A record 750 exhibitors have invested in showing their product at BETT 2010 – the London-based education technology exhibition that the organizers now claim to be the largest education trade fair in the world.

An indicator of the authoritative clout the exhibition now wields is the fact that this year 72 government ministers from around the world have registered for the Learning & Technology World Forum conference that always immediately precedes the BETT exhibition itself. Historically, these ministers handle portfolios ranging from education to ICT, but this is where they come to learn and question new methods and technology.

The two main focal points occupying delegates and commentators this year are Playful Learning and the widening of Home Access. And it is the second of these that will represent the greatest opportunity for growth for Attix5 and its foremost UK educational distributor Redstor. With the widening of home access for schools being of such importance to the educational establishment in the immediate future, the protection and back-up of curriculum and administration data – as well as its reliable recovery – will be a cornerstone of implementation and strategy.

Another indicator of the importance of this sector came in the opening keynote address to the media at the exhibition by Vernon Coaker MP – Minister for Schools and Learners. Mr Coaker outlined plans to spend £300 million in the 14 months to March 2011 on boosting home access and making it accessible to 270,000 more families.

Redstor’s RBUSS online backup (OLB) offering has earned itself a market-leading position in the UK education sector over four years. MD Paul Evans says their education business currently holds over 50% of the Local Education Authorities and their service providers in England and Wales. In real terms this makes the Redstor / Attix5 partnership the preferred backup and recovery solution for some 12,000 schools. In that time, just one of the key benefits reported by Local Authorities across the board has been an overall 30% reduction in backup related calls.