Janet education network extends BT relationship

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Network hardware, Network software, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), Unified communications, Wireless, Mobile, Broadband, Datacentre networking, Network routing and switching, Network monitoring and analysis, Network security strategy, WAN performance and optimisation

UK education network Janet has extended a 20-year relationship with BT afterwards agreeing aprocurement framework for the straightway three years.

Through its network services division BT iNet, BT will advise universities on aligning IT andbusiness strategies and supply Avaya local area network, wireless LAN, routers and otherproducts to education organisations.

About 18 million people are connected to Janet academic institutions in the UK. It as well supportslocal authority education networks.

Major infrastructure project which included network

WarwickUniversity worked on a major infrastructure project which included network and datacentreupgrades. About £10m was invested in a new core network based on Cisco innovation, which was builtby BTiNet while a 14-week period in summer 2010. The network - which is expected to save about £15mover 11 years - allowed the university to offer services including voice over IP and videoconferencing from the desktop.

SalfordUniversity worked with the supplier to implement a Cisco-based network that offers 23,000students and 3,500 staff connectivity from halls of residence and on campus, as part of atransformational IT project.

The hike in university fees has presented higher education with one of the biggest competitivechallenges to face its institutions. Universitiesmust invest in their IT and particularly networks in a more business-like manner if they are tocompete. Educational organisations as well facepressure to cut back office costs as funding reduces, and job reductions increase.

A chief innovation officer answers some of CIOs' lingering questions about mobility strategy rollouts, outsourcing and rogue app development.

At Cisco Live London, Cisco launched 40 and 100 GbE switching, a souped-up 4-antenna WLAN access point, and a host of network virtualisation technologies.

The cloud is set to be a key investment area for UK buyers in 2012 with 30.5% of IT buyers pledging to spend on the research, according to TechTarget's 2012 IT Priorities Survey.

A European cloud industry body focusing on the legal issues of cloud computing; Dell's new data centre in Germany; and Gartner's hybrid IT report are in this week's highlights.

Master data management programme focused on products

BBC Worldwide has started a master data management programme focused on products. The first step was to define product as anything licensed or sold. Communicating with the business was crucial.