Milton Keynes College improves BYOD network and data centre efficiency with IT revamp

College boosts effiency by replacing data centre with Dell servers based on Intel processors

Milton Keynes College has selected Dell to help rebuild its IT infrastructure with high-speed wireless internet access across its sites and an energy-saving "future-ready" data centre, both of which will improve services for its students and cut costs.

An institution that provides apprenticeships, professional qualifications and commercial training, Milton Keynes College realised it needed to make improvements to its network to enable its 20,000 students to use smartphones and tablets as part of their training.

Therefore, iMilton Keynes College decided to drop its existing Cisco infrastructure in favour of one comprised of Dell networking switches. The new set-up has already improved connectivity across the college's main campus in central Milton Keynes.

A desire to meet government requirements for carbon emissions - combined with a desire to save money - also saw Milton Keynes College invest in a brand new data centre.

The college therefore opted for Dell PowerEdge M620 blade servers with Intel Xeon processors, giving it an energy-efficient data centre to meet both these demands. The installation of the data centre has reduced power usage by 75 per cent and has helped cut operating costs by £60,000 a year.

"Thanks to the networking redesign with Dell we are able to provide an improved service to our students and we're already receiving positive feedback," said Daniel Hidlebaugh, director of IT development and emerging technologies at Milton Keynes College.

"Our new data centre significantly reduces energy consumption and the associated costs, freeing up funds for investment in other projects", he added.

"Our other two campuses are working alongside Dell to replicate our success across the whole organisation," he added.

Ken Harley, director of education for Dell UK, also welcomed the deal with Milton Keynes College.

"We're acutely aware that academic institutions across the UK are facing challenges in the provision of IT to students and staff, with a growing demand for access to course materials online, both through wired and wireless devices," he said.

"By working with Milton Keynes College to develop a bespoke solution, we are helping them to address these challenges whilst creating a truly energy-efficient solution that will support student learning and save the college a significant amount of money in the future," Harley added.