Planting Orchards, Not Just Picking Apples: What Apple Farmers Can Teach Us About IT Strategy

There’s a curious tradition among certain apple farmers in Japan: they grow apples inside square moulds. That’s right — rather than the usual round variety, these apples come out as perfect cubes. Why? Because they’re easier to stack, store, and ship. They cost more too — sometimes ten times more — and are prized as novelty gifts.

But here’s the catch: they take more effort to grow, not less. The moulds have to be monitored constantly, the fruit has to be positioned just right, and the tree still takes several seasons to mature before a good harvest. It’s not a quick win — it’s a carefully planned investment.

The story of those carefully shaped apples mirrors something we see in schools all the time — the difference between short-term tech fixes and long-term digital planning.

In too many cases, we treat technology like fruit we can pick off a shelf. A new device here. A quick upgrade there. A shiny bit of software that promises to solve today’s problem. It’s understandable — school budgets are tight and needs are urgent. But just like farming, the most successful digital environments aren’t created in the moment — they’re planted, nurtured, and grown over time.

In EdFITS, we talk about building a sustainable digital strategy — one that’s rooted in the curriculum, safeguarding, and outcomes for pupils. That means planning ahead, understanding the environment, and thinking about how today’s investment will shape tomorrow’s teaching and learning.

Here’s what an orchard approach to IT might look like:

• You don’t just buy laptops — you plan refresh cycles, user training, support, and security.
• You don’t just install a new MIS — you look at data quality, integration with other systems, and what insights it will actually give SLT.
• You don’t just block websites — you ask how filtering and monitoring supports your safeguarding culture, not just your compliance tickbox.

Like the apple farmer choosing the right rootstock for the soil, schools need to choose infrastructure and systems that suit their context. And like those square apples, the best results sometimes come from careful shaping — not by accident, but by design.

So the next time someone asks about your IT plan, don’t talk about devices or servers or even software. Tell them you’re planting an orchard.

And maybe — just maybe — growing something spectacular.