In summary

Brief

Develop a strategy to implement more advanced technologies to support research and teaching activities, and assist the ICT team become a cost-recovered service provider.

Solution

A future network strategy that would evolve the network over five years, taking into consideration technical, operational and commercial perspectives.

Result

A network aligned with the characteristics of a service provider environment for cost recovery, improved security and optimised use of shared resources, as well as increased operational efficiencies.

In detail

The university’s ICT infrastructure was continually growing. With approximately 1300 network devices providing connectivity to over 40,000 students, the network is critical to the university’s research and teaching activities.

The ICT team was evolving into a service provider for the disparate student and staff user base. In addition, the university wanted to gain a better understanding of the capabilities to implement more advanced technologies for telephony, collaboration, and content distribution and management. It wanted to centralise common-use applications and data sets, and decentralise noncommon applications.

Frame was engaged by the university to develop a future network strategy that fosters technical, operational and commercial benefits.

Frame established the strategy to evolve the network over five years, taking into consideration technical, operational and commercial perspectives and requirements of key stakeholders. This enabled the university to ensure changes to the network could be implemented in accordance with a defined strategy agreed between ICT and its customers.

The strategy aligns the network with characteristics typical of many service provider environments to yield a number of advantages.

  • Cost recovery is provided by pay-for-use and quota management of services such as the internet and e-learning systems.
  • Improved security is achieved with a number of mechanisms that include centralised user/device authentication, validation that connected devices have current anti-virus and system updates, and firewalls at multiple network locations.
  • Use of shared resources is optimised by centralising high-cost, high-value network components.
  • Increased operational efficiency is supported with the introduction of a structured, ITIL-based operations model that enables feedback and measurement of service management activities.

Other features of the future network include:

  • service monitoring and reporting capabilities, enabling effective management of service levels
  • wireless connectivity using meshed wireless technologies, optimising wireless network coverage and performance while minimising infrastructure costs.
Frame delivered the strategy in a way which ensured the university was:

  • fully informed to make business decisions, having considered solutions from multiple perspectives
  • provided with visibility and traceability throughout the development of the network strategy.

Expectations of the future network were articulated in detailed system requirements. The solution was delivered to address technical, operational and commercial perspectives with a high-level design, an operations model and a cost model.

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