Singelland public-authority combined school: Connectivity ensures the continuity of teaching

Singelland is entirely dependent on the internet across all its locations. Reliable connectivity is essential for all primary teaching activities and the tasks associated with them. Eurofiber’s high-quality fiber-optic network, including powerful protection against DDoS attacks, provides Singelland with that assurance.

Singelland public-authority combined school (OSG Singelland) provides secondary education to some 3,800 pupils at 7 locations spread across the province of Friesland. An 8th location will shortly be added in Drachten. OSG Singelland offers a diverse range of educational opportunities and programmes, from vocational learning to pre-university education (vwo), including with Latin and Greek (gymnasium). A special feature of OSG Singelland is the International Transition Classes, which are tailored to foreign-speaking young people. As every individual is unique, teaching is focused on enabling every student to develop their talents optimally through a personal approach.

Totally reliant on connectivity

“Teaching is completely different from when I started here 13 years ago,” says Paul Meulman, system administrator at OSG Singelland. “Everything nowadays is online, from timetables, books and homework to lesson preparation and administrative matters, supported by Cloud applications offered by Microsoft, Google, AFAS and Magister. If the connection fails, we lose access to teaching materials and timetables and are unable to make phone calls, send emails or print documents. The resulting severe adverse impact on teaching and our operations underlines the vital importance of connectivity to us.”

“Between 7 am and 5 pm, thousands of users connect to the internet. That extended peak period is our greatest challenge, mainly because everyone expects to be able to connect to the various Cloud applications all the time and without interruption. Our decision two years ago to choose Eurofiber as our partner was driven by the promise of reliable connectivity for our SD-WAN environment, coupled with its impressive cost efficiency.” In addition to these services, Eurofiber also offers use of a Scrubbing Center against DDoS attacks.

Reliable and secure connectivity

“Eurofiber was on my radar for some time already,” Meulman continues. “Their fiber-optic network and the Scrubbing Center against DDoS attacks are superb. The connection is always up and any DDoS attack that has been countered is reported to us before we’re aware it has even taken place. That prevents a 24-hour to 48-hour adverse impact on our operations. The process and communication around a new connection, e.g. for a new location, run very smoothly. Everything follows a clear step-by-step plan, backed up by excellent support from their technical helpdesk. Any questions we have are addressed almost immediately. We are continually updated about the status, and delivery is smooth and efficient. After that, the connection is trouble-free.”

High service levels

“Eurofiber’s commitment to sharing ideas with us and advising us on what we need adds value to my work as well as the organisation. I appreciate their willingness to let us know when something is not needed by us. In combination with their reliable connectivity, we ensure that everything is configured for redundancy, including the firewall. The excellent cooperation between us ensures that a stable internet connection with uniform service provisions and features is guaranteed at all times across all our locations.”

Confidence

“The certainty of uninterrupted connectivity allows us to focus on other key issues, such as information security. This is important for schools in the light of privacy laws, which require us to have an information security plan in place that provides assurance that our systems and processes offer the highest level of information security. This is achieved through encryption and two-factor authentication, for example. Eurofiber’s own fiber-optic network is also an integral part of our security plan. The reliable, secure and stable connection this provides gives us confidence.”