Connectivity, cyber security and IT Service provider IFB, has recently been awarded a 300k contract to deliver and support a full fibre network and high-capacity hardware to nearly 50 key Aberdeen City Council (ACC) education locations.
The agreement – in partnership with leading Cloud, IT, and network services provider EXPO.e – means ACC now have access to multi-gigabit speeds between key locations allowing them to future proof the delivery of critical services across schools and educational resources across the city.
IFB CEO Graeme Gordon said – “We are delighted to have been selected by EXPO.e to design, deliver and support them with this key upgrade for Aberdeen City Council. This will mean faster, more reliable, and more secure connections across many locations and schools which increasingly rely on digital connectivity everyday as part of core teaching and education.”
Graeme continued – “IFB’s selection for this project demonstrates that collaboration between the public sector, enterprise scale organisations like EXPO.e, and indigenous SME’s like IFB not only delivers creative solutions to problems, but innovations in how these can be procured and delivered, maximising the resulting economic benefit to a city or region.”
IFB and EXPO.e’s solution effectively delivers almost limitless bandwidth between key locations by providing new dedicated fibre connections. The design connects the education sites back to two key council data centres, providing a highly resilient network. IFB and EXPO.e are responsible for the new fibre delivery and support, along with the supply, configuration and support of the hardware and devices required across all locations, including the data centres themselves.
EXPO.e Head of Channel (Liam Montague) said – “Working in partnership with IFB on the ACC project has been fantastic. There is huge potential in this region for both IFB and EXPO.e, which is exemplified by this key win. Collaborative engagement throughout the whole process has provided us with a strong foundation to build on in the years ahead, having established a strong working relationship between all parties involved – EXPO.e, IFB, and ACC. We anticipate the success of this partnership will provide the model for future projects of a similar nature across the region, helping further optimise the delivery of critical services for citizens.”
ACC’s Steve Robertson commented – “Delivering and supporting the best digital educational resources and capabilities across Aberdeen City for our schools is a key part of our hybrid learning strategy for the Council. This means schools, teachers and pupils will be able to use the internet without the risk of interruptions, even if multiple classes are using it at the same time. Teaching won’t be hindered by limited connectivity resulting in devices not connecting to the internet, videos buffering or by the lack of access to online resources.
“Pupils will benefit from being able to securely connect with others anywhere. Locally and globally, in to learn from one another, with access to an ever-growing library of online tools designed to make lessons more fun and engaging.
“We are delighted to have worked with the team at EXPO.e on this important project and also as part of this been supported by a local Service Provider, IFB, showing a real engagement between the Council and business to help with digital transformation and adoption across the city.”
IFB are an Aberdeen Head Quartered IT Services provider with over 28 years experience in delivering in demand business IT services across Energy, Public, Business Services and the Third Sector. IFB specialises in designing and delivering connectivity and networks solutions along with cyber security services.
