Rebuilding differently for a more resilient future at Dundee and Angus College

Dundee and Angus College, formed through the merger of two colleges in 2013, delivers a broad curriculum of more than 900 courses to more than 16,000 students across introductory learning, vocational training, work-based learning and full higher education degrees.

It currently operates across three sites and has ambitious plans to develop two new centrally located campuses, putting the college at the heart of the communities it serves.

Transformation accelerated by crisis

A severe ransomware attack which affected the entire estate in 2020 was the catalyst for accelerating existing digital transformation plans, including a programme to migrate all digital services to the cloud.

Andy Ross, director of infrastructure, and his team saw the attack as an opportunity to ‘rebuild differently’, rethinking how digital services were delivered across the college. With our support, the existing cloud roadmap was accelerated, bringing forward an implementation originally expected to take up to two years and delivering it within weeks.

Initially, the introduction of multi-factor authentication, moving from fixed shared drives to OneDrive, and the use of laptops for all users put Dundee and Angus on a more secure footing.

Cloud, connectivity and cost control

Wider transformation followed two main strands: moving core systems such as HR, finance and student records to software as a service (SaaS), and moving infrastructure to an infrastructure-as-a-service model based on Azure cloud architecture.

“Jisc were hugely supportive of us getting cloud up and running, providing technical consultation, but also ensuring that we are able to control our costs through its collective agreements in place for cloud computing on its OCRE framework. It gives us significant savings and it keeps us compliant.”

– Andy Ross

As the transformation project unfolded, we also supported the college’s move to cloud-based telephony through our session border controller service, which uses simple internet protocol to modernise voice networks, and the replacement of all its network switches, in a project worth more than £1 million.

A new Wi-Fi 7 access point network, procured through our frameworks, provides resilient, future-ready connectivity and aligns with the new campus strategy.

“We can't pay for experts on every aspect of technology. Being able to speak to a specialist without thinking they're trying to sell us a particular product has been invaluable for everything that we've done. We know that we'll get fully independent advice from Jisc.”

– Andy Ross

Janet enables flexibility and innovation

The changes have also improved the teaching and learning experience. Staff and students can now dock and connect laptops anywhere, removing the need to log in to fixed workstations at the front of classrooms.

The college is the first in Scotland to have a dedicated esports studio, offering the nation’s first esports-related degree path, and the college also offers advanced digital solutions such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and 3D printing in connected classrooms.

Our Janet Network underpins these experiences and the entire digital experience.

“The amount of throughput through our network has grown year on year with cloud. Where before our internet lines just had to be able to cope, now, just about every connection is going out the door, so it needs to be solid. Performance doesn't come into the conversation - if there’s a problem, it’s never the Janet Network. It just works.”

– Andy Ross

Foundations fit for the future

The college’s digital team has regular catch-ups with our relationship managers, as part of a collaboration that will be increasingly vital as the college moves towards realising its ambitious plans.

Having control of digital costs, the ability to cope with the pace of change, and access to strategic advice is essential to the college’s ability to deliver on those plans. Our ability to connect the college with others with similar experiences has also proved invaluable.

“My role looking ahead is: how do we deliver digital that aligns with the future needs of the college? Jisc is valuable, pointing me in the direction of other colleges who've done something similar, giving me the correct contacts to go and speak to, because they've had a similar project and understand the potential opportunities and pitfalls.”

– Andy Ross

Next steps

Speak to one of our experts regarding a Janet Network connection.

If you are an existing member or customer you can speak to your relationship manager for more information.