Dave Turner, CEO of GroupLink Corporation, announces a new nationwide K–12 donation program.
ESD: We've been dying to hear about this announcement from GroupLink! Please tell us what the GroupLink Gives Back program is and why this is such a big announcement for our K–12 readers?
DT: The ‘GroupLink Gives Back’ program is brand new, announced first this week at NECC. This program will put much needed cost-saving software in the hands of many well-deserving K–12 districts over the next year.
Each month for the next 12 months, GroupLink and its partners will donate a license or subscription to the everything HelpDesk™ [K–12 edition] software to a pre-qualified district somewhere in the U.S. Even though the value of the software donated is already several thousand dollars, each K–12 district using the software will save hundreds of thousands of dollars, applying best-practices IT and facility support, over the life of its use.
ESD: So this is free software donated once a month to a K–12 district, correct?
DT: That's right!
ESD: The GroupLink Gives Back program sounds great, but could you tell us exactly what the GroupLink everything HelpDesk software does? What is it used for?
DT: In a nutshell, the software saves K–12 organizations time and money. The everything HelpDesk application saves the district money by increasing efficiency and reducing its IT and facility support costs. In technical terms, it helps the district's IT and facilities departments do three things very well: easily apply best-practices in support services; report on key performance indicators like successes and opportunities for improvement; and quickly automate many support functions. It's very user-friendly because it is Web based and PDA based. Our K–12 users love it and start using it quickly.
ESD: Can you give us an example of how a K–12 organization saves time and money using GroupLink's everything HelpDesk?
DT: The Region 18 Education Service Center located in Midland, Texas is a great example. Region 18 services 33 public schools, covering 38,000 square miles of Texas, making them the largest service center in Texas, as far as land area is concerned. Because of this huge area, Region 18 needed a solution that all of its end-users could access no matter where they were located.
Region 18 was using open-source help desk software that did not meet its needs. It did not integrate with their current systems, nor was there any support given with the open source solution. With the implementation of everything HelpDesk solution, and its key integration with Region 18’s technology, Region 18 has been able to become much more effective and efficient. More importantly, Region 18 has been able to save valuable time and resources. It is able to support schools that would have never been able to afford a help desk solution. Region 18 now has the ability to service schools no matter where they are located. GroupLink has been able to give back through the savings in time and resources for Region 18!
ESD: This sounds like a great application and contribution to the K–12 community and great GroupLink Gives Back program. You said that a K–12 district must qualify to be part of the GroupLink Gives Back program. How can a district qualify?
DT: Stop by our booth number 5028, or visit our Web site www.grouplink.net for more details and information on how to apply.
ESD: Thank you for your time Mr. Turner. Do you have any last comment or suggestion for our readers?
DT: I just want to say ‘thank you’ to the K–12 community in general. I look forward to meeting many of you! We are thrilled to be working with you all and thrilled to give back in this small way!
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