What You Need to Know About Bringing Your School Lunch to the Cloud
New technologies have changed nearly everything in schools. The right technology can transform educational experiences for administrators, teachers, students, and parents. When technology is integrated into school cafeterias in the right ways, it can provide a needed boost to school lunch engagement and participation, streamline school nutrition programs, overhaul complicated and time-consuming reporting and analysis, and so much more.
A seamless technology-enabled school cafeteria experience, one that works for everyone in and out of the school lunch line, can be supported with Cloud-based solutions that set your school nutrition program up for success. Here’s what you need to know about bringing your school lunch program to the Cloud.
With the Cloud, all of your systems, software, and networks, are hosted and managed off-site. Installations and upgrades, as well as data and file back-ups, are handled automatically and with the reassurance of state-of-the-art security. From a budgeting perspective, computers, networks, physical infrastructure, and additional technology components can be an ongoing drain on your resources. As technology advances, the Cloud helps you avoid expensive and time-consuming physical infrastructure updates, upgrades, and maintenance while keeping your systems and software up-to-date.
Cloud-based systems also give staff more agility and flexibility to access, update, and review data and information, even when they’re on the go. As long as there is internet access, Cloud-based software and systems can be securely accessed, updated, and shared remotely and in real-time, from any internet-enabled device.
Cloud solutions have the power to revolutionize how you serve meals to students throughout your school district, how your staff report on requirements and outcomes, and how parents play a role in the process. Harris School Nutrition Solutions helps schools across North America improve school nutrition programs with Cloud-based software solutions that work in key ways.
Accessibility on-the-go
When school nutrition information is available anywhere, at any time, your cafeteria staff and administrators are empowered with the mobility they need to observe, supervise, and take action where it’s needed–in cafeterias, lunch lines, and kitchens. They can even access information from home (with administrative permissions) or when visiting other schools or conferences.
Secure online payment processes
Parents can access their accounts and make payments or add money to a student’s account directly from their phone, computer, or any other electronic device. Not only is the payment process seamless and secured through data encryption, but staff no longer have to track down parents or handle and process cash transactions.
Automatic updates and data loss prevention
All of your school nutrition program’s critical information is stored, automatically updated, and backed-up in the Cloud. Even in the case of a catastrophic event, the data is always available, safe, secure, and won’t be lost or compromised.
Saving school resources
In addition to eliminating server maintenance, schools can also purchase smaller, more mobile, and less expensive devices. Many schools are opting for less-costly and agile tablets and smaller, portable, and less expensive computers.
Harris School Nutrition Solutions has more than 30 years of experience in providing the best nutritional software solutions for districts and their cafeterias, from equipping parents with accessible payment portals to emoji-based rating systems where students can rank their favorite school meal options.
Ready to learn more? One of our dedicated team members can answer your questions, talk about your challenges with you, and schedule a demonstration of our Cloud-based software. Contact Harris today!