IT is one of the fastest moving industries in the world. However, for far too long, schools have been held back and stuck with old, complex and costly systems. This has primarily been because of a lack of IT strategy, but also due to a lack of appetite for cultural change. Schools that have been willing to embrace change have usually lacked the skills and expertise to implement these changes. This has resulted in schools having to turn to 3rd parties and managed service providers to develop their IT strategies. These companies tend not to understand the school ethos and in some cases are more focused on profit making and protecting their own interests. Schools usually end up tied in to costly and lengthy contracts, fundamentally hurting their budgets and thus robbing the children of the resources to give them the best possible start in life for a digital future.