St Clare’s Oxford College engaged Simpli-Fi as part of a planned review of its ICT infrastructure, with a focus on strengthening visibility, documentation, and long-term network strategy. The college operates in a diverse, multi-vendor environment and sought a clear, structured approach to ensure continued resilience, supportability, and future readiness.
Simpli-Fi was appointed to provide detailed insight into the existing network, enhance operational clarity, and develop a strategic roadmap to support a modern, secure, and scalable infrastructure aligned to the college’s long-term objectives.
The Challenge
The college’s existing network had evolved over time without a consistent architecture or long-term infrastructure plan. This resulted in:
- Limited central visibility of network performance and structure
- Minimal documentation of infrastructure and configuration
- A multi-vendor environment (Aruba, Cisco, Smoothwall) with inconsistent management
- End-of-life and unsupported hardware creating operational and security risk
- Lack of readiness for outsourced or managed network support
- Uncertainty around future investment and upgrade priorities
St Clare’s required a clear understanding of its current environment, immediate risk mitigation, and a structured plan for the next phase of network modernisation.
The Approach
Simpli-Fi delivered a comprehensive Network Audit and Strategic Roadmap, covering both active network infrastructure and passive physical connectivity.
Active Network Infrastructure Audit
Our engineers conducted onsite discovery and remote technical analysis across LAN, WLAN and firewall environments. This included:
- Full network topology mapping (WAN, switching, interlinks)
- Complete device inventory including firmware and EOL status
- Configuration and performance review
- Security assessment covering firewall rules, segmentation and access control
- Identification of operational and security risks
This provided the college with a fully documented and transparent view of its network for the first time.
Passive Infrastructure & Wireless Review
Alongside the logical network audit, Simpli-Fi assessed the physical infrastructure supporting connectivity across the campus:
- Fibre backbone cabling inspection and validation
- Wireless access point placement and orientation review
- Verification of structured cabling to wireless infrastructure (CAT6)
- Communications cabinet layout and environment review
This ensured the physical network could support both current performance and future upgrade requirements.
The Solution
Based on the findings, Simpli-Fi delivered a clear, phased strategic roadmap aligned to operational needs, security, and long-term scalability.
The roadmap included:
Short-term priorities
- Remediation of critical risks and unsupported infrastructure
- Stabilisation of core network performance
- Improved visibility and documentation
Medium- to long-term strategy (3–5 years)
- Standardisation of network architecture
- Future-ready wireless infrastructure planning
- Improved segmentation and security posture
- Infrastructure readiness for managed / outsourced support
- Scalable network to support digital learning and campus operations
This structured approach provided the college with clarity, direction, and confidence in future investment decisions.
The Outcome
St Clare’s Oxford now benefits from:
- A fully documented and understood network environment
- Reduced operational and security risk
- Clear infrastructure and investment roadmap
- Improved readiness for third-party managed network support
- Stronger foundation for future WiFi and digital learning growth
- Scalable, supportable network aligned to long-term college strategy
Looking Forward
With a clear view of its infrastructure and a strategic roadmap in place, St Clare’s is now positioned to modernise its network in a structured, risk-managed way, supporting both academic delivery and campus operations for years to come.
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