Furniture integral to IT, says RM

VAR quick to close a gap in the market by offering furniture as part of an IT solution

Myf Powell: Furniture orders are often left to the last minute which limits options

Education specialist RM is looking to forge closer ties between technology and furniture after acquiring Isis Concepts and opening its Rethinking Education and Learning (REAL) Centre.

The centre, based in Oxfordshire, includes five different learning areas designed to allow visitors to explore the use of modern furniture and technology in education. It was opened earlier this month by London schools commissioner Sir Tim Brighouse.

The centre will be used by teachers, students and local authority representatives, as well as RM’s partners and customers.

RM’s lead education specialist Myf Powell said: “We wanted to create a place to stimulate discussion about the use of furniture.

“A lot of it is about integrating power and data management. In a lot of schools, simple things like cable management have not been considered and the furniture has been ordered separately from the IT. Often they are left to the end of the process and that limits the options.”

Scott Nursten, managing director of VAR s2s, claimed a more “consultative approach” would benefit the procurement process.

“Schools are committed to using technology to enhance students’ learning experience, but the procurement process is still not clear enough on what is needed to achieve that,” he said.

“The engagement process is a price-driven and tender-driven model and does not support the desired outcome.”

Powell indicated that the REAL Centre also made good commercial sense for RM and that it demonstrated the breadth of the company’s capabilities. She added that the firm’s recent acquisition of furniture manufacturer Isis Concepts spoke to the diversity of RM’s expertise.

“There is a perception that we are only about RM computers and that is very far from the case,” she said. “Isis is very innovative in its approach.”