Oxford Brookes University
Creating a secure, connected and future-ready digital environment to enhance the student experience
Location: oxford, UK
Client Type: higher education
Project Overview
Oxford Brookes University were focused on creating a seamless and reliable digital experience for students through improved connectivity. A strong network infrastructure was established to support day-to-day connectivity as well as future digital initiatives, alongside enhanced security and monitoring through Next Generation Firewalls, DDI, SIEM and network detection technologies. Managed services were also provided for new halls of residence, helping to deliver consistent connectivity and ongoing network support. Together, these improvements created a more secure and resilient foundation for the university’s evolving digital needs.
“Paul and Dave were instrumental in driving this project forward and were a real asset throughout. Their attention to detail, extensive industry knowledge and understanding of our requirements gave us confidence at every stage. They consistently focused on achieving the best outcome for the University, identifying opportunities that resulted in tremendous cost savings while helping us make informed decisions for the future.”
Oxford Brookes University
Vision
- A network that delivers an excellent, seamless experience across sites, regardless of location or whether the connection is wired, wireless, or public.
- Effective visibility, onboarding, and appropriate access controls for any device (including IoT) connecting to the network.
- Logical and physical resilience designed into the network.
- Protection against, and awareness of, cyber security threats.
- A highly efficient outsourced halls-of-residence network service with guaranteed wireless coverage and 24/7 student support
- A detailed assessments of existing infrastructure, defined a robust target architecture and operating model, and developed a five-year roadmap and budget.
- Lead on specifications and procurement for key solutions – including halls network, firewalls, DDI, SIEM, NDR, and connectivity services – ensuring seamless experience, resilience, and security.
- Options analysis, KPI definition, and physical layer improvements underpinned decision making and resilience.
Our Approach
4C took a structured, end-to-end approach to the project, working closely with the University from initial discovery through to procurement and future planning. We began by reviewing the existing network, connectivity, support services and physical infrastructure to build a clear picture of the current environment and identify opportunities to improve the student experience, resilience and performance. From this, 4C developed the future network architecture and operating model, bringing together connectivity, cyber security, monitoring, Smart Campus readiness and halls services within a coordinated strategy. A five-year roadmap and budget provided a clear path for delivering the transformation in manageable phases.
4C then translated the strategy into practical requirements and procurement activity, developing specifications and supporting market engagement for areas including halls connectivity, Next Generation Firewalls, DDI, SIEM, Network Detection and Response, and wider connectivity services. Alongside this, we strengthened the University’s approach to security monitoring, explored different technology and service delivery options, and established clear KPIs to measure connectivity, resilience and service performance. Throughout the programme, 4C remained embedded within University governance, providing ongoing oversight and helping maintain a clear link between the University’s objectives, investment decisions and supplier delivery.
Outcomes and benefits
The programme has helped Oxford Brookes create a more secure, resilient and student-focused network environment, while providing a clear roadmap for future investment and ongoing digital development. Overall, Oxford Brookes now has a clear pathway towards a modern, secure and future-ready network, designed to enhance the student experience while strengthening resilience, cyber security and long-term value.
Key Outcomes
- Improved student experience – better connectivity, device visibility and onboarding, alongside 24/7 support for halls of residence.
- Stronger cyber security – enhanced firewalls, SIEM and Network Detection and Response strengthen the University’s ability to identify and respond to cyber threats.
- Greater network resilience – improvements to connectivity, fibre, infrastructure and network hubs help reduce points of failure and the risk of disruption.
- A clear five-year roadmap – a phased transformation plan provides greater clarity around priorities, investment and future development.
- Better value from procurement – competitive tenders across connectivity, halls services and security technologies helped deliver value and reduce procurement risk.
- Greater visibility and control – improved monitoring, management and performance measures provide a clearer picture of network performance and service quality.
- Ready for future digital services – the new network architecture provides a stronger foundation for Smart Campus, IoT and future cloud-based services.
- More efficient IT operations – consolidated management and monitoring help simplify day-to-day network management and reduce unnecessary interventions.
- Reduced environmental impact – replacing ageing technology with modern infrastructure supports lower energy and cooling requirements, while future cloud migration provides opportunities to reduce reliance on legacy on-premise technology.
- Clear accountability – embedded governance, KPIs and service measures help ensure suppliers remain aligned with the University’s connectivity and resilience objectives.