User:IanLynch

From Schoolforge-UK

Ian Lynch, Member of the Senior Management Team that set up the first City Technology College, then Curriculum Director for maths and science at the CTC Trust (now called the Specialist Schools Trust). After acting as a Registered Inspector with OFSTED and an assessor for the National Professional Qualification for Headteachers, he set up IRL Computer Systems Ltd with wife Rosemary. IRL now trades under the name The Learning Machine in the UK education sector. Ian gained a lot of experience project managing large IT installations and building projects through the nineties and still does some consultancy work in this respect for LEAs and individual schools.

The project management approach is at the heart of the family business which now employs Ian, Rosemary, eldest son Chris and friends Stewart, Silvia, Mark and Daniel complete the core of the company. There is a lot of sub-contracted work and partnerships too in keeping with the project management philosophy.

Business strategy is firmly shifting to developing free resources for schools and making revenue from hardware and services. Ian has helped scores of schools gain specialist school status and the most significant up and coming project is the INGOTs ICT certification scheme linked to the OpenOffice.org project. Experience so far shows that systems based on free software are less expensive for the customer and more profitable for the company. We believe the main reason others are not yet doing this in large numbers is that the business approach is alien to their business culture. Anyone who believes long term TCO of proprietary software is lower than for free software is simply deluding themselves, but that is to our competitive advantage as well as our challenge.

In his spare time, Ian contributes to the OpenOffice.org project as Education Lead.

Contact Email ian.lynch (at) irlcomputers.com or ian.lynch (at) zmsl.com