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IT support for education businesses · Bristol & Bath · Since 2000

IT support for the education sector, done properly.

Independent IT support for private training providers, learning companies and education-sector organisations. Pay for the help you actually use — not by the learner, not by the term.

Talk to us about your organisation

Or call us on 0117 958 5964

What we do for education businesses

Full IT support for the private education sector, from the day-to-day to the strategic.

Everyday IT support

Helpdesk, staff support, device management, printers, Microsoft 365 fixes, the day-to-day. Senior engineers who know your setup — no ticket-queue strangers.

Microsoft 365 (with education licensing)

Setup, migration, ongoing support for Microsoft 365. We can advise on and provision education-tier licensing where your organisation qualifies for Microsoft's education pricing.

Cybersecurity & data protection

Learner data handled properly. Endpoint protection, MFA, security awareness. Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus certification support when you need to demonstrate compliance.

Networking & Wi-Fi

Business networks and Wi-Fi for offices, training rooms, and learning spaces. VPNs, VoIP, broadband and leased-line advice.

Learning platforms & video conferencing

The IT-side of your LMS, virtual classrooms, Teams and Zoom deployments. We support the tech underneath — we're not the platform vendor, but we make it work reliably.

Hardware & device management

Laptops, tablets, and staff devices — procurement, secure configuration, mobile device management, replacement cycles. We source it via our supplier network and get it set up before it lands on someone's desk.

Why Smooth IT for education-sector organisations?

Four things that make us a good fit for the education businesses we work with.

We understand the sector

Education-sector organisations have specific needs: learner data protection, sometimes eligibility for education-tier licensing, occasional compliance or funding-body scrutiny. We've supported education businesses for years and know the terrain.

Microsoft Partner

We're a certified Microsoft Partner. Where your organisation qualifies for Microsoft's education pricing (Academic, A1, A3, A5 licensing), we can help you access it and configure it properly.

Pay for what you use

£90/hour billed by the minute, or block hours pre-purchased at a discount that never expire. No per-learner or per-user subscription. No minimum spend. No lock-in.

Independent, locally focused

Bristol and Bath and the surrounding area. Independent, privately held. When you need someone in the room, we're rarely more than an hour away.

How the pay-as-you-go model works for education businesses

Most education-sector businesses we speak to have been offered one of two IT-support models: a per-user monthly contract with a large managed-service provider, or a rotating cast of freelancers each handling a slice of the estate.

The first is often expensive and includes plenty you don't need. The second doesn't scale when you're growing, and no single person ever owns the whole picture.

Smooth IT offers a middle path. You have a senior IT support team on-call, paid for as you use them, with the ability to pre-purchase block hours if you want budget predictability. Your internal IT person (if you have one) does the day-to-day; we back them up with the harder problems, projects, and specialist work such as Microsoft 365 migrations, Cyber Essentials certification, and network overhauls.

Education businesses often have uneven support needs — a burst of activity around a new intake or product launch, quiet stretches in between. Pay-as-you-go matches the spend to your actual pattern, without a per-user subscription paying for helpdesk capacity you didn't use.

Education IT support — common questions

What kinds of education-sector organisation do you work with?
Private training providers, learning companies, private educational organisations, online course businesses, and other organisations operating in the education sector. Anywhere from a small provider running a handful of courses to a growing training business scaling up. We occasionally support mainstream schools too, but our sweet spot is private education businesses that value senior IT expertise and pay full commercial rates for it.
Can you help with Microsoft education-tier licensing?
Yes. If your organisation qualifies for Microsoft's education pricing (Microsoft 365 Education A1, A3, A5 and similar), we can advise on eligibility, provision the licences, and configure the tenant appropriately. Microsoft's eligibility rules are specific — we'll help you work out whether they apply to your organisation before you commit to anything.
What about learner data protection and GDPR?
Handling personal data of learners (adults or minors) comes with real obligations under UK GDPR. We help clients set up their IT with appropriate access controls, encryption, audit logging, and retention policies — plus the Cyber Essentials or Cyber Essentials Plus certification if you need externally-verified assurance for funders, insurers, or your own clients.
How is the pay-as-you-go model suited to education businesses?
Education businesses often have uneven IT support needs — a burst around new-cohort onboarding, quieter periods between intakes, occasional bigger projects like platform migrations. Pay-as-you-go matches spend to actual use. Block hours give you budget predictability without committing to a fixed monthly contract. Together, that's a better commercial fit than a per-user MSP retainer for most private education organisations.
Do you support classrooms and physical learning environments?
We can — networking, Wi-Fi, AV setup, room-based devices — but it isn't our main offering. Our natural focus is on the IT that supports your business, your staff, your learner data, and the platforms you deliver learning through. If you need extensive on-site classroom-tech support, we'll be honest about whether we're the right fit.
Are you Cyber Essentials Plus certified?
Yes. We hold Cyber Essentials Plus ourselves, and we can help your organisation achieve either level of certification if you need it to satisfy funder, insurer, or contract requirements. See our Cyber Essentials page for how the process works.
Can you work alongside our internal IT team?
Yes — this is a common arrangement. Your internal person handles day-to-day; we provide senior expertise on tap for projects, tricky problems, and things they haven't come across before. Many education-sector organisations find this a better fit than paying for a full managed-service contract or hiring an extra senior IT hire.

Talk to us about your organisation's IT.

First conversation free. Whether you're a training provider, a private educational organisation, or a learning company, we'll be straight about whether we can help.

Talk to an engineer

Or call us on 0117 958 5964