made LGfL select CentraStage's remote management tool

King said that after initially looking at the products in September 2011, the implementation process started in February 2012, and its benefits have already been clear now the project has completed.

"It is a good product – it does what it says. It was easy to maintain especially as it is hosted on Amazon Web Services. It has zero hosting cost and is reliable. It is also easier to support someone from anywhere on the globe," he said.

The CentraStage agent is installed onto all of LGfL's devices, PCs and servers and each agent reports back to CentraStage's central system with performance data and information on which software licences are installed, for example.

LGfL offered part of the chosen product – its reporting and auditing functions – for free to schools within their subscription package.

LGfL's CEO Brian Durrant told Computing that CentraStage offered a suite of facilities that matched the schools' requirements.

"We were pleased to be able to negotiate an arrangement with CentraStage that meant that this was going to be a favourable aggregated procurement for London schools. CentraStage added a ‘Rolls-Royce' facility to our portfolio that was affordable," he said.

Durrant added that LGfL "don't just add anything" into their services suite and have three main criteria before they go ahead with any solution.

"It has to be something the school needs and there has to be a compelling business case for buying it. We felt in this case that the economy of scale was significant, and the marginal cost in terms of adding CentraStage to our offering was sufficiently compelling for us to do so.

"The third point is it has to be affordable and it fitted with all three of our criteria," he said.