University of Illinois College of Pharmacy increases the bandwidth and stability of their network
The Challenge: A Superior Distance-Learning Experience
The College of Pharmacy within the University of Illinois at Chicago has long offered streaming video classes to better attract and serve geographically dispersed students. However, the demand for distance learning eventually exceeded the capacity of the existing campus network. The College of Pharmacy looked to Burwood Group’s combination of higher education, networking, and video knowledge to increase the bandwidth and stability of the network.
The Solution: Project Leadership and Network Expertise
Burwood Group was charged with designing and implementing a new network in Rockford specifically for the College of Pharmacy. An important requirement was to integrate the new network with the College of Pharmacy’s Chicago offices, which relied upon the Chicago campus wide area network. In addition, this new network infrastructure needed to be easily managed and monitored by UIC-Rockford’s small IT department.
With two campuses involved, the project required input from numerous staff members, each concerned with different aspects of information technology. Collaboration was critical for Burwood Group to obtain appropriate permissions to access the existing network infrastructure. Serving as project leader and manager, Burwood Group engaged multiple technology teams on both campuses to identify requirements and plan the implementation. In this objective third-party role, Burwood Group was able to gather essential information for the new network design. Once in possession of the key requirements, the project team facilitated numerous collaborative workshops to orchestrate the design, bill of materials, implementation plan, and sequenced rollout for the new infrastructure.
“Burwood Group excelled in leading this project, navigating our organizational structure, and collaborating with the many different parties involved. From initial consultation through post delivery support, the Burwood Group team is thoughtful, thorough and professional, and the network transition was flawless. I never expected a problem-free project, but that’s exactly what we
received from Burwood Group.”
Burwood Group Services
Project Leadership
Cisco Networking
Cisco Video
Palo Alto Networks Security
The Outcome: Better Network, Better Learning Experience
Today, the College of Pharmacy network has the stability and bandwidth to support a high-quality extensive distance-learning program that serves students well and meets accreditation standards. Also important, the new network includes a streamlined new firewall application easily managed by busy in-house IT staff.
