E-Learning is becoming one of the most important educational frameworks. Online education extends mainstream learning to a 24x7x365 paradigm, in exciting, new, media-rich ways. In many scenarios, students can now access courseware anytime, anywhere, giving them the flexibility to learn in ways that are optimal for the educational experience, but also for their ever-changing, multimedia lifestyles.
 

Online On-Demand Learning

Derive Technologies, with our strategic alliance partner, Hewlett-Packard® (HP®), were recently asked to help one of our customers – a major professional education institution – uplift a traditional learning platform. The customer’s challenge was to extend their existing on-premise and limited electronic education program to a comprehensive, flexible, on-demand, interactive experience. The needs surrounded:

• Digitizing all text, video and audio coursework in preparation for online access
   
• Centralizing and optimizing technology services to encompass more efficient, cost-effective delivery—through high performance computing and virtualization
   
• Controlling delivery to conform to Federal compliance requirements—courses given under mandatory, scheduled and uniquely controlled conditions, even when accessed outside of the institution’s facilities
   
• Delivery of a custom e-learning image on localized workstations and mobile tablets that conforms to Federal compliance requirements—mandate for courses to be given under unique conditions, even when accessed outside of the institution’s facilities, wherein browsing and scheduling are fully controlled while courses are taken
   
• Device security—securing tablets from theft on and offsite
   

Derive’s Unique Solution

With highly specialized needs surrounding more complex media-rich digital courseware and anytime, anywhere delivery, as well as tight regulatory compliance, Derive and HP first had to upgrade the institution’s infrastructure. This included:

• Implementation of HP® BladeSystem® solutions for the customer’s central New York data center and mirror site in New Jersey
   
• Implementation of HP’s P4000 Series  G2 Storage Area Network (SAN) in a completely redundant platform—storage replicated to both sites using complimentary solutions from our partner, VMware®
   
• Virtualization with HP and VMware for dramatically improved service utilization
   
• Upgrade to Gigabit Ethernet (10 GbE) with multiple virtual channels, and specifically-dedicated channels for data, for voice, for storage

To support compliant, on-demand delivery, Derive implemented the following solutions:

• A complete Microsoft® IIS®, Windows®, Active Directory®, Exchange® and SharePoint® platform on the HP BladeSystem
   
• Citrix® XenDesktop® private cloud solutions for seamless, secure, custom delivery to in-facility workstations and tablets, and home devices
   
• Redundant iSCSI fibre storage and data networking
   
• Controlled onsite wireless solutions—to limit browsing and other access while courseware is running (controlled to be off during scheduled sessions, on at other times)
   
• Mobile Device Management (MDM) technology to secure workstations, tablets and notebooks in the customer’s New York facility and, subsequently, in locations throughout the country.

The result was, and continues to be, a complete transformation of the customer's learning environment to a complete 21st Century media center and national and reach for branch office and remote teaching.

Contact us to add your name to the list to obtain a special, soon-to-be-released whitepaper about our unique technology solution for this customer. Please call (212) 363-1111, or email us at info@derivetech.com.