The New Jersey School Boards Association has awarded Carahsoft Technology Corp a contract for VMware software, hardware, cloud and professional services. Finalized in August, the agreement with Carahsoft, a leading government IT solutions provider based in Virginia, promises to make the benefits of virtualization readily available to the state’s local school districts and charter schools, according to NJSBA officials.
The agreement will help public school districts and charter schools reduce costs and simplify procurement.
“Our goal is to reduce school districts’ costs of purchasing the technology necessary to meet 21st century digital learning requirements,” said Dr. Lawrence S. Feinsod, NJSBA executive director. “We look forward to working with Carahsoft and its resellers to help our members procure and leverage cloud technologies to enhance teaching and learning and advance student achievement.”
The contract award supports NJSBA’s Technology for Education and Career (TEC) program, an initiative that assists schools by providing cost-saving alternatives for creating, establishing and continuing the most current digital learning opportunities available for students. In addition to helping schools keep up with the latest in digital learning, the tools, services and training available through NJSBA’s TEC help schools enhance disaster-recovery capabilities and prepare for online student assessments.
VMware’s entire product line—including VMware software, hardware and services, AirWatch by VMware, and additional EMC VxRail appliances—will be available to NJSBA’s members at a pre-negotiated discounted rate.
As VMware’s master government aggregator and largest U.S. public sector distributor, Carahsoft supports an extensive ecosystem of authorized VMware Solution Provider partners who will assist NJSBA members with implementation, support, professional development, and training for all offered VMware services and solutions under the contract. Carahsoft will provide fulfillment services and will work with NJSBA to inform its members about the services and reach out to academic institutions and school board associations nationwide through the contract’s cooperative purchasing clauses.
“Carahsoft and our partners are honored to help academic institutions reduce their capital and operating expenses and improve learning by using VMware solutions to build flexible, automated infrastructures,” said Will Jones, senior vice president of VMware Solutions at Carahsoft.