SmartSchools offers students and teachers discounts online


24 May 2011

Irish IT and computer services provider Net Communications has launched an online technology store for teachers and students, SmartSchools, that it says is the first of its kind in Ireland.

With plans for a sister site geared towards educational institutions, SmartSchools allows users to get special educational discounts that Net Communications secured through relationships with manufacturers such as HP.

Net Communications has been providing information communications technology to the education and business sectors in Ireland for more than 15 years. The company has been building a strong online presence for many years but in late 2010 it became apparent that e-commerce facilities were a necessary step for business growth and customer satisfaction, said Katie Gabbett, marketing manager, Net Communications.

According to the company, customers nationwide will find that using SmartSchools will save them time requesting a quote and putting an order through; on the site they can see the education price, stock level, product information and place the order.

“Setting up an online store took a little longer than expected. It has taken us six months in total. All websites are a constant work in progress but I believe this is even more the case with an online shop and we didn’t want to launch it until we were confident with the interface,” said Gabbett.

“We’re looking forward to making our first few sales on it and really getting it off the ground. It’s definitely a route to sales that can no longer be ignored by any business in Ireland.”