Tactus wins Microsoft award after supplying 165,000 laptops to schoolchildren

Tactus Group, a consumer technology specialist, has received a Microsoft award after supplying 165,000 laptops to underprivileged schoolchildren in the past year.

The British company partnered with the Department for Education (DfE) to help make technology more affordable and accessible.

In April 2020, the DfE launched its “Get help with technology” initiative – the largest ever provision of computer hardware for the education sector. The project aimed to ensure pupils from lower income families did not miss out on learning opportunities if they were unable to attend school due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tactus provided 15 per cent of the total number of laptops offered by the DfE.

Scott Brenchley, Chief Executive of Tactus, said: “During school closures, children from underprivileged families were the ones who suffered the greatest detrimental impact to their education. Ensuring every child has access to technology is critically important, and it’s vital that we do everything possible to enable this. That’s why we were thrilled to support the DfE by providing disadvantaged children with devices that gave them the best education experience and helped ensure continuity of education.”

Tactus has been named Device Partner of the Year by Microsoft for the work and the significant growth in its Geo Computers brand. In the past 12 months, Tactus has recorded a 600 per cent rise in revenues for Geo, which makes premium-finish Windows 10 laptops. In its last financial year, the firm sold 280,000 Windows-based laptops, which include the GeoBook Minecraft Edition devices.

Brenchley added: “Being named the Microsoft Device Partner of the Year is a landmark accomplishment for Tactus, and again demonstrates the extraordinary dedication and talent across our brands to make technology accessible and affordable for all.

“Working with Microsoft has given us the impetus to continue innovating our product range to embrace the latest technologies and make a lasting difference to the way people work, learn and play on a global scale.”

Headquartered in the north-west of England, with a footprint across Europe, North America and Asia, Tactus employs more than 200 experts that produce and source innovative technology. It reaches consumers through established retailers, the IT channel and its own e-commerce platforms.

Rodney Clark, Corporate Vice President, Global Partner Solutions, Channel Sales and Channel Chief at Microsoft, said: “Microsoft’s remarkable partners have displayed a deep commitment to building world-class solutions for customers from cloud-to-edge and represent some of the best and brightest our ecosystem has to offer.”