Bull helps Colchester Institute expand IT storage capacity

A new EMC VNX-based unified storage solution designed, supplied and implemented by Bull Information Systems will help Colchester Institute push forward with new internal projects such as individual learning plans for all of its 12,000 students and the expansion of server virtualisation. The solution, which includes a five-year support plan from Bull, has now gone live and will provide capacity across the College’s 12 delivery locations. Colchester Institute is one of the largest providers of vocational education and training across East Anglia.

The Bull solution was chosen after a competitive tender involving four vendors. Bull’s success was based on its thorough understanding of the institute’s needs and its ability to respond quickly and effectively to specific requirements.

“Bull provided the best match for our specific needs around capacity, hardware, design, support and other features. The whole project has run very smoothly from the initial conversation to the actual end-stage migration,” said Mark Harrod, network operations manager, Colchester Institute.
Harrod explained that the institute’s previous storage area network (SAN) solution was used for virtualisation with 90% of servers now virtual. However, the solution based on NF 120 devices was three years old, its original warranty had elapsed and it no longer had spare capacity.

“Some areas of our previous system were up to 98% full,” he said. “The size of the College combined with the fact that much of our course material and exams are now online meant that many internal projects had to be put on hold. However, we now have a five year roadmap as far as capacity is concerned and we can push ahead with these plans. In the future, we should be able to roll out new projects more quickly and efficiently and meet demands from other departments across the College because of the extra storage capacity we now have across our systems.

“We only see these requirements growing in the future,” adds Harrod. “All areas of education from course work to exams are migrating from paper-based to electronic based formats and technology will play an ever-expanding role in delivering these curricula.”

Bull handled the whole roll-out process from the design phase to the hardware installation. It is now providing ongoing support as part of the agreed five year plan.

“We are delivering enhanced flexibility to Colchester Institute through the new storage solution we have supplied and installed and through the long term support we are offering,” says Andrew Carr, CEO Bull UK and Ireland. “Ambitious, forward-thinking educational establishments like Colchester Institute are placing a growing premium on storage solutions as they look to meet their existing needs for extra capacity and position themselves competitively for the future. And Bull with its expertise in storage and experience in implementing storage solutions is ideally placed to help them realise their ambitions. ”