Graeme Stewart, Head of
Public Sector, at Fortinet
industry unlocked
Educational institutions are not immune to
cyberthreats and, often with multiple endpoints
to secure, must ensure robust cybersecurity
strategies are in place. One such example is the
University of Cambridge, which has deployed
a number of solutions from Fortinet, in a bid to
secure its network and maintain its position as
a world-class research and education facility.
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One of the world’s oldest universities, the
University of Cambridge has a strong reputation
for outstanding academic achievement and
world-class research. It has more than 11,000
undergraduates and 5,500 postgraduate students
across its 31 autonomous colleges.
The need for a central solution
As a leading research and education facility,
the university requires its IT network to reflect
its strong standing which means providing
staff and students with easy access to a host
of highly available and secure technology
services, including email, the intranet and the
backbone network.
The university’s IT provisioning structure is unique,
operating on what it calls a ‘federated’ model.
Ashley Culver, the university’s Network
Services Manager, said: “While my
team works within the central IT
department, the responsibility for much
of the university’s IT is devolved to 180
different local departments and colleges.
So, in a way, we almost sell IT services
back to the university. Which is why it’s
important for any solution we propose to
be capable and cost-effective.”
Culver explains that the devolved system
has its pros and cons. Granting each
institution its own local IT responsibility
allows for specialist needs to be better
met, while also providing the space
for innovation. However, it also means
that some work is duplicated across
departments and security standards
Issue 05
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