IT Communications Equipment Supply and Services

Grace Academy Darlaston is a secondary school located in the West Midlands borough of Walsall.

It is part of a multi-academy Trust.

The school building is modern and has cat6 cabling and data points installed throughout.

The school has approximately 1100 students and 125 staff members.

These numbers are expected to grow to 1500 students and 200 staff over the coming years.

Staff (and some students) are allocated personal laptops to use.

All other students use desktops when they are in lessons that require the use of computers.

The academy has standardised on using Microsoft 365 cloud services that operate alongside services provided by on-premise virtual servers (a hybrid model).

The continued use of on-premise virtual servers is uncertain.

The academy/Trust may utilise Microsoft Azure cloud services and/or move certain core server services to other data centres in the UK.

The academy wishes to replace and improve its switch, Wi-Fi and internet connectivity so that it will be fit for purpose over the course of the next 10 years.

A tender is being advertised for the following: - Design - Equipment vendor recommendation - Procurement - Installation - Configuration - Testing - Handover - Documentation - Ongoing support Grace Academy Darlaston IT staff may wish to work with the chosen provider during some of the stages shown above where it is applicable in supporting and maintaining the new system going forward (e.g. transfer of knowledge).

The new systems can be managed in-house, with the chosen supplier being available to provide high quality support and assistance, as required.