Ensure fairness of access to valuable IT resources
This development took place at Siso due to several university visits where it became apparent that some universities had far too many computers, and others didn’t have enough.
People have been booking computers with Smarthub for years, but what they haven’t been doing is actually locking down the computers so you could only access them if you had a Smarthub booking.
The PC booking tool is an optional module for Smarthub that allows you to lock down your organisations computers to limit their access only to users that have booked the device via Smarthub and forcing them to enter their email address when sat at the computer. It is compatible with Windows and Mac.
The benefits of this software can bring better management and allocation of resources, reducing the need for excess hardware, but also providing a more streamlined student experience.
Using Smarthub you are able to put in 2D floor plans showing the individual PCs within a room and their availability, then with our ‘Scan to Book’ feature on our app you can simply scan a QR code to make a booking.
Once sat using the computer the session details will be listed and the user can see how long they have left of their session. They can also extend their session if there are any times available after their slot.
As you are probably aware Smarthub already includes a vast range of administrative control over assets, meaning you can limit bookings by asset group – one computer booking at a time over the entire university for instance, or by course – perhaps giving MA students more access to specific machines than BA students; you might even want to have different length booking slots depending on the user.
The control options have been developed over many years and should allow you virtually any set-up that you require.
These spotlights are intended, as the name suggests, to bring to your attention options that you didn’t know were available from the team here at Siso.
If you think PC Booking might be of use to your institution, or you want to know more about the features available or see a demo then just get in touch at [email protected] or put in a ticket on our support site.
