Stowe Valley Multi-Academy Trust will be the first Trust in the UK to implement TalkTalk Business’ Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) Network across all eight of their sites, reducing costs and improving efficiency.

Although the MPLS network has been used by business customers for many years, this will be the first time it will be implemented in schools. This highlights a turning point for Stowe Valley, who is seeking innovative ways to improve pupil and staff experience.

The project is being delivered by Stowe Valley’s Strategic IT Partner, HBT Communications, working in Partnership with TalkTalk Business. HBT Communications has recently helped Stowe Valley deploy a VoIP platform which is distributed to all schools within the Multi-Academy Trust (MAT). A key aspect of the new system is the ability for staff to move across the sites without changing contact numbers, increasing collaboration across the schools.

Stephen Hardy, IT Director at the Trust is excited about the upcoming project “Our vision as a Multi-Academy is to provide the best experience for our students. The MPLS network will create a centralised managed network that will allow us to have shared services such as telephony across the schools within the trust which in turn will enable increased collaboration and reduce ongoing costs.”

The Sales Manager at HBT Communications has been working closely with the Trust. “The new network will enable Stowe Valley to move their existing IT infrastructure into an Azure cloud platform, therefore there is no need for expensive server investment. Cyber security will be managed centrally saving expensive resource and hardware costs. This is a really exciting project and once implemented will be a first in the education sector.”

Richard Thompson, Director of Partners at TalkTalk Business said: “We are delighted that HBT Communications is working in partnership with Stowe Valley to utilise our MPLS network in all of their sites. We hope that it will empower other Trust’s around the UK to follow suit. Good connectivity is no longer just nice to have, it’s a fundamental necessity. Schools should have access to the connectivity and technology that complements their ability to deliver exceptional teaching.”