Up to 160,000 notebooks for Austria's classrooms: Ministry of Education relies on CANCOM a+d and Lenovo

Vienna, September 2025 - In the new school year, around 40,000 pupils across Austria will receive standardized Windows school notebooks. The devices will be issued to pupils in both first grade middle school and high school as part of the Ministry of Education's end device initiative. The Ministry of Education bears the majority of the costs. Parents/guardians only pay a one-off contribution of 25% of the price of the device. Under certain circumstances, this contribution can be waived completely - in these cases, the Ministry of Education covers the costs in full. The equipment initiative is part of the digitalization offensive launched in 2021 to create the pedagogical and technical conditions for IT-supported teaching in Austrian schools.

CANCOM a+d IT Solutions GmbH won the public tender for the supply and servicing of school notebooks and will fulfill a planned purchase volume of 160,000 devices by the end of 2028.

Standardized equipment for digital learning

The fourth-generation Lenovo V14 notebook will be used in schools in Austria. It has a 14-inch display, an AMD processor and Windows 11. The equipment is tailored to the requirements of everyday teaching. Compliance with all relevant quality and safety standards has been tested and confirmed. The notebook comes with a 4-year hardware warranty.

In the 2024/25 school year, over 50% of the school devices used were already based on Windows systems. CANCOM a+d has also been supplying Lenovo Windows tablets to schools throughout Austria since 2024. The standardized school notebooks and tablets, combined with the comprehensive CANCOM services, ensure uniform technological equipment for all students and enable uninterrupted work. This solution also facilitates seamless integration into the schools' existing IT infrastructure, supports the smooth use of digital learning systems and promotes the efficient implementation of pedagogical concepts. Delivery of the devices for the 2025/26 school year will start a few weeks after the start of school directly to the school site. They will then be distributed to the pupils there accordingly.

"Modern education needs modern devices and reliable partners. As a long-standing digitalization partner in the education sector, we support organizations and initiatives throughout Austria to promote digital education in educational institutions. With our Lenovo school notebooks and tablets and as an authorized Lenovo service partner, we are actively committed to the sustainable success of the education initiative. We ensure a smooth and uncomplicated process and reliable support for all schools, teachers, parents and students," says Paul Suppan, Managing Director of CANCOM a+d IT Solutions.

Online service portal for parents, pupils and teachers

CANCOM a+d provides its own school notebook service portal for handling technical problems and defects. Users receive important tips on self-service or can easily register repairs online. If necessary, they receive a special return box to send in the device free of charge. The device repair or replacement is carried out by CANCOM a+d as an authorized Lenovo service provider at the location in Brunn am Gebirge. As a leading provider of digital workplace solutions, CANCOM a+d has an Austria-wide service network - and thus guarantees Austria-wide support.

"With our proven 360-degree approach to end device service - consisting of a central online portal and our own Lenovo repair center in Austria - CANCOM a+d offers a structured and efficient solution for fast support when needed," explains Patricia Herricht, Key Account Manager Public at CANCOM a+d IT Solutions.

About CANCOM in Austria: As a leading digital business provider, CANCOM accompanies companies, organizations and the public sector into the digital future. The range of services and solutions includes classic system house IT solutions as well as workplace solutions, data-based digital solutions, managed services and cloud services. We accompany our customers' digital evolution with passion and technology and support them in reducing the complexity of their IT and developing new business models. We offer a holistic portfolio for all IT and business requirements. The more than 5,600 employees of the internationally active CANCOM Group with around 80 locations in the DACH region, Belgium, Slovakia, Romania and the Czech Republic as well as an efficient partner network guarantee market presence and customer proximity. CANCOM generated annual sales of around 1.7 billion euros in 2024. The Group parent company CANCOM SE is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in the TecDAX and SDAX (ISIN DE0005419105).