Somerville College Deploys Aerohive Networks’ Wi-Fi to Attract the Next Generation of Students

First University of Oxford College to Embark on Blanket Wi-Fi

SUNNYVALE, Calif. & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aerohive Networks, the pioneer in controller-less Wi-Fi and cloud-enabled networking, today announced that Somerville College is deploying an Aerohive WLAN solution across its campus. The pioneering College, founded in 1879, is the first from Oxford University to embark on a project to provide blanket wireless coverage – indoors and out – for staff and students.

“We have Ethernet connections in all our student accommodation, but we must be aware of changing user IT behaviour and the devices students want to use”

The WLAN, implemented by ICT partner, LAN3, serves to match the facilities expected from today’s international businesses, and support Somerville’s upwardly mobile student-base in their transition from education to professional career.

In addition to enhancing the living and working experience at the College, Somerville deems the Aerohive WLAN solution as key to attracting the next generation of top-flight students and academics in an increasingly competitive and cost-conscious higher education sector.

News Facts

• The Aerohive WLAN replaces ad hoc and unmanaged 3Com APs. As an early adopter of Wi-Fi technology seven years ago, Somerville recognised the need to re-assess its wireless connectivity in order to stay ahead of increased demand and advanced technology expectations from students.
• The Aerohive implementation not only differentiates Somerville from other Oxford Colleges and UK institutions, but matches the Wi-Fi footprints of competing international Universities, where students have benefitted from blanket Wi-Fi coverage for a number of years.
• The College is in constant use throughout the year, hosting international conferences and seminars during term breaks. This activity generates important revenue for the college, and extending Wi-Fi across the campus helps entice those choosing summer courses or conferences.
• Beating off competition from Aruba and Cisco, Aerohive’s controller-less architecture affords Somerville superior scalability and ease of management, at a long-term lower price point.
• Aerohive also integrates with EduRoam, the secure, world-wide roaming access service developed for the international research and education community. This enables academic staff, and the wider University community, to securely access EduRoam with a seamless connectivity experience on entering Somerville.
• A further benefit is gained from Aerohive’s HiveManager Virtual Appliance Network Management System (NMS). This enables Somerville’s IT team to manage the WLAN from a single platform, which can be seamlessly integrated into the existing virtualized environment at the College. With complete visibility of devices accessing the network, and the health and security posture of AP’s, HiveManager not only reduces the demands on the IT team’s operational resources, but enables quick, central remediation of APs to minimise any disruption to learning.
• LAN3 and Somerville College began its implementation of Aerohive APs in March 2011, with staff and students already benefitting from the extended Wi-Fi coverage. The College will complete the roll-out of APs in preparation for the next academic year starting September.

Comments

“We have Ethernet connections in all our student accommodation, but we must be aware of changing user IT behaviour and the devices students want to use,” said Chris Bamber, IT Manager at Somerville College. “To remain a top Oxford college we need to deliver the same high level of technology access you’d expect from an international business.”

“We’ve invested in Aerohive for the future. We recognise that technology plays an increasingly important role in college choice for prospect students – it is a key differentiator for us. As smartphones and iPads become the norm, we’ve made sure we are perfectly placed to support the connectivity demands of both the existing crop of students, but moreover, the next generation of prospects looking to embark on University career,” concluded Bamber.

About Aerohive Networks

Aerohive Networks reduces the cost and complexity of today’s networks with cloud-enabled, distributed Wi-Fi and routing solutions for enterprises and medium sized companies including branch offices and teleworkers. Aerohive’s award-winning cooperative control Wi-Fi architecture, public or private cloud-enabled network management, routing and VPN solutions eliminate costly controllers and single points of failure. This gives its customers mission critical reliability with granular security and policy enforcement and the ability to start small and expand without limitations. Aerohive was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif. The company's investors include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Northern Light Venture Capital and New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA). For more information, please visit www.aerohive.com, call us at 408-510-6100, follow us on Twitter @Aerohive, subscribe to our blog or become a fan on our Facebook page.