Academies Turning To The Cloud
CASE STUDY
A Brief Introduction
As education specialists we understand the issues IT managers face in maintaining an efficient and cost effective IT infrastructure. Schools want to know what other schools are doing in terms of best practice, and what’s possible – and that’s where we add value.
As an example, Seaton Burn College has over 600 students and staff, working to a tight budget, and the college was struggling with IT issues including poor connectivity and slow speeds. ITPS secured the business when the college went out to the market to find an IT partner to help it transform an ageing IT infrastructure into a future-proof platform capable of supporting its students and staff, and which could work within the budget
The Challenge
The college previously managed its IT through a joint managed services contract with its local council and RM, but were struggling with poor connectivity, slow download speeds, frequent IT downtime and no facility for staff or students to work remotely.
ITPS spent 12 months working with the college’s IT team to review and upgrade soware and systems. The college now has its ICT split between its own premises and ITPS’s £4m ISO27001-certified data centre in Chester le Street, using a private network connected through cloud technology.
Results
CREATING OPPORTUNITY
The new ultra-fast, high security connections deliver anytime, anywhere IT access to students and staff when they are on and off site, and users no longer have to wait for long periods to login to the network, connect to the internet or download large files. An extra benefit is being able to transfer portfolios when new students join the college, which was previously a difficult task.
This project has provided Seaton Burn students and staff with a sustainable and adaptable network that would not look out of place in a corporate environment. Our original goal was for a fast and resilient network that is flexible to ever-changing technological and curriculum demands, and ITPS has helped us deliver this and more, exceeding all our expectations.
ITPS showed us what was possible by moving to cloud technology, and we were blown away by the efficiency and cost benefits.
The ITPS Difference
Lee Coulter, information and technology manager at Seaton Burn College, said: “This project has provided Seaton Burn students and staff with a sustainable and adaptable network that would not look out of place in a corporate environment. Our original goal was for a fast and resilient network that is flexible to ever-changing technological and curriculum demands, and ITPS has helped us deliver this and more, exceeding all our expectations.
ITPS showed us what was possible by moving to cloud technology, and we were blown away by the efficiency and cost benefits.
Similar Stories
Walbottle Campus is one of the largest schools in Newcastle and serves more than 1600 students, including sixth form.
“Our previous broadband connectivity was not fit for purpose and impacting on how we delivered curriculum to our students. We shortlisted three providers and ITPS were selected based on their ability of provision high quality, value for money connectivity. The connectivity is around 20 times faster than the previous service whilst achieving budget savings of 30%. The connectivity has also created the opportunity to adopt new working practices.”
Mark Osborne
ICT & E-Learning Manager, Walbottle Campus
Seaton Burn College has over 600 students and staff, working to a tight budget, and the college was struggling with IT issues including poor connectivity and slow speeds.
“This project has provided Seaton Burn students and staff with a sustainable and adaptable network that would not look out of place in a corporate environment. Our original goal was for a fast and resilient network that is flexible to ever-changing technological and curriculum demands, and ITPS has helped us deliver this and more, exceeding all our expectations. ITPS showed us what was possible by moving to cloud technology, and we were blown away by the efficiency and cost benefits. Migration to the cloud and moving from the safety of a managed environment with our previous providers was a big step change for us, but ITPS’s ethos of putting the customer first, combined with their clearly demonstrable expertise, has helped our transition to be the best decision we could have possibly made.”
Lee Coulter
Information & Technology Manager, Seaton Burn College
Burnside College is the third largest school in North Tyneside, serving more than 1000 students and their families.
“During the RFP process, price was a consideration but the team was more focused on total cost of ownership. In all of the life cycle projects, the ShoreTel deployment delivered by ITPS had held up as one that is under budget and ahead of schedule. As a result we’ve received very favourable praise from our school board and community.”
Wendy Davison Toon
PFI Facilities Manger, Burnside Schools
Get In Touch
If you’d like to chat about how we can support your IT needs, about working for us or indeed discuss our charitable efforts, we’d love to hear from you. Fill out the form to get in touch.
