District/School Administration PK-16 Program Support
Educational Technology

1998 EdTech Update Report

ETIS Summary

Educational Technology Integration Services (ETIS) allows public schools and libraries to procure technology goods and services in a cost-effective and streamlined manner. To date, Massachusetts schools have used ETIS to purchase over $15,000,000 worth of products and services.

Educational Technology Integration Services (ETIS) was launched in May, 1997 as a means for public schools (and now public libraries) to easily procure technology goods and services. Before ETIS, public schools had only two technology procurement options—a separate competitive bid process conducted under M.G.L. c. 30B, and an existing statewide "blanket" contract. The separate bid process, frequently requiring six months to complete, was simply too cumbersome to meet the dynamic demands of an educational technology procurement. The statewide blanket contract was not developed specifically for the educational technology market, which sometimes requires a close relationship between vendor and consumer. ETIS offers a level of quality, simplicity, and savings that meets the unique procurement needs of public education.

A procurement through ETIS involves each of the six steps listed below. At the outset of Step 5, but before the project actually begins, the selected vendor is required to submit cost disclosure templates to the ETIS management team. The templates ensure all vendor pricing (hourly rates, sale price of hardware and software, etc.) is reasonable within the educational technology market. This rigorous analysis has saved school districts nearly $300,000 thus far—money that is often immediately reinvested in the district's technology procurement.

The ETIS-required vendor templates also calculate overhead costs on the project. This information is encapsulated in the Vendor Past Performance Summary (see Step 3 above). The summary, posted to the ETIS website, provides a quantitative measure of vendor efficiency and value. Also, the public posting of project overhead acts to apply consistent pressure on vendors to keep their rates at the height of competitiveness.

The accompanying graphs show the growing popularity of ETIS and the resulting decline in project overhead over time.

Districts have truly embraced ETIS. Over 12 new ETIS projects break ground each week and many teachers and administrators have contacted ESE to express their satisfaction with the program. Of course, the ETIS management team often receives feedback with suggestions and requests. This feedback resulted in the formation of ETIS II (April, 1998) and ETIS III (October, 1998).

ETIS II allowed manufacturers of computing hardware to become approved ETIS vendors. Since manufacturers occupy a much different place in the market than resellers, a separate ETIS list was needed. Some of the disclosure elements are not required of manufacturers, but other important conditions are necessary. Most importantly, all manufacturers approved under ETIS II have guaranteed that ETIS pricing is always the lowest available to any educational entity nationwide—regardless of configuration or quantity purchased. For example, a small school district, requiring just one computer, configured exactly to its specifications, automatically has the buying power of New York City. For the purchase of computers, ETIS has forged special alliances with Apple and Dell. For those with less specific needs Dell offers even greater discounts called "ETIS bundles." The bundles are usually updated once per month and are offered as "while supplies last." ETIS Bundles, as well as individually configured computers, are available for personal purchase by educators and administrators (as long as the products are shipped to the school in which they are employed).

ETIS III establishes a separate approved vendor list for providers of on-line instructional content. ETIS III, which is just underway, will ultimately offer an impressive array of teaching tools far outside the realm of textbooks. Soon, teachers will be able to download interactive, up-to-date content that can be presented on its own or be integrated with lesson plans, tests, writing assignments, and field trips.

Another new phase of ETIS includes a partnership between the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the State's Operational Services Division which will forge a powerful software buying partnership. Using the strength of OSDs agreement with a major software vendor, a great deal of software used in education, from the esoteric to the mainstream, will be available at unprecedented discounts.

ETIS Vendor List The CO/OP Compucom formerly: CIC Systems The Computer Merchant ComputerLand Data Systems Network Corp. Garren/Shay Associates GE Capital Info. Tech. JCI Communications LAN Tamers Lincoln1.Com Merrimack Education Center Micro Warehouse N.E. Computer Resources Net Daemons Associates NetTeks New Media Artists PC Build Pinnacle Training Retrofit Systems Engineering, Inc. Systems Supply, Inc. Systems, Software, Support (3-SI) Triumph Technologies UNICOM - MicroAge Whalley Computer Assoc.

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