TECHNOLOGY transformational change , with projects including the deployment of Windows 10 , Office 365 , Azure Cloud solutions and co-located Data Centres , not to mention major improvements to student records , Finance , Wi-Fi and virtual learning environments . In this activity-rich environment , IT and its partners across the University are achieving great things , and there have been huge successes .
“ We ’ ve got major suppliers , which include people like Microsoft , Blackboard , Crimson Consultants and PROACT , and we ’ re saying to them , you ’ re a partner in this , you ’ ve got to help us succeed , and they ’ re stepping up to the plate .”
By using the right suppliers , the right solutions and by focussing on the people , Sheffield Hallam can deliver transformational change seamlessly : “ If email is down it ’ s seen as a business critical issue , and technology now is seen as being as vital and as basic a requirement as water or electricity . The whole business mission at the University is about transforming lives , so it ’ s important to make sure we have the right tools to do that .”
Another of the ways in which Sheffield Hallam is transforming its technology provision is in its hybrid approach to resilience . Recognising that the dual data centre approach to resilience isn ’ t always the most effective approach , the University is now delivering a Cloud , on premise and co-location approach . With resilience , as with security or as with application provision , there is no single solution to the University ’ s needs . “ With technology trends , it ’ s often about extremes ,” Etherington explains . “ What you ’ ve actually got to do is be balanced about your strategy and look at it in the long-term .”
As such , Sheffield Hallam is using Azure for its cloud platform supported by an on premise data centre , and this resilience will be supported by a secondary data centre 40 miles away in Leeds which will be managed 24 / 7 . While this approach creates network challenges , it is important for the University that it uses a range of resources to meet the challenges it faces .
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