Overview

The British Muslim School (BMS), formerly known as Jalaliah Educational Institution is a thriving Islamic secondary school with the focus of both Islamic studies and national curriculum subjects Their main objectives are to equip the young people with the skills required for life, work and continued learning. This is achieved through a curriculum for excellence, which responds to the particular needs of pupils, and the multi-cultural communities in which they live.

The Challenge

BMS has one IT suite comprising of thirty desktop computers, some of which were damaged and numerous classrooms with no added IT for teaching enhancements. All computers were running standalone without a centralised server for user/data management. They did have an old server located in a remote room which was damaged by water and has since been de-commissioned. Existing LAN infrastructure was dormant, untested and undocumented.

The challenge for STS PC was to plan and execute a new server implementation using the existing failing and untested LAN infrastructure, repair any damaged computers, plan and install new projectors and teacher work stations in each of the classrooms and migrate all existing students and teachers to a new server.

The Approach

After understanding BMS’s IT systems requirements, STS PC was able to write an upgrade and installation plan for a new server environment hosted under Windows operating systems.

With careful planning STS PC then devised a project plan that had to be manged in stages in order for a smooth transition to the new system. This included managing third party application vendors and timescales around installation of third-party applications on the new servers.

We implemented a centralised server system, creating and migrating all users and devices to the server.  All existing network point were tested and repaired and a new suitable location to house the server was identified.  The existing Wi-Fi was hardened and new security guidelines put forwards

Using the plans allowed STS PC to meet deadlines and complete a smooth transition to the new servers.

The Result

BMS now has a centralised managed server where they can fully control all aspects of their students and staffs access as well as being able to provide quality teaching using the latest technology. STS PC have also improved staff ability to work remotely increasing BMS’s ability to access teaching applications from home or remote offices with the introduction of Microsoft Teams.