British School of Amsterdam chooses HPE Aruba
The British School of Amsterdam (BSA), the only school in Amsterdam to offer a full English curriculum to children between the ages of 3 and 18, has upgraded its location with a powerful, modern wireless network based on Aruba technology. BSA has opted for a Network-as-Service (NaaS) approach, which was implemented by IT service provider Wentzo. This NaaS ensures predictable costs for the long term and removes the management burden of the network from the school. This allows BSA staff to fully focus on their students and provide the best learning environment and experience.
Due to the pandemic, the school had to deploy the rollout of laptops for teachers and the use of online learning platforms. Many of these remain as students alternate back to the classroom. Students, many of whom connect two to three devices to the network, now have their own Office 365 account and access to a variety of cloud-based applications.
The Aruba network supports this digital experience with nearly two hundred 500-S access points located throughout the site. In addition, Aruba’s approach includes 48-port 2940 access switches, 3810 core switches, and Aruba AirWave network management. At ‘the gate of the network’ are Fortinet next-generation firewalls to ensure that the network and data passing over it remains secure. Student learning is now optimal access to the network anywhere, anytime.
Network
Cyber security is an important topic for the BSA. With the solutions from Aruba, the school benefits from complete mobility without the control. And with Wentzo’s managed services, the school has complete visibility into who and what is connecting to the network. Access to requests and content can thus be managed securely. Different target groups – teachers, students and support staff – have different access rights within the school.
The network management performed by Wentzo and Aruba in accordance with pre-procedures, BSA set in the UK State Government Cyber Credentials, required to provide UK curriculum.
Maintenance
“Parents and students expect a high level of service, including future relationships. For example, students can now connect with parents via video calls. This may seem like a small detail, but it is important for a sense of well-being. Parents want to be able to contact them and as a premium school, this becomes a premium service,” says Paul Morgan.
Morgan continues: “BSA currently offers space for 1,000 students, but aims to grow by 30% in the coming years. excellent service, including providing an available, fast and secure network, is key to achieving this goal – it will boost the school’s reputation. And by upgrading the network, BSA can focus on its core purpose: education.”