Service requirements
The third area where there are options to consider comes under the general heading of services.
Any EDRM solution you purchase just like any IT solution is made up of a combination of software, hardware and services.
As long as you have a modern IT infrastructure the only hardware you will probably need for your EDRM solution will be scanning equipment and dedicated server/s plus additional networked storage. If your IT infrastructure is ageing you may need new desktop PCs, high resolution displays and new switches and/or cabling to upgrade parts of your network.
For software you will need to purchase licenses for the software modules you need to support the functions you have identified in the section on System functions.
The general heading of services covers a lot of related areas. To decide your service requirements you need to look at how you want to procure the solution and what tasks you are happy to take ownership of and what tasks you require the supplier or a third party to perform.
At one extreme you could purchase the hardware and software and set about implementing the solution internally using your ICT department and your project manager and your records manager.
At the other extreme you could out source the entire project and task a supplier/systems integrator with total responsibility for selecting the hardware and software, procuring it, implementing it on your IT infrastructure and configuring it and providing all the services required to ensure that the solution meets your requirements.
We are aware of a small number of large public sector bodies who have purchased the hardware and software and implemented the solution internally. This is exceptional and we would not recommend that education organisations take that approach.
We are also aware of some public sector bodies who have taken the outsource approach. They are normally bodies who have already outsourced the management of their IT infrastructure and core applications to a large outsourcing company already. In that situation it is logical to add EDRM to that contract.
For most education organisations the right solution will be between those two extremes. We divide the services that you should consider into core and additional services.
