AUSTIN, TX and BUFFALO, NY--(Marketwired - Mar 5, 2015) - Apogee, higher education's largest ResNet provider, today announced that recent partner SUNY Buffalo State has been featured in leading higher ed media outlet, Campus Technology, in an article titled "Why we Outsourced our ResNet."
This article, written by SUNY Buffalo State's director of housing Kris Kaufman, recounts the university's successful transition from an old, in-house network struggling to keep up with rising student demand to one of higher ed's most advanced 100 percent Wi-Fied residential networks managed by Apogee.
"Our existing infrastructure simply couldn't keep up," Kaufman writes. "We ultimately chose ResNet provider Apogee because the company met all [our] criteria and could offer a better service 24/7 than we could in-house."
Before partnering with Apogee, only two of SUNY Buffalo's 11 residential halls featured wireless connectivity, and the school could only provide technical support on weekdays. According to the article, outsourcing has allowed SUNY Buffalo State to deliver a new and comprehensive student network weeks before students arrived. Since then, Kaufman writes that this new network has provided the university with a multitude of improvements, including:
- A dramatic increase in bandwidth
- An increase to 100 percent wireless connectivity in all student rooms and common areas
- A decrease of burden on the staff, who no longer have to monitor RIAA/DMCA violations
- 24/7 technical support
In order for a university to remain competitive, Kaufman says that a well-functioning network is essential. "Housing is a major part of a student's decision process in choosing a school," Kaufman writes, "and reliable Internet connectivity is now an expectation."
Kaufman also provides some advice on how to organize the implementation of a university-wide overhaul, urging among other things to start early and reach out to departments beyond housing.
To read more on SUNY Buffalo State's ResNet outsourcing process, visit: http://campustechnology.com/Articles/2015/02/12/Why-We-Outsourced-Our-ResNet.aspx?Page=1
About SUNY Buffalo State
The largest comprehensive four-year college in the SUNY system, Buffalo State educates more than 10,500 undergraduate and graduate students each year and has an alumni population of 100,000. The college is known for its strong community connections and a continuing commitment to providing high-quality lifelong learning opportunities. For more information about SUNY Buffalo State, visit http://suny.buffalostate.edu/
About Apogee
Apogee is the nation's largest, most innovative provider of on-campus residential networks (ResNet) in higher education. Partnering with Apogee for ResNet services allows colleges and universities to enhance their network infrastructure while offloading the growing volume of administrative responsibilities associated with managing a student network. This partnership allows IT to focus on the mission-critical tasks of the university, such as growing the enterprise network and facilitating the development and use of e-learning tools and content. For more information about Apogee and its services, visit www.apogee.us.