Langley Academy getting IT solutions right first time

 

When Langley Academy opened its doors to its students for the first time, the school had an innovative IT infrastructure in place. Most importantly, the solution was up and running successfully from day one – thanks to XMA.

Any complex IT project is a challenge but when it must be right first time, the pressure is really on. That was the situation facing the newly built Langley Academy according to one of its directors John Campbell.

He says: “The test was to set up an IT infrastructure from scratch and have it successfully implemented on the first day of our school opening – which is something that often doesn’t happen. We wanted a very sophisticated IT system, which had to conform to very high standards as well as be on budget and working right first time.”

To ensure that the project stayed on the right track, the Academy’s directors chose to work with IT solutions provider XMA. Mr Campbell says: ”We chose XMA because they were able to deliver the solution we wanted and had the know-how we needed to make sure it worked as it should.”

It was necessary to create the Academy’s IT solution from scratch after the school’s new building was built on the site of a previous school. The new building was designed to cater for more than 1,000 11 to 18 year olds and, under the Academy system, was built with the help of a multi-million pound investment from a sponsor.

Academy staff asked XMA to design a cutting edge infrastructure that was also built to last. A complex infrastructure was installed based on Cisco servers with 79 Tablet PCs and 90 mobile devices all running on the same wireless network.

The students were also given access to 168 PCs, 120 iMacs and 27 Power Macs, every teacher received a tablet PC and every classroom was equipped with a projector and the Academy’s non-teaching staff were provided with 42 PCs. The school also installed a TV recording studio, radio station and music technology lab. An innovative printing solution was introduced using Follow Me printing where print jobs are only completed when the user authorises them at a printer of their choice.



Right from the start

So why was it so important for the solution to work from day one? Mr Campbell explains: “With IT projects, some schools have started on a back foot with elements of it not working, but there are so many aspects of the running of the school that rely on IT. Completing the registers, for example, is a legal requirement. The IT infrastructure is also needed to send out vital information to staff. In fact, some schools have had to close down because their IT systems weren’t in place. That’s why IT was so critical to the Academy.”

According to Mr Campbell, one of the reasons technicians at XMA were able to deliver such a successful solution was because they created a trial version of the system. Parts of the Academy’s proposed network were built at XMA’s Nottingham head office enabling tests to be carried out and potential issues to be identified and resolved – before the roll out. Mr Campbell said: “The network helped a lot as XMA could work through any problems before they so much as brought a box into the Academy.”


Simplifying a complex solution

The cutting edge nature of the system made the project particularly complex. Mr Campbell says: “Our system is very advanced compared to most schools. We wanted to bring teachers away from the front of the classroom and allow them to interact more with students. That’s why the wireless system was so important. The infrastructure we’ve put in place is very high-tech and sophisticated because XMA had to design a very reliable system that will not fall over.

“As the system had to be complex, we needed the technical know-how that XMA
could bring. We chose XMA because we knew they had particularly skilled people.”


A team of professionals

According to Mr Campbell, XMA and Academy staff worked together to create a practical and professional solution. He says: “We all discussed different issues together and XMA would suggest what we needed. We wanted to be sustainable – hence the Follow Me printing – which was a huge culture change for the school.”

“Even though there were challenges, we felt XMA was the best partner for us. They were always professional and punctual and they always met the deadlines we set whether that was for time or money. It was very easy for us to work with XMA staff.”

He added: “They were also very responsive. Initially a technician worked onsite and later we were given full support remotely. Any problems have been resolved quickly and easily.”

“The project went extremely smoothly and has been handled very professionally by XMA staff. They really have excellent technical know-how and their technicians were particularly good. We’ve never had any problems. The project needed to happen from day one and that’s what happened thanks to XMA.”