The University of the Arts London (UAL) is to overhaul its ICT infrastructure in a bid to deliver and maintain a “truly agile” desktop infrastructure.
UAL, the largest arts university in Europe, has become the first institution on this side of the Atlantic to sign up to the new Citrix Campus Agreement in the process, which will allow for greater desktop flexibility across its six Colleges.
The University has worked alongside ICT consultancy firm Centralis in developing the strategy, which will include the ability to deliver and maintain a single desktop/application to multiple devices across multiple locations including an ever increasing Apple Mac community where the users can subscribe to the applications they need.
“The University has been investigating various methods of delivering desktops and applications from a central point, but was unsure whether this would be best suited using VDI, TS, physical or a mix,” says Adam Atkinson, desktop manager at University of the Arts London. “The time required to fully assess the different solutions and technologies was a daunting prospect knowing that one delivery method would not suit all of our users. We can now focus on how best to deliver the applications and desktops rather than worrying about the licensing requirements for each technology.”
Patricia Reid, IT Support Manager, Central Services and Licensing at University of the Arts London added, “It has taken the HE education sector nearly five years to achieve this agreement through discussions with Citrix, EduServe and UCISA to make it more cost effective for us to license our Citrix environment. UAL have been working with Centralis and Citrix for a few years now with a view to one day having a Campus wide licence and now it is here there was no doubt in my mind that we will make use of it as it will be more cost effective for the University.”
The new licensing model is based on a Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) count of both students and staff at a fixed price, and includes unlimited access campus-wide, work at home rights and flexible subscription benefits. Under the terms of the agreement, UAL will be able to fully utilise several Citrix technologies, including XenDesktop 4 and EdgeSight, a real-time system-monitoring tool, and further leverage previous investment in the Citrix Access Gateway.
Signing the Agreement comes ahead of a planned move for one campus, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, to new premises in Kings Cross, which is expected to take place next year. UAL is hoping to introduce thin client devices in the new building and will be covered for this under the terms of the Campus Agreement.
Alex Weeks, IT Systems Manager at University of the Arts London says, “Our aim is always to streamline and improve our IT provision for staff and students. The Campus Agreement allows us access to the latest technology at a fixed price point, essential from our point of view as an educational establishment.”
“We have worked with Centralis to deploy Citrix products for a number of years and have positive feedback from staff already using the Access Gateway product. It also allows us to plan for the future expansion to the student body and development of a new location.”
Ewen Anderson, managing director at Centralis says, “University of the Arts London is made up of some of the most renowned art colleges in the world and Centralis is proud to have been working with them for the last seven years to increase both the quality and reach of their IT solutions. Given the challenges of the move and requirement to deliver services to multiple colleges across London, it is no surprise to see them being the first to take advantage of the new licensing and it will certainly help to minimise disruption for staff and students.”
Source: http://www.publictechnology.net/sector/education/uni-arts-london-overhaul-ict-infrastructure
