St. Bernard’s iPrism(R) Puts Rochester CUSD at the Head of the Class for E-Rate Funding
St. Bernard Software, Inc. (OTCBB: SBSW), a global provider of security and hosted office solutions for small and midsize businesses (SMBs), today announced Rochester CUSD relies on iPrism, St. Bernard’s Internet-filtering appliance, to maintain productive online activity for students and faculty. The school district employs 135 staff members and educates over 2,400 students across four campuses in grades K-12.
Since installing iPrism, Rochester CUSD effortlessly meets E-Rate funding requirements, which allowed the institution to receive nearly $17,000 for the 2005-2006 school year. E-Rate is a federal program that provides eligible public schools and libraries discounts on approved telecommunications, Internet access and internal connections costs.
A recent E-Rate review from the Illinois State Board of Education revealed that Rochester CUSD was the only school in the district to date that had a solution in place which auditors were unable to compromise by accessing inappropriate Web sites. iPrism allows both students and staff to more efficiently use their time online, preventing access to non-educational, or otherwise ‘inappropriate’, sites. Rochester CUSD estimates that the appliance eliminates a minimum of 3,600 hours per year of unproductive student computer use.
iPrism also saves the district $5,400 a year on technology support costs due to its easy administration and simple configuration and management. As a dedicated appliance, iPrism significantly decreases the amount of time the school’s IT department spends addressing content-filtering requirements, which previously monopolized several hours a week. As the IT staff is no longer overwhelmed with day-to-day maintenance requests, they are able to focus on other more strategic tasks.
“iPrism is a dependable, all-in-one appliance that is extremely simple to manage, and ultimately supports the educational process by allowing faculty to utilize technology in the classroom,” said Tom Woodruff, director of technology services at Rochester CUSD. “Since installing the appliance, we easily meet E-Rate funding requirements, which helps alleviate some financial stress from the school. It has also lifted a tremendous burden off the IT staff, allowing us to concentrate on other more pressing issues at hand.”
Prior to iPrism, Rochester CUSD was working with a different Web-filtering solution that consumed a large portion of the IT department’s time due to it often failing to function properly. In addition, the product frequently neglected to block inappropriate Web sites on account of its inaccurate URL database, which put the district at risk of being unable to receive E-Rate funding, as well as protect its students from harmful Internet content.
Rochester CUSD needed a solution that required minimal maintenance, a reliable content-filtering URL database and a low total cost of ownership. As a dedicated appliance, iPrism provides simple, rack-mount installation, as well as nominal hands-on configuration due to its automatic updates. The district finds the appliance easy to administer thanks to its Web-interface management console, which allows the IT staff to customize settings appropriately. Rochester CUSD also no longer has to worry about computer users accessing inappropriate content thanks to iGuard(TM), St. Bernard’s 100% human-reviewed URL database that powers iPrism. iGuard provides the enforcement of policy rules based on sites that have been rated on content and context by human minds for unparalleled accuracy, which is critical in an education environment.
In addition, the IT department takes advantage of iPrism’s robust reporting to view and record all online surfing activities by categories, specific users or workstations. The product’s detailed, drill-down reports help Rochester CUSD manage users not spending time on computers appropriately. They also provide data and insight into the network that is integral for writing the district’s technology plan.
“Public school districts have challenging regulations to adhere to with limited resources, and need to be able to rely on a Web filtering solution that can affordably meet these requirements with minimal on-site maintenance,” said Vince Rossi, president and CEO at St. Bernard. “Ease-of-use, performance and value are hallmarks of the iPrism appliance, and in combination, relieve educational institutions such as Rochester CUSD from the burden that Internet-filtering management can impose.”
St. Bernard’s iPrism is designed to meet the needs of SMBs as a self-contained, dedicated Internet-filtering appliance that is easy to install, configure and manage. It provides perimeter protection from online threats in HTTP, IM and P2P traffic including spyware, malware and phishing, as well as prevents employee Internet abuse by managing Web access. Further information on iPrism can be found at: http://www.stbernard.com/products/iprism/products_iprism.asp.
About St. Bernard
St. Bernard Software, Inc. (OTCBB: SBSW) is a global provider of comprehensive security and hosted office solutions for small and midsize businesses (SMBs). St. Bernard also provides the SMB market with a broad range of flexible and integrated hosted solutions, including secure content management, messaging continuity and collaboration.
The company’s award-winning products deliver innovative security solutions that offer the best combination of ease-of-use, performance and value. Established in 1995 with headquarters in San Diego, CA and international offices in the United Kingdom, Australia and the Netherlands, St. Bernard sells and supports its products directly and through solution partners worldwide. For more information, please visit www.stbernard.com.
Copyright2007 St. Bernard Software Inc. All rights reserved. The St. Bernard Software logo, LivePrism, iPrism, iGuard and Open File Manager are trademarks of St. Bernard Software Inc. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are hereby acknowledged.
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Media contacts: Noah Dye / Aida Causevic LEWIS PR (619) 708-7413 / (619) 516-2559 sbs@lewispr.com Lorrie Hunsaker St. Bernard (858) 524-2041 hunsaker@stbernard.com
SOURCE: St. Bernard Software, Inc.