IT security firm Sophos has partnered with South West Grid for Learning (SWGfL) to make the purchasing of IT security applications cost effective for schools in the South West region of the UK.

The security firm will offer its Endpoint Security and Control (ES&C) licences to the schools supported by SWGfL.

ES&C is an ideal application for education environments as it enables individual applications to be controlled, enabling systems to be configured to only block disruptive or counter-productive applications, without overly-restricting users, said the company.

Procuring Sophos licences via SWGfL allows the supported schools to purchase small numbers of licences, achieving cost savings of over 80% in some cases, claims the company.

Sophos’s platinum support package can provide back up to users, ensuring that in the event of a problem, schools can be back up and running as quickly as possible, so that pupil learning is not affected.

Schools supported by SWGfL can also choose to protect their data using Sophos’s SafeGuard Enterprise application that encrypts the data stored on laptops and removable media, keeping confidential and sensitive information secure.

SWGfL is a charitable Trust Company that provides maintained schools and many other educational establishments throughout South West of England with broadband internet connectivity, virtual learning applications, internet and IT safety and security.