We often get asked by our customers what value CC4 subscription adds. This article is designed to go some way to explain the great value the CC4 subscription model brings and how it really does save you time and money.

What is CC4?

The RM Community Connect® 4 (CC4) Ecosystem is a stable, reliable and secure platform, ideal for both primary and secondary schools. CC4 is a subscription based service that delivers both maintenance and improvement updates as part of this subscription. With the introduction of Windows 10 and Windows as a service (WaaS), the management of any network has become more complex and time consuming.

So how does it add value?

As part of our ongoing commitment to our Community Connect Subscription customers, we periodically release Community Connect maintenance updates, improvements and new features. This includes Windows 10 build updates. We want you to really value the work we do keeping your CC4 networks current and secure and our ongoing maintenance work is part of that.

WaaS can add a large overhead on vanilla networks as the tools needed to deliver Windows images (SCCM, MDT, ADTK etc.) need to be updated to handle major Windows 10 build releases which takes time, effort and money.

Our Community Connect Subscription model means that we do all the hard work for you, thus freeing you and your teams up to concentrate on other areas of your network. This is part of our value-add.

As an example, CC4 customers have enjoyed the following benefits:

• User Environment Virtualisation (UE-V a replacement for roaming profiles)  
• RM Windows 10 Application removal tool
• CC4UPD215 - Update to expose Windows 10 versions in the RM Management Console (RMMC)
• CC4 Update Rollup Tool 2018 - Tool that allows you to install multiple updates at once which saves hours of time and effort
• Bitlocker
• Microsoft .net 4.7.2 package for Community Connect networks
• Windows 10 Build 22H2 Client Pack and Upgrade (this is the latest version released for CC4) - please note that the 'feature pack' for Windows 10 1809 provides the functionality needed for WSUS upgrades and thus, we have not released a later version of this
• Office 2019 CC4 Client Pack (there is a discounted charge for this for subscription customers)
• Microsoft 365 (M365 Apps) Client Pack
• Microsoft Teams Client Pack

How will we deliver these updates to Community Connect Subscription customers?

We will be delivering these maintenance and improvement updates, to eligible customers, via My Account Downloads area and these will be available, on release, so that you can install them at your convenience.

(Note: Some items will remain chargeable to all customers, e.g. Office installation packs, etc. but these will be discounted for CoP subscription customers.)

What does this mean for non-Community Connect Subscription customers?

These maintenance improvements and new features updates will still be available to all other non-Subscription Community Connect customers via Sales as a cost option or, alternatively, you may wish to consider moving to the subscription model which may be more cost effective.

What about WSUS and other break-fix and non-maintenance updates?

We will continue to deliver any WSUS security and break fix updates and driver packs via the RM Knowledge Library articles to all subscription and non-subscription customers.

We often get asked questions about our CC4 subscription model and thought we would share these with you:

How does the RM subscription work for CC4?
CC4 Subscription provides a simple, cost-effective way to move to CC4 which is priced on the number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) staff you have and reduces the upfront expenditure. This annual payment lets you use CC4 on as many computers as you like, meaning that you don't need to worry when your network expands.

Is it based on FTEs or student numbers?
CC4 Subscription is based on the number of Full Time Educators you have at your school. In some cases, these numbers can be high so we can cap these amounts where necessary to offer schools real value for money.

What happens if I choose not to subscribe?
We only offer CC4 Subscription now. For customers on our older, perpetual licensing model, any new features or maintenance work will still be available at a cost, or a move to the subscription model can be done which may be more cost effective.

What RM/CC4 modules are included within my subscription?
CC4 Subscription customers can take advantage of all modules available within CC4. There are no restrictions. For older perpetual license holders, there will be a charge associated with any new or maintenance updates we release.

How and when can I adjust my FTE count?
By simply contacting our Sales team. They can make the necessary amendments to your subscription.

Do I have to provide student numbers?
No, CC4 Subscription is based on the number of FTE staff you have at your school.

What are the full benefits of a CC4 Subscription?

• Reduce upfront expenditure and allow schools to budget annually.
• Entitled to new operating systems such as Windows 10.
• Free lifetime updates.
• Room to grow your network, based on the number of your staff.
• Future proof as there is no need to buy additional licences as your network grows.
• Fully supported by RM Support experts.

CC4 Subscription or a vanilla network? - a comparison 

When you are running a vanilla network, there are a number of maintenance tasks that will need to be factored in to keep your network current and up-to-date, especially since the introduction of the Windows 10 WaaS model. The table above details some of these and compares these vanilla tasks against the value that the CC4 Subscription adds with further details below:

• Product updates: As we go through major build updates of Windows 10 (WaaS), products like SCCM, MDT and the Windows toolkits need to be maintained in order to service newer operating system builds. With CC4, you receive regular updates (CC4UPDs) as part of your subscription free of charge.
• Operating system image refresh: With CC4 Subscription, we deliver the latest tested Windows 10 build image for your network, available as a fresh build or WSUS feature update. We do all the hard work for you, saving you time and money. Vanilla customers will usually need to create, test and deploy Windows 10 incremental builds themselves, causing a maintenance overhead.
• Driver updates: All CC4 assured hardware comes with a CC4 driver pack to support the introduction of these new devices on to your network. Vanilla customers need to source, deploy and test driver updates themselves.
• Value add-ons: With a CC4 Subscription, you get free access to all new features such as One Drive Mapper, Google Files Stream Package and UE-V which replaces roaming profiles on Windows 10. Vanilla customers will need to develop or purchase such tools themselves.
• Automated User Provisioning: RM Unify Premium customers (both CC4 and vanilla) can take advantage of the RM Unify Provisioning service to automate user provisioning directly from their MIS to RM Unify. This also provisions users in Microsoft® Office 365®, Google and Connect on Prem AD based network.
• WSUS updates: Testing, deploying and managing Windows® monthly updates.

The above challenges really show the value for money CC4 Subscription adds due to the amount of time and effort our background work saves.

Migrating to a vanilla solution is something that some customers may consider. At RM, we support a number of Vanilla network and, when managed well, these offer a good solution to a subset of our customers. However, since the introduction of Windows 10 it is worth bearing in mind that the maintenance overhead on the network management team (and the cost involved) of running a Vanilla network is not to be overlooked. For example, Windows 10 (Build 22H2) needs a considerable amount of maintenance work in order for SCCM and MDT implementations to support this. This work is ongoing (dependent on your servicing requirements) and should be factored in as a regular, standard network management task as we move through Windows 10 builds now and in the future.

Maintaining Vanilla networks study

We have done some research as to how much time and effort is needed to keep vanilla networks up-to-date and this is reflected below:

MDT only networks (1 to 2 days)

• Update and import of latest Windows 10 ADMX templates into central store (10 minutes).
• Install/update of Windows 10 ADK to latest (30 minutes).
• Upgrade of MDT to ensure support for latest feature release of Windows 10 (30 minutes).
• Update to WSUS categories and products, as well as computer groups and auto-approve rules (10 minutes).
• Ensure client hardware supports latest feature release of Windows 10 (30 minutes).
• Ensure packaged software supports latest feature release of Windows 10 (120 minutes).
• Ensure printer drivers etc. are available for latest feature release of Windows 10 (30 minutes).
• Update software restrictions of AppLocker policies to control newly introduced system apps (60 minutes).
• Create new deployment and capture tasks sequences and client images (120 minutes+).

SCCM networks (as above, but also) (2 to 3 days)

• Update to SCCM feature release to ensure relevant Windows 10 support (120 minutes via in-console upgrade).
• Possible update of SQL to support updated SCCM feature release (120 minutes).
• Update to Software Update point to include updated Windows 10 products and relevant categories (10 minutes).
• Update to automatic deployment rules, specific to latest version of Windows 10 (10 minutes).
• Update or creation of Windows 10 servicing plans specific to latest version of Windows 10 (10 minutes).
• Update or creation of offline servicing specific to latest version of Windows 10 images (30 minutes).
• Update of ConfigMgr client on all user devices (ongoing).

This work is a regular time and cost overhead on schools and needs to be factored in when considering a move to a vanilla solution.