Manx Telecom recently completed the incorporation of the entire Department of Education’s communications infrastructure into the Connect Mann network.
The ?1million project, which began in 2008, means that schools and education establishments across the Island can now take full advantage of the latest technology.
Prior to the project, the Department of Education’s IT network was the only part of Government which wasn’t part of the Island-wide Connect Mann network.
Early in 2008, the Department of Education sought Tynwald’s approval to renew its information communications technology infrastructure by creating a faster, more secure network which would be able to cope with the increasing demands placed on it by the Island’s education system.
The size and scope of the project was considerable: the new network needed to provide around 1,000 teachers and 12,000 students with email, internet access, administrative processes, and educational applications, plus link together all schools and other educational locations.
In all, the project involved linking 35 primary schools, 5 secondary schools, plus some 24 other offices and locations, such as youth and outreach centres.
"While we have undertaken projects of this size before, said Manx Telecom Project Manager Dave Minay, "we had a very short window in which to complete the work."
"This meant that we needed advanced project planning to ensure that we utilised every minute, when the schools were closed.
"There was no margin for error or delay, everything had to be installed, and working when the students returned."
The new network brings massive advantages in terms of capability, reliance, and flexibility. "One of the challenges," said Bryan Dowson, Manx Telecom’s Lead Design Engineer "was meeting the Government’s security requirements, while maximising accessibility and usability for all users.
"Another challenge was to migrate the secondary schools' existing data centre and incorporate it into Manx Telecom’s Data Centre and Disaster Recovery facility at Douglas North."
IP (Internet Protocol) telephony was also a key part of the project and the Manx Telecom worked closely with the Government’s Integrated Systems Division (ISD), who were responsible for putting over 600 phones all on same IP call system, effectively giving the Department its own 'free call' network, which has resulted in huge savings on call costs, and enabled the department to take advantage of increasingly popular IP technologies, such as video conferencing.
"We are delighted with the way the project was managed," said ICT Adviser, Graham Kinrade.
"Technology is such a huge part of education these days, and it’s vital that we provide the children with the best possible systems.
"It’s our strong belief that the focus should be on what children can do with technology, not the technology itself, and I’m pleased to say that we now have a system which can more than meet this need.
"The new system is five times faster, more stable, and it’s also potentially very expandable.
"Expandability is crucial given that educational software and applications increasingly involve streaming applications and, as result, are becoming more bandwidth hungry.
"It means that technology won’t act as a brake on our plans – it will act as a gateway, not a fence – something the children can only benefit from."
