Channel partner PrimeSys has helped Warwickshire College Group modernise its IT infrastructure by migrating its virtual environment from an on-premises platform to Nutanix on OVHcloud, creating a scalable cloud campus supporting more than 11,500 users.
PrimeSys has completed the migration of Warwickshire College Group’s (WCG) core IT infrastructure from an on-premises environment to Nutanix running on OVHcloud, enabling the college group to create a scalable cloud campus supporting more than 11,500 users.
WCG operates five colleges across Warwickshire and supports approximately 10,000 students and 1,500 staff through a central IT team of around 30 employees. The project formed part of the college’s wider Digital Transformation strategy to replace ageing infrastructure, improve resilience and address increasing virtualisation costs.
PrimeSys worked closely with WCG to assess a range of cloud options before recommending Nutanix on OVHcloud. According to the college, transparent pricing, predictable costs and the opportunity to validate the proposed architecture through a trial environment were key factors in selecting the solution.
Matt Tennant, Corporate Services Director – Digital & IT, Warwickshire College Group, said: “We were looking at how we could modernise and improve our technology, in particular because a lot of the servers were coming up to end of life.”
The migration was completed during the summer holiday period to minimise disruption to teaching and learning. PrimeSys consolidated 10 virtual server hosts into a three-node Nutanix cluster hosted in OVHcloud’s UK data centre.
“The initial migration and creation of our ‘cloud campus’ was relatively easy to handle over the summer holidays,” said Tennant. “The lack of ingress and egress fees on OVHcloud meant that if we messed it all up, it wouldn’t cost us anything to get our data out again.”
Following the migration, the college experienced an issue when increased student connections at the start of term were incorrectly identified as a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. Working together, PrimeSys and OVHcloud helped WCG identify the root cause and resolve the issue by separating traffic across multiple virtual IP addresses, restoring services and strengthening the architecture for future demand.
According to WCG, the new cloud environment delivers comparable costs to its previous on-premises infrastructure while providing greater flexibility, resilience and operational efficiency. The college also said the platform has strengthened security through single sign-on and multi-factor authentication across student applications.
The success of the project has prompted WCG to begin planning the next phase of its cloud strategy, with PrimeSys supporting the planned migration of the college’s virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) to the Nutanix platform using Omnissa Horizon.
We asked Matt Tennant, Corporate Services Director – Digital & IT, Warwickshire College Group, about the project and PrimeSys’ role in the migration.
How did the move to a cloud-based infrastructure support Warwickshire College Group’s broader Digital Transformation strategy?
Partnering with PrimeSys to migrate to the cloud has delivered superior technological agility and greater operational flexibility. By securing enhanced support, we can now deploy our on-site staff more effectively and dedicate valuable time to strategic initiatives rather than routine maintenance and management.
What were the biggest challenges you encountered during the migration, and how did your team overcome them?
The transition was largely seamless, thanks to Nutanix’s robust migration tools. Additionally, knowing that OVHcloud did not impose ingress or egress charges gave us peace of mind that the entire process was fully reversible should any critical issues arise.
However, we did encounter some high-pressure moments early on. On the first day of the term, an unexpected IT outage left crowds of students stranded outside a college campus. The culprit was our use of a single IP interface for all connections; the sudden surge in student traffic triggered a false positive in the DDoS detection system, cutting off all network access. We resolved the problem swiftly with support from PrimeSys and OVHcloud and adapted our strategy, ensuring that every individual site now utilises distinct connection pathways to prevent future disruptions.
How has the new Nutanix on OVHcloud environment improved resilience, flexibility and day-to-day IT operations?
Transitioning from an on-premises setup to the cloud has brought substantial benefits. While we possess a superb internal team, the addition of the PrimeSys and OVHcloud teams provides invaluable extra support and around-the-clock availability whenever required.
Our resilience was proven during a regional test that caused a local power failure; because our cloud campus was fully operational, our services remained uninterrupted. In the past, such an incident could have forced a campus closure and compelled staff to take leave.
Ultimately, this comprehensive solution has delivered enhanced technical support and a robust platform at an equivalent cost to running on-premises. As a result, we enjoy greater resilience and availability compared to our former environment, alongside a reduced carbon footprint, which aligns perfectly with our institutional values as an educational provider.
What impact have single sign-on and multi-factor authentication had on security and the experience of students and staff?
Prior to migrating to Nutanix, WCG had already implemented single sign-on and multi-factor authentication (MFA). The implementation of these systems has had a two-fold impact: logging into systems is now much more efficient and secure, as users generally only need to enter their credentials once. Security has significantly improved due to MFA, which is a well-documented security method against phishing attacks. Staff and students have quickly adapted to these MFA requirements; furthermore, we generally find that students expect this enhanced level of security for any account that holds value to them.
What lessons did you learn from the migration that could help other education institutions planning a similar transition?
While many peers often view cloud adoption as cost-prohibitive, WCG successfully implemented a comparable alternative.
We had considered Nutanix in the past, but the value-to-payoff ratio wasn’t sufficient back then. Today, it stands as a robust and straightforward platform that delivers exactly what we require.
In terms of procurement, rather than relying on the OCRE framework, we leveraged the NHS SBS framework. I would encourage other institutions to remember that compelling options exist well beyond the standard G-Cloud when evaluating buying frameworks.
Crucially, selecting the right partners can make or break a project. Every migration is bound to face initial teething problems, and ours was no exception. However, our technical engineers frequently highlighted how much it felt like a genuine partnership with OVHcloud and PrimeSys, rather than the typical finger-pointing encountered with other vendors. Having that trust and responsiveness is an essential part of the equation.
Looking ahead, what role will the planned VDI migration and further cloud adoption play in supporting teaching, learning and future growth at Warwickshire College Group?
Historically, local issues such as power outages led to IT outages and disrupted classes. By hosting core infrastructure and VDI in a robust cloud environment, WCG ensures that students and staff have uninterrupted, highly resilient access to their digital workspaces and learning materials, regardless of local campus issues.
WCG’s educational ethos focuses on producing entrepreneurial, work-ready students who blend technical skills with collaborative behaviours. A high-performing cloud-based VDI ensures that students have reliable access to demanding, industry-standard software such as CAD, design tools or development environments on any device, supporting flexible flipped learning models and remote collaboration.
