30 May 2014
Birmingham City University has completed a root and branch revamp of its IT and network infrastructure to get it fit to compete for students in the next decade.
The overhaul, conducted by systems integrator Logicalis, includes the design and deployment of two on-site data centres, wired and wireless networks for employees and students, and the rollout of Cisco Unified Communications Manager for the 4,000 staff.
The project is part of a £180m investment in new facilities to support innovation and evolving service expectations from all users. Shaun Buffery, the university’s associate director for converged infrastructure, says: “Nowadays, you’re not only competing on the level of education students will receive, but also facilities and services. This new infrastructure will adapt to innovation in student technology and teaching resources, and also enable staff to be more collaborative with one another and with the students.
The new infrastructure has delivered immediate performance and financial benefits through faster networks, more reliable performance and capacity, and less operational maintenance that has allowed the university to redeploy IT skills.
Dean England, who led the re-design and implementation of the two data centres, says: “We’ve reduced server sprawl, increased utilisation, and can already see savings in energy bills.”
The university has also been able to beef-up its disaster recovery strategy, introduce advanced backup and de-duplication functionality, and improve storage and archive policies. There is now enough bandwidth to support increasing traffic from mobile devices and rich media apps.
The ability to adapt to changing usage patterns, particularly among students, is especially important to England: “This means providing fast and secure access to e-learning tools and resources, from anywhere and any device. We’re confident our network will adapt.” Buffery adds that the Cisco telephony system allows staff to spend more time face-to-face with students because they are no longer tied to their offices. “Logicalis has provided us with a foundation that will adapt with our needs and help the university achieve its mission to provide a business class learning experience for its students.”
