Fujitsu desktop virtualisation ‘in a box’ creates new IT beginnings at The Warren School

The Warren School has selected the Fujitsu vShape IT system ‘in a box’ to revitalise its IT systems. The project, due to go live for the new school year in September, will potentially deliver numerous benefits over the school’s current IT capabilities.

With over 1,200 students, The Warren School, based in Romford, Essex, has far outgrown its current IT infrastructure, with both teaching staff and students struggling with confined system resources across eleven legacy servers and limited storage capacity. The school has chosen two new cutting-edge Fujitsu PRIMERGY servers that will enable the transition from physical desktop computers to easily managed virtual desktops, providing a more flexible and future-proof way to manage IT in education.

The Warren School has chosen the ‘vShape 25’ high-availability package, optimised to deliver up to twenty-five virtual machines (VMs). Using VMs enables the school to effectively move computers and resources around the school at the click of a button: applications that would previously have been limited to certain computers in a specific department (such as an art and design package or piece of maths software) can be delivered instantly to anywhere in the school – enabling the creation of “virtual departments” and a more flexible use of classrooms.

Fujitsu vShape will also enable The Warren School to offer staff and students remote access to files and applications, radically improving the way in which students complete and submit homework. Conversely, it will enable staff and students to bring their own devices – such as tablets and laptops – to school and safely and securely connect to the school network.

Andrew Szymanski, network manager at The Warren School, said: “Moving our existing IT system to Fujitsu vShape should enable us to do so much more than we previously thought possible. To be capable of offering our staff and students true remote access and the ability to bring the devices they want to use to school, we’re not only improving the way we work but the satisfaction of our staff and students. Working in partnership with Fujitsu to move to vShape makes implementing such policies incredibly simple.”

Andrew McDade, enterprise product manager at Fujitsu UK and Ireland, said: “Fujitsu vShape is designed from the ground up to offer the small to medium-sized business – whether that’s an office or a school – everything it needs to deliver highly flexible and expandable IT to its users. By adopting vShape, The Warren School has created a world of possibilities for its teaching staff, and its students.”

The vShape infrastructure will be implemented with the support of Fujitsu engineers. Long-term handover and shadowing will ensure school ICT support staff are fully trained in using the solution and its benefits.