1,350 schools within 90 days

http://au.sun.com/2003-1022/webcentral/index_print.html

WebCentral Complex, the enterprise arm of Australia's largest hosting company WebCentral, has delivered a state-of-the-art Managed Internet Service to Education Queensland's 1,350 schools within 90 days - on time and on budget.

This is a feat rarely seen in the IT industry. A project of this size, encompassing 1,350 schools and 550,000 users being implemented in 90 days is an achievement to be proud of.' Lloyd Ernst CEO WebCentral

Background

The Managed Internet Service implemented for Education Queensland includes email, web hosting, content filtered web browsing, virus scanning for email and customised portal. It is the largest Managed Internet Service in Australia and one of the largest Sun ONE installations in the world.

The design was based on high quality, proven infrastructure, utilising the SunONE platform as well as Sun Microsystems SAN Technology and BMC monitoring software. It is a high availability, high security solution with an 'n+1' redundant CISCO powered core network router, CheckPoint firewalls and biometric and physical security measures.

Success

Sun Microsystems National Manager for Education and Research, Andrew Boulus, suggests the most compelling case for Sun ONE deployed solutions centres around the 90-day implementation timeframe coupled with the remarkable ability of the software components to scale to 500,000 plus users.

The WebCentral Complex and its partners are currently scoping a range of enhancements to the existing Education Queensland solution, including collaboration and calendaring functionality as well as optimising the system's scalability.

WebCentral entered into a contract for up to five years with Education Queensland in April 2003 to create a managed internet service for all of the State's public schools. Minimum revenue under the arrangement is $16.4m over three years with potential revenue over the full five years of at least $20.3m.

The key to our success in implementing this system was having the right team, a collaborative client, the right technology and a tight scope. We leveraged our in-house expertise and employed specialist contractors to ensure a smooth implementation of this massive project. By utilising strong IT and project management methodologies and having an experienced team we were able to deliver what many of our competitors have not. A large, flexible Managed Internet Service on time and on budget - and all in 90 days. Lloyd Ernst CEO