School IT staff are some of the most stretched professionals in technology. One technician for hundreds of computers. Responsibilities ranging from network infrastructure to helping teachers with projectors. Budgets that force creative solutions. And users - students - who test every system, every boundary, every day.
The result is an endless treadmill of reactive work. Fixing computers that have "gone wrong." Removing software students installed. Troubleshooting why this machine is different from that machine. Reimaging labs that have become unusable. The strategic work - improvements, new systems, better solutions - gets pushed aside for constant firefighting.
Faronics Cloud breaks this cycle. By automating routine tasks and eliminating entire categories of problems, it gives school IT staff something precious: time. This guide examines exactly where that time comes from - the tasks that currently consume your day and how automation changes the equation.
The Tasks That Consume School IT Time
Before exploring solutions, let's be specific about what eats up school IT time. These are the daily, weekly, and termly tasks that keep technicians reactive rather than proactive:
Troubleshooting user-caused problems
The most time-consuming category. Students and staff change things - sometimes accidentally, sometimes deliberately - and computers stop working as expected:
• "The computer is running slowly" - bloated with temporary files and background processes
• "Something's wrong with the display" - settings changed
• "This program isn't working" - configuration modified
• "There's weird software on here" - students installed something
• "I can't find my files" - saved in the wrong place
• "It's acting strange" - vague symptoms requiring investigation
Each ticket requires walking to the machine, diagnosing the problem, fixing it, and documenting what happened. Multiply by dozens of incidents per week, and this becomes a full-time job in itself.
Malware and security incidents
Students click on things. They download files. They visit websites they shouldn't. The result:
• Malware infections requiring cleanup or reimaging
• Adware and browser hijackers degrading performance
• Potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) cluttering systems
• Security software disabled or misconfigured
• Ransomware threats (increasingly targeting schools)
Even with antivirus, some threats get through. Cleaning up infections is time-consuming, and the worst cases require complete reimaging.
Regular reimaging cycles
Without protection, school computers degrade over time. The typical response is periodic reimaging:
• End-of-term reimaging to "start fresh"
• Monthly or quarterly refreshes for heavily-used labs
• Reactive reimaging when machines become unusable
• Pre-exam reimaging to ensure consistency
Reimaging a single computer takes 30-60 minutes of hands-on time plus waiting. A 30-machine lab might take an entire day. Doing this regularly across multiple labs consumes weeks of IT time annually.
Manual update management
Windows updates need to happen, but managing them manually is painful:
• Scheduling time to update each lab
• Staying late or coming in early to avoid disrupting lessons
• Dealing with updates that fail or cause problems
• Tracking which machines are up to date
• Handling the "please don't turn off" notes and confused users
Chasing configuration inconsistencies
When every machine can drift independently, you end up with:
• "Works on that computer but not this one" complaints
• Different software versions across machines
• Inconsistent settings requiring individual attention
• Troubleshooting made harder by variation
• Difficulty rolling out changes consistently
What Faronics Cloud Automates
Here's where the time savings come from - the tasks that shift from manual effort to automatic operation:
Automatic problem resolution on reboot
Deep Freeze fundamentally changes how problems are resolved:
Before: "Computer is slow" → Walk to machine → Diagnose issue → Clean up files → Check for malware → Verify fixed → Document → 20-45 minutes
After: "Computer is slow" → "Please restart it" → Problem solved → 30 seconds
This isn't a workaround - it's a genuine fix. Rebooting restores the machine to its clean baseline. Whatever caused the slowdown is gone. No investigation needed. No residual problems. Teachers can do this themselves without calling IT.
The same applies to:
• Changed settings → Reboot restores them
• Installed software → Reboot removes it
• Corrupted configurations → Reboot fixes them
• Malware infections → Reboot eliminates them
• "Acting strange" → Reboot normalises it
Automatic malware elimination
Two layers of automation protect against malware:
Anti-Executable prevents execution. Malware that isn't on the whitelist simply can't run. Zero-day threats, ransomware, unwanted software - blocked before execution. No infection to clean up.
Deep Freeze removes anything that gets through. If something does execute during a session, it's wiped on reboot. No persistent infections. No manual cleanup. No reimaging.
The combination dramatically reduces security incidents. When they do occur, resolution is automatic rather than requiring IT intervention.
Elimination of regular reimaging
This is one of the biggest time savings:
Before: Reimage labs every term (or more frequently) because machines degrade from use.
After: Reimage only when changing the baseline (new software, major OS updates). Routine degradation doesn't happen because every reboot restores the baseline.
A school that previously spent several days per term reimaging labs now does that work perhaps once per year - and even then, it's for planned updates rather than emergency restoration.
Automated update management
Scheduled maintenance windows handle updates without manual intervention:
• Define when updates should happen (weekends, nights)
• Computers automatically thaw, update, and refreeze
• No need to stay late or come in early
• Updates become part of the frozen baseline
• Verification is a quick check, not hours of work
The process that used to consume evenings and weekends now runs automatically while you're home.
Automatic configuration consistency
Deep Freeze guarantees every computer in a lab has identical configuration:
• No drift between machines
• No "this one's different" troubleshooting
• Predictable environment for teachers and students
• Changes applied via policies reach all machines automatically
Long-Term Workload Reduction
The immediate time savings are significant, but the long-term effects compound:
Sustained reduction in support tickets
Schools using Faronics typically report significant drops in computer-related support requests:
• "Computer problems" become rare rather than constant
• Teachers resolve most issues themselves with a reboot
• Malware incidents drop to near zero
• Complaints about slow or broken machines largely disappear
This isn't a one-time benefit - ticket volumes stay low because the underlying causes are permanently addressed.
Extended hardware lifespan
Computers that maintain their baseline don't suffer the typical degradation:
• Performance stays consistent year after year
• No "these are getting old and slow" refresh cycles
• Hardware lasts until it actually fails, not until software makes it unusable
• Budget for replacements stretches further
The workload reduction extends beyond IT time to IT budgets.
Time for strategic work
With less firefighting, school IT staff can focus on improvements:
• Implementing new educational technology
• Improving network infrastructure
• Supporting teaching and learning initiatives
• Training staff on technology use
• Planning for future needs
• Actually taking holidays without everything falling apart
The shift from reactive to proactive changes what school IT can accomplish.
Reduced stress and improved job satisfaction
This matters more than many acknowledge:
• Fewer emergency calls during lessons
• Confidence that systems will work for exams
• Ability to plan work rather than constantly react
• Recognition for improvements rather than blame for problems
• Sustainable workload that doesn't lead to burnout
School IT staff often report feeling more in control and more satisfied with their work after implementing Faronics.
Quantifying the time savings
While every school is different, typical savings include:
• Troubleshooting: 50-80% reduction in time spent on computer problems
• Reimaging: Days per term → hours per year
• Updates: Hours of manual work → minutes of verification
• Malware incidents: Near elimination
• Overall: Hours per week freed up for other priorities
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this mean we need less IT staff?
That's a policy decision for your school. What it means is that existing staff can accomplish more - either handling a larger device estate, taking on new projects, or simply maintaining a sustainable workload. Many schools are already under-staffed; this helps current staff cope better rather than justifying cuts.
How quickly do we see time savings?
Initial setup takes some time - deploying agents, configuring policies, creating baselines. But once operational, you see immediate reduction in support issues. Most schools report noticeable improvement within the first few weeks.
What about the time needed to manage Faronics Cloud itself?
Once configured, Faronics Cloud requires minimal ongoing attention. Check the dashboard occasionally, verify maintenance completed, update whitelists when new software is needed. This is minutes per week, not hours - far less than the time saved on troubleshooting and reimaging.
Will teachers actually restart computers instead of calling IT?
They do when they learn it actually works. Once teachers see that a restart genuinely fixes problems (rather than being a fob-off), they use it. Some brief training helps - explain that computers reset to a clean state, so restarting is a real solution. Most teachers prefer solving problems immediately rather than waiting for IT.
What if we have very old computers?
Deep Freeze can actually help old computers perform better by preventing the degradation that makes them feel slow. Hardware that was struggling under years of accumulated cruft often runs noticeably better when frozen at a clean baseline.
The Bottom Line: Time Back for What Matters
Faronics Cloud reduces school IT workload by automating the routine and eliminating the unnecessary. Problems that used to require investigation and manual fixing now resolve automatically on reboot. Malware that used to require cleanup can't persist. Reimaging cycles that consumed days become yearly rather than termly. Updates that required late nights happen automatically while you're home.
The result is time - time that can go toward improvements instead of firefighting, toward strategic work instead of reactive fixes, toward sustainable workloads instead of constant stress.
For school IT teams that never seem to have enough hours, that's not just efficiency. That's transformation.
Ready to Get Your Time Back?
Try Faronics Cloud free for 30 days. See how automation changes your workload.
