Queensland's Sheldon College has outsourced its entire data and communications network to provide staff and students with around the clock access to resources and online learning tools.< ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
The school has 180-plus staff and 1600 students using the network and work is underway for an IP telephony network delivered over a wireless mesh solution. The network, which has been outsourced to privately owned system integrator TTGroup Communications, is based on Nortel technology. TTGroup Communications CEO Bob Bishop said until a few years ago Sheldon College had a typical school network made up of a haphazard mix of PCs, servers, laptops, limited connectivity and no single standardised operating platform. He said it was a network that grew organically and was managed reactively, but still served its purpose on a day-to-day operational basis. The project is one of the first by an Australian school to be completely outsourced to a third-party supplier covering the network's tender, design, deployment, and ongoing maintenance.
