K-12 Perspective on Cloud Computing Services: A Vision for Shared Services and Cloud Computing in North Carolina s Schools

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1 K-12 Perspective on Cloud Computing Services: A Vision for Shared Services and Cloud Computing in North Carolina s Schools Neill Kimrey Director, Instructional Technology NCDPI February 2010

2 How does Wikipedia Define Shared Services and Cloud Computing? Shared Services refers to the provision of a service by one part of an organization or group where that service had previously been found in more than one part of the organization or group. Cloud Computing is defined as Internet- ("cloud-") based development and use of computer technology.

3 The Stage is Set. The NC School Connectivity Initiative has provided a fertile ground for leveraging the power and scale of shared services and cloud computing. Established through NC Senate Bill 1741, the NCSCI is a partnership between the North Carolina Department of Instruction, the NCSU Friday Institute, MCNC, NC Information Technology Services, and e- NC Authority

4 The Stage is Set. Key Players in the NCSCI The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction The NCSU Friday Institute: Innovation in Education, Coordination of Efforts, Evaluation of Initiative MCNC: The network NC Information Technology Services: Broker services for last mile connections e-nc Authority: Key advocate for home connectivity

5 The Stage is Set. Since June of 2008, the NCSCI has received $44 million in state funds. These funds primarily pay for school district connections to the NC Research and Education Network (NCREN) and reimburse K12 school districts for the delta between ISP/WAN/LAN costs and what erate reimburses.

6 The Stage is Set. Currently, all School districts are connected to the NCREN connection. Initial connections are 100M circuits. Based on usage, several LEAs have recently been upgraded to 250M circuits. Funding will not be available for non- NCREN Internet circuits after June 30, 2013.

7 Why Should Our Schools and LEAs Be Passionate? The need for robust networks, up-to-date computers, operating systems, and applications is growing. K12 Technology budgets are shrinking.

8 What Can Shared Services and Cloud Computing Provide? Decreased School District costs A Shift from Technology to Instruction Increased IT Efficiency Increased IT Reliability

9 What Can Shared Services and Cloud Computing Provide? Decreased LEA Costs There is a economy of scale cost savings when infrastructure is purchased as a service. Allows the LEA to pay for what is used, instead of what is present. Shifts power, HVAC, and back-up costs to the cloud.

10 What Can Shared Services and Cloud Computing Provide? A Shift From Technology to Instruction The NCSU Friday Institute estimates that transitioning server hosting and management to cloud providers and transitioning infrastructure planning and provider management to MCNC could free up on average one technical FTE per LEA. This funding could be used for instructional support personnel.

11 What Can Shared Services and Cloud Computing Provide? Increased IT Efficiency Server virtualization can leverage more efficient use of hardware. Cloud-based single server instances can be used to support common services across LEAs. Virtualized and cloud-based server infrastructure can be built to automatically scale resources to meet demand.

12 What Can Shared Services and Cloud Computing Provide? Increased Reliability Hosted servers in data centers with reliable and resilient power, cooling, and infrastructure increase uptime. Multiple data centers make automated back-ups possible. Centrally-located infrastructure can be more easily secured.

13 What Is Being Done? MCNC Collaborative Services Working Group Advisory groups that focus on tools and technologies to improve P20 education in North Carolina. The CSWG makes recommendations from the community to the MCNC Advisory Structure, and in turn to the NC Education Cabinet

14 What Is Being Done? K12 Shared Services Task Force K12-specific MCNC Collaborative Services Work Group NCDPI, School District, and MCNC representation This Task Force will be making recommendations on how current and future funding can be used to maximize potential.

15 What Is Being Done? Pilots North Carolina Virtual Public School is rolling out a virtual desktop pilot Two school districts have joined InCommon to facilitate directory-based services through Federated ID Management Several school districts are using Google s cloud-based apps, including gmail

16 What Is Being Done? Pilots NC DPI is studying the possibility of moving to cloud-based ; this could save the agency $ yearly If extended to the K12 entities in the state, TCO could approach $8 million savings over five years MCNC is considering pilots for cloud-based backup, shared network & management services, and virtualized business applications

17 What Is Next? Cooperation and Synergy NC K12 education, Community College, and University systems must work together to accomplish common goals Will lead to innovative, efficient, and effective use of technology across P20 education in our state. Example: NC Early Colleges

18 Works Cited Cloud Computing. wiki/cloud_computing NC Education Cloud Proposal. connectivity.fi.ncsu.edu/nclti/ Shared Services. wiki/shared_services

19 Questions & Comments Neill Kimrey Director, Instructional Technology NCDPI