Page 17 - THE Journal Innovation in Education, October 2021

brought into a consolidation process, the licensing, renewals, and pricing for multiple titles can be assessed, reduced and controlled within an interface that’s easy to use. Then it’s also easy to see what products and seats you’ve got, your pricing, your renewal and your renewal dates.
You can take one look at the Carahsoft product catalog and see that it’s large enough to include just about every cloud software title you can think of — DocuSign, AWS, and LinkedIn Learning, all the way to Adobe and Microsoft products. They’ve got everything. And, even better, all of these cloud solutions can be purchased through the E&I Carahsoft contract. You can also decrease your costs, sometimes dramatically, when you consolidate all of your licensing. Carahsoft helps you maintain your sanity by not having to manage a million different places where teachers and staff buy their products.
How would a school district take advantage of the E&I Carahsoft contract?
The first step is to visit E&I’s Carahsoft microsite, where you’ll find background, contract, and ordering information, along with a link to the website. When you’re ordering products and services covered under the contract, you should speak with us or go to Carahsoft directly and let them know you want to use the E&I Carahsoft contract.
You can also receive guidance on licensing along with a certified implementation/integration service provider for the
cloud product or service you’d like to use. Be sure to provide Carahsoft with the contract number from our microsite. Carahsoft will then list the E&I Carahsoft contract as a preferred contract vehicle for you.
Can you offer any additional advice to K-12 folks besides having their districts join the cooperative? K-12 professionals are continually trying to keep their heads above water. They’re drowning in paperwork, processes, regulations and general bureaucracy. And they just need relief. If you’ve got 100 different contracts, every time you touch those contracts to manage them, support them,
make amendments, check that they meet state and federal compliance guidelines, and more, it increases the total cost of ownership for every one of those cloud products and services. E&I helps you reduce this work, so that you can spend more time and energy in what you love to do, which is helping students learn.
Learn more about E&I Cooperative Services and its Carahsoft contract online.
Keith Fowlkes is the vice president of technology for E&I Cooperative Services. Previously, Keith served as CIO for Centre College in Kentucky, the University of Virginia’s College at Wise and Saint Mary’s College. He is a frequent speaker and author on technology in education.
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