University of Worcester Web Hosting as a Service Case Study
“Our experience with Education Host has been extremely positive. The level of service is outstanding, with some problems being resolved in hours or even minutes. Students are very satisfied” – Dr. Joanne Kuzma (University of Worcester)
Executive Summary
The computing department of the University of Worcester Business School were looking for a reliable, affordable web host to implement and manage up to 1200 student hosting accounts for the duration of the student’s course (typically three years).
Challenges
After attempting to use free hosting sites for hosting the university ran into several problems, such as lack of support, limited capabilities, and commercial banners. The technical requirements included cPanel for students, a domain name for students, automation, out-of-hours support for staff and students, and failsafe options in the event of downtime.
The requirement
The University of Worcester and Education Host discussed requirements for the first year of service. The main requirement was that each student had their own public webspace, with a domain name that could be used for assignments. This included technical requirements (such as security and size), Number of students, costing, and support. After year two, a further requirement for restore testing and frequency of backups was required to minimize risk.
Outcomes
Education Host used its years of expertise in this field to create a custom package for the University of Worcester. Including web design, the hosting of up to 1200 student accounts, fully managed servers, and guaranteed support within 24 hours for both students and lecturers with prices up to 50% cheaper than that in industry.
Challenges
Education Host has been responsive in changing the required solution as the university added more modules and more students. Implementing automation software to make this as easy as possible for the students, including automatic account removal after the student finished their time at University.
Dr. Joanne Kuzma says that “Our experience with Education Host has been extremely positive. The level of service is outstanding, with some problems being resolved in hours or even minutes. Students are very
satisfied”.