CommVault, maker of backup and archiving software, today announced that Northgate Managed Services (Northgate) has chosen CommVault® Simpana® software to deliver a range of data management services for Europe's first Private Education Cloud as part of a collaborative project with C2k to equip schools in Northern Ireland with Internet and other technology services.
The initiative will provide cloud services to 1,200 schools and more than 350,000 teachers and learners. Northgate and CommVault, along with other key vendor partners, will design, implement, manage and support this 'first of its kind' cloud environment.
A key aspect of the new service will be to facilitate the increased use of mobile devices. It will also take into account the need for increased bandwidth and data storage, with an emphasis on the centralised hosting of applications and the increasing use of WiFi in networks. As a result, major improvements in the use of digital technologies will be delivered to all schools.
CommVault was ultimately selected by Northgate as a result of its ability to provide a single and integrated solution to Education Network NI, resulting in an improved and manageable operational cost. With its Simpana software platform, CommVault offers a truly optimal solution that delivers robust data management capabilities, including backup and recovery, archiving and anywhere, anytime end-user access to information, made possible through mobile computing and the cloud.
This new solution creates a dynamic, flexible service which provides schools with increased access to learning resources and the ability to collaborate and develop skills which will equip learners for the future. It includes:
- Modernised data protection including integrated backup, recovery and archive and search capabilities
- A multi-tenant architecture to deliver shared services and secure, self-service operations for mobile users
- An optimised environment through virtualisation
- Reduced network bandwidth requirements and storage costs through data deduplication and compression
- Security through data encryption
Northgate's "My-School," a cloud-based online learning environment, which promotes independent learning, is also included. My-School allows students and teachers to access their school's on-line systems and applications 24x7, from any device with Internet access, through a pay-per-user licensing agreement that schools can deploy without further investment in IT infrastructure.
