FORTINET'S FORTIGATE

“The changeover of our firewall solution was performed seamlessly by Subnet. Over a long period of time, we’ve built up a business partnership based on trust, continuity and relationship development.”  

Matthew Western, IT Manager,  Investigator College 

Investigator College, situated an hour’s drive south of Adelaide on the beautiful Fleurieu Peninsula, boasts dual campuses located in Victor Harbor and Goolwa, as well as an EcoCentre and Eco-Sustainability Trade Skills Centre located at Currency Creek. The College currently has some 700 students and over 80 staff.

Investigator College prides itself on being a ‘first-choice’ educator and has gained a reputation for its ability to provide many and varied educational opportunities ‘right here’ on the South Coast. Subnet has been working with Investigator College since 2011, and with recent and ongoing upgrades to College facilities, all students and faculty have the opportunity to access state-of-the-art technology.  It is vital for the functionality of the College that access to the right technology is seamless, safe, and efficient. 

Concern:

Changes in the security threat landscape prompted the ICT team at Investigator College to consider other products and protocols to keep the college population secure. Their aging Cisco solution was significantly strained, proving more expensive than budgeted for and couldn’t keep up with the latest forms of sophisticated attacks. The college also required a comprehensive and scalable solution that could be changed to meet the growing threat profile of ICT in Australia. As a result, the cost saving benefits of a newer, faster and more adaptive solution were more appealing.  

The Subnet Solution:

Under the guidance of our Senior Systems Engineer, the college’s IT Manager decided that Fortinet’s FortiGate Next Generation Firewall was the right solution. The FortiGate, Next Generation Firewall, utilises purpose-built security processors and threat intelligence services to deliver top-rated protection. Fortigate reduces complexity with automated visibility into applications, users and networks.  

Investigator College has built a strong partnership with Subnet over the past seven years as its preferred solutions provider, with the most recent project being the installation of a new 250Mb high-speed commercial grade NBN installation into the Victor Harbor Campus. 

Installed in July of 2018, this fibre internet connection upgrade allows unlimited internet access for all students and is safely protected by the new Fortinet Next Generation Firewall to provide active filtering, anti-virus, and system protection for the entire College network spanning all three campuses. The College has also just upgraded their private cross-campus network capacity from the Currency Creek Eco Sustainability Trade Skills Centre to provide direct high-speed access to the new Victor Harbor Campus internet connection. The adoption and integration process was executed expertly with minimal disruptions.  

The college continues to find that the Next Generation features make them more aware of security threats they might have previously missed before the installation. Students and staff have noticed faster performance as well as increased efficiency in detecting malware. Fortinet also accommodates the new link capacity the college has adopted.

All downloaded files are scanned and verified safe in the Fortinet cloud; Investigator College’s IT Manager highlighted that, in a college environment where students need to download various materials for their projects, this functionality is essential. Additionally, if a student or staff member picks up malware at home and tries to reconnect onto the college’s network, the FortiGate will immediately detect it and block it – making it an intuitive solution all schooling institutions need to adopt.  

Result:

Students and staff at Investigator College have seen a positive change in their user experiences. Not only is their network faster and meets the industry standard, but it’s also safer. As a result, Investigator College’s IT Manager recommends that other schools adopt a FortiGate as it works well with connections in South Australian schools today.

Our engineers’ experience and foresight have provided the IT team at Investigator College with strategic insight into best practices on how to best manage their ever-expanding ICT environment. The college’s IT team have commended Subnet’s account managers and engineers for their technical expertise and willingness to go above and beyond. 

Read our Aberfoyle Park High School Case Study for more insight into how we were able to help them deliver better curriculum innovation. 

Graham Butterworth

Account Manager

To find out how Subnet can help your school or organisation, leave your details in the form below and one of our sales representatives will call you back.