UAE-based Innoventures Education owns and operates a number of prestigious schools in Dubai including Dubai International Academy in Al Barsha and Emirates Hills, Collegiate International School, Raffles International School, Raffles World Academy, as well as than nine Raffles Early Learning Centers. Poonam Bhojani, CEO of Innoventures Education, tells Intelligent CIO Middle East why the education group implemented an end-to-end Aruba network architecture.

Innoventures Education owns and operates a number of prestigious schools in Dubai, including Dubai International Academy in Al Barsha and Emirates Hills, Collegiate International School, Raffles International School, Raffles World Academy, as well as nine Raffles Early Learning Centers. As a leading educational institution, the group recognizes the importance of technology as a tool to empower students and teachers, paving the way for a more complete and truly classroom learning experience. global.

For this reason, the group was keen to expertly respond to the demands of increasingly connected students and staff. “From a technological perspective, our mission is to provide a secure network that allows our students to access various learning systems that enhance the learning experience. A strong network is the backbone of IT services and is a critical requirement in today’s world, ”said Poonam Bhojani, CEO of Innoventures Education.

Building on a solid foundation

As a long-time customer of Aruba, Schools in the Innoventures Education group were the first educational institutions in the UAE to implement an end-to-end Aruba network architecture, enabling a state-of-the-art computing environment including Hewlett Packard infrastructure and HP desktops, laptops and printing equipment.

The rapid digitization of the education sector prompted the group to consider updating the network infrastructure. Aruba continued to make a strong case for the group to build on its long-standing success and proven architecture.

“As we did our due diligence and evaluated other vendors who were also leaders in the Gartner Magic Quadrant, we were particularly impressed with the diverse portfolio of enhanced Network Access Control (NAC) solutions and the orchestrating security with ClearPass, as well as its wide range of wireless access point and switch solutions unified in a cohesive design, ”said Bhojani.

Elevated experiences from day one

The implementation of Aruba’s wired and wireless networking solutions has enabled Innoventures Education schools to achieve 100% coverage on each of its school campuses without any blind spots, thanks to the installation of more than 1,000 access points. This performance and reliability are essential to the smooth running of operations, because on average, more than 10,000 devices connect to the network on the group’s five campuses.

“Aruba enables students and educators to securely access Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft Teams and other popular teaching, learning and collaboration applications without experiencing delays, jitter or lost connection Bhojani said.

Safely support BYOD

In a highly connected world, the diversity of digital devices and their personalized character means that the staff and students of the Innoventures Education group prefer to use their own devices for study or for entertainment. Standard laptops or tablets are not only expensive, but also seem like a thing of the past.

“All of our campuses now support BYOD and thanks to Aruba’s Zero Trust Architecture, all of our mission-critical cloud applications – our student management system, our library management system, our online assessments and our learning management – are transparently and securely accessible to relevant stakeholders. Said Bhojani.

Aruba ClearPass has been instrumental in supporting BYOD for staff and students in a truly secure manner. The solution’s QuickConnect, Policy Manager, OnGuard and Guest capabilities ensure that personal and institutional devices can quickly connect to the network, while ensuring that they meet predefined configuration and security criteria, and that only relevant resources are accessible according to predefined criteria. the roles.

Continuous digitization platform

The new network infrastructure forms the backbone of the group’s ongoing digitization program, supporting a wide range of devices including desktops, laptops, projectors, interactive display panels, iPads , video surveillance systems, signaling televisions and presence and access control systems.

“Our mission is to leverage technologies that work together cohesively to increase the overall student experience in our schools. Aruba’s network ensures that these solutions work effectively and efficiently, resulting in intuitive and truly world-class experiences, ”said Bhojani.

Reduces management costs

With operations spread across five school campuses, the simplified and centralized management of the entire network – made possible by the implementation of Aruba’s 7200 series controllers – has been of tremendous benefit to the IT team at Innoventures. Education. “Aruba makes it easy to automate previously manual processes, which keeps our network running smoothly. It also simplifies operations and reduces costs and risks, ”Bhojani said.

“Due to the dramatic reduction in connectivity support tickets and the dramatically improved resolution time, we now need fewer resources for network management. We expect this to translate into savings of 50% over a three-year period, ”she added.

Fully integrated learning environment

It wasn’t just Aruba technology that impressed Innoventures Education. “We find the team to be customer centric. Its paradigm is not just the implementation of devices, but rather meeting the challenges of its customers and providing effective solutions, ”said Bhojani.

“Aruba’s wired and wireless connectivity has removed the physical limitations of the campus and allowed our students and teachers to stay connected, both on campus and online. It allowed us to teach and learn anywhere, anytime, creating a fully integrated learning environment, ”she said.

“While ensuring good experiences for students and fostering their success is paramount, it is also important to ensure the best computing experiences, especially on today’s campus where the proliferation of devices and security concerns require detailed network visibility and management. We are very pleased to have collaborated with Innoventures Education on their digital transformation journey and look forward to expanding our engagement with the institution in the future, ”said Jacob Chacko, Regional Director – Middle East, Saudi Arabia and South Africa at Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise enterprise.

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