Northamber Education Buyers Guide 2019

38 Information Technology for the Education Sector 39 020 8296 7066 | www.northamber.com Infrastructure Solutions Infrastructure Solutions Managing the networks for an educational institution is much more a master class in information technology than an introductory course. Combining a user base of students and faculty spread over a large campus, connecting over wired and wireless networks, and the need for access to a broad variety of online learning tools and resources – all while maintaining adequate controls for a safe Internet experience – is no small feat. TheWatchGuard Approach to Education Security Frankly, no other environment tests its IT infrastructure more in terms of both performance and security than in education – but thankfully, WatchGuard helps institutions make the grade every day. Uniquely architected to be the industry’s smartest, fastest, and most effective network security products, WatchGuard solutions address the key challenges faced by education today: from achieving and maintaining compliance standards, to securing the explosive BYOD movement. Managing the network infrastructure for any organisation is hardly an “easy A,” and educational institutions are certainly no exception. But with WatchGuard solutions that address the critical network challenges they face today, educational institutions get – and keep – high marks in security. For more on the WatchGuard range see page 42. Franklin County Board of Education. Customer Success in Education Building, maintaining, and enhancing the technologies that increase academic achievement for all students — this is the primary objective for Franklin County Board of Education's IT department, serving students in Northwest Alabama. To support this goal, Franklin County schools require a high-performing, full-featured network security solution, in addition to fast, reliable, and secure wireless access for students and staff. As a largely rural community, buildings with Internet access are few and far between. Tim Burks, Network Adminis-trator for FCBOE, estimates that roughly 80 percent of students do not have Internet access within their home. This makes providing secure Internet and Wi-Fi at the school - essential for project research and emerging learning aides - all the more critical. FCBOE offers Google classes in every one of the schools throughout their district, and has started deploying Google Chromebooks to support the curriculum, mandating the need for Wi-Fi access even further. Providing Wi-Fi is one thing, but keeping access secure is a much greater challenge. The Solution FCBOE first turned to WatchGuard in 2000, choosing the platform for its all-in-one solution set and the ease with which policies can be established. The board has deployed numerous WatchGuard appliances in the many years since, currently utilizing an XTM 1525-RP. Tim has added a Security Suite subscription to the firewall, a collection of best-in-class security services that includes Intrusion Prevention Service, Application Control, Gateway AntiVirus, spamBlocker, WebBlocker and Reputation Enabled Defense. A large fleet of AP200 wireless access points is deployed throughout FCBOE’s seven locations, offering the dependable, secure wireless access so essential to carry out daily operations within the schools. Dimension, WatchGuard’s cloud-based logging and reporting tool, distills all wired and wireless network activity into key trends and events, providing valuable insight into student Internet usage that may require a conversation or policy adjustment. Five key questions to get you started selling 1. Is your organisation up to date with the latest regulatory compliance standards? Content filtering aspects of regulations like CIPA and KCSiE can be addressed using Firebox and AP appliances, with full UTM enabled. 2.Do you currently offer Wi-Fi access to staff and students? WatchGuard solutions enable end users to separate their wireless networks using segmentation. 3.How confident are you that your network is protected from a targeted ransomware attack? Total Security Suite combines multiple advanced security services that work in tandem to deliver powerful, layered protection against ransomware attacks. 4.Is your Wi-Fi system today certified as safe for students and staff? WatchGuard products and services are eligible under the FCC’s E-Rate program – it’s the best way to save your budget dollars and secure your network. 5.Do you have visibility into all activity within your network? Dimension provides real-time visibility into all traffic occurring on your wired andwireless networks – and it comes standardwith all Firebox appliances.