The Cloud Transformation project is part of our Capital Programme. It’s aimed squarely at better supporting the way we work and learn. The project was designed to build a robust digital infrastructure for Sussex to support learning, teaching, and our current and future digital needs.
As the project comes to a close, we take a look at what it has achieved and learn more about the benefits it will bring to the University.
About the project
The project aims to move the University to a modern ‘private cloud’ hosting solution, providing colleagues with seamless access to the business applications and services we use and rely on day-to-day.
As part of this work, the project has delivered new infrastructure (called Nutanix) which hosts servers and IT services across two physical datacentres, one on-premises and another located away from campus. This change plays an important part in building a robust digital infrastructure to support organisational needs.
Benefits
The Nutanix platform allows hosted services to be built quickly and scaled flexibly to respond to growth and changing demand. It provides enhanced service reliability and security, improved cost predictability, and a lower carbon footprint with a significant reduction in power consumption.
What’s been achieved
Colleagues in IT Services and Sussex Projects have carefully and expertly overseen the migration of hosted University services to the new hardware, enabling the modernisation of the IT server estate with no downtime for staff or students.
We’ve seen improvements in system performance, with a greater capacity to handle higher levels of traffic, faster service and application loading times, and fewer incidents being reported across our core services.
Chris Mitchell, Senior Project Manager, said:
“The project represents a significant step in strengthening one of the University’s most essential, and often unseen, foundations. By moving to a private cloud, the team have enabled us to meet modern growth, resilience and performance expectations."
Seb Harrington, Assistant Director (IT Infrastructure), commented:
“Staff can work with greater confidence, and students get a smoother, faster experience. It’s a change that isn’t just about technology - it’s about helping everyone do their best work. It has set the direction and foundation for the future of IT Service delivery.”
Well done to everyone involved in delivering this critical project for the University.