Article: How Smart RFPs Lead to Smart Decisions

Compatibility and Interoperability

With all the software and hardware involved in the student journey today, tech leaders already know that compatibility and interoperability are the first factors to consider. Vendors that build these qualities into their solutions can help schools and institutions manage costs and provide a user-friendly experience, which helps keep solutions in use, not in closets. 

Greater compatibility means fewer required platforms, apps, and required training, while greater interoperability means greater flexibility and fewer hardware components. A highly compatible software solution might look like Logitech’s CollabOS System. CollabOS is a unifying operating system running on select Logitech video collaboration devices. It’s integrated with popular video conferencing and scheduling services such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet, so that educators can hold hybrid lessons effortlessly without even using a computer. It also enables interoperability for the devices it runs on, letting them all talk to each other without a tangle of cords and adapters.

Interoperability not only enhances the present but also allows tech to adapt to the future. If a school starts on a device with a 3.5 mm AUX port and changes to one that works via USB-C, a solution like the Logitech Zone Learn Wired Headset can make the switch seamless. It features three swappable cord options, which saves tech leaders from having to find all-new headsets if they change solutions. With less to buy, less to maintain, and less that can break or wear out, IT workload drops while learning is elevated.

User Needs

When writing an RFP, remember to conduct interviews with faculty, students, and any other likely end users. Home in on the technical specifications and features they’re looking for, what has worked and not worked for them in the past, and how they plan to use their edtech. Remember to listen to what they might not know to ask for. The more insight drawn out of their answers, the more specific the RFP can be. That helps bring forward technology partners who can meet the unique needs of each school’s students and faculty.

“If a solution doesn’t meet my needs, it doesn’t matter if you’re giving it away — it doesn’t do me any good. After that, I ask whether it can exceed my needs. Can it do more than I even thought of?”

• Jon Hamilton, Audio Visual Manager at Emory University School of Medicine

Warranty and Support

A strong warranty and robust support can help IT teams keep their solutions up to date, troubleshoot, and avoid disruptions if something breaks or needs to be replaced. Make sure to include a section in the RFP about the kind of assistance providers are prepared to offer after a purchase, and how long the offer lasts. Many companies provide tiered systems of assistance. For example, Logitech Services features three options up to institution-level support, with 24/7 help desk access, a dedicated service manager for each account, and onsite spares for instant hardware replacements. 

Also, don’t forget that support can be a design feature rather than something to think about after the fact. Logitech Sync lets IT teams configure and update hardware remotely, automate tasks and alerts, and maximize the performance of their edtech inventory without even activating their service plan.

Sustainability

85 percent of students think institutions should focus on sustainability. As more and more technology makes its way onto campuses and into schools, reducing the environmental impact of devices will be key for creating sustainable education models for the future.

Include RFP questions for vendors that reveal their cultures of sustainability. Do they use eco-friendly materials for their solutions? Are they committed to transparency around their environmental impact? For example, Logitech’s Carbon Clarity program measures the carbon emissions of each Logitech product across its lifespan, from manufacture to end-of-life, and displays that number on the packaging. This allows IT and tech leaders to make more sustainable purchase decisions, holds us accountable, and informs future design choices. Even though schools might not have to report their carbon footprint now, new sustainability policies may require it in the future.

Along with carbon clarity, Logitech is enthusiastically pursuing other Climate Positive initiatives. These include making 3 in 4 products with next-life plastic, using renewable energy, and working with our value chain partners to reduce our carbon emissions by 90 percent by 2030, with a final goal of net-zero by 2047. As a result of these efforts, Logitech is in the top 1 percent of companies for sustainability, with a Platinum rating by EcoVadis.