What Plugboard is
Plugboard is a service desk for school and university ICT teams. It covers the work a school desk does: booking in a cracked screen, handing out a loan laptop, keeping track of who has which iPad, resetting an account, checking a card at the counter, running the start-of-year handout, and telling finance what all of it cost.
The vocabulary is a school’s vocabulary (year levels, tutor groups, terms, parents), and the workflows assume the things school desks do that corporate desks do not, such as issuing a loan device to a student whose own machine is in for repair and emailing their parents about it.
Connectors
Section titled “Connectors”Every integration is a connector. You tell Plugboard which systems you run, and the features use whichever connector is enabled:
- A school running Intune and one running Jamf use the same repairs screen.
- Swapping an MDM is a settings change rather than a migration.
- A feature without its connector still works in part. With no MDM connected, device records still exist; they carry no live inventory data.
Twenty-nine connectors ship in the box, covering device management, student information systems, directory and identity, email, SMS, ticketing, warranty lookup, repair vendors, print management, endpoint security, CRM and local AI. The full list is in connectors.
What it replaces
Section titled “What it replaces”Most schools arrive with some combination of a spreadsheet for loans, a shared mailbox for repairs, a whiteboard for what is on the bench, an MDM console for serials, a directory console for password resets, and a finance spreadsheet nobody trusts. Plugboard is one place for all of it, and you reach the MDM and directory through the same screen instead of replacing them.
Three audiences
Section titled “Three audiences”| Audience | Where they go | What they do |
|---|---|---|
| ICT staff | /dashboard after signing in |
Run the desk: repairs, tickets, loans, devices, people, reports, administration |
| Students and staff | /portal, /track/..., /help |
Book a repair, track it, reset a password, buy a cable, read a guide |
| Parents | /parent |
See their child’s devices, repairs, purchases and any charges |
Only the first group needs an account in Plugboard. Students, staff and parents are people, synced from your student information system and directory. They reach the self-service surfaces by tapping a card or signing in with your identity provider.
Modules
Section titled “Modules”Every feature is a module you can switch off for your institution. Turning one off hides its navigation and stops its API endpoints answering, so a primary school that runs neither inductions nor a printer fleet sees neither. Twenty-two modules ship; see modules for the list.
A new install starts with a working set enabled, and you add the rest as you need them.
What it does not do
Section titled “What it does not do”- Replace your MDM. It reads from Jamf and Intune and sends commands to them. It does not manage profiles or build images.
- Replace your SIS. The roster is synced in and never edited here.
- Teach. No gradebooks, no course content.
- Ship a mobile app. The web interface is responsive and the kiosk is built for a touchscreen, but there is nothing to install on a phone.
- Choosing a deployment if you are deciding between hosting it yourself and having it hosted.
- Quick start if you would rather just run it.