The University guide to the ultimate network refresh
Understand the cost of legacy infrastructure in Universities
Keeping an ageing network running comes at a cost beyond the maintenance budget. Increased security risks, higher energy consumption, and time spent troubleshooting can all limit your team’s ability to focus on improving digital services.
Our infographic breaks down the hidden costs of network complexity and highlights where modernisation could make a difference.
Benchmark your campus connectivity
Understanding the challenges is the first step. The next is finding out how your network measures up.
Our Campus Connectivity Compass assesses network readiness across seven university environments, from teaching spaces and student accommodation to research facilities and data centres.
In just a few minutes, receive a personalised review highlighting where your network is performing well and where improvements may be needed.
Practical ways to modernise your network
Once you’ve identified where improvements are needed, how do you deliver them across a complex campus estate?
From simplifying deployment to reducing operational pressure, discover practical approaches for modernising your network that support both your IT team and the wider university.
See how to modernise your network with less operational strain
How Block delivers network upgrades with minimal disruption
A successful transformation needs a delivery plan that works around your university.
Our specialists work with you to understand your estate, plan around your academic calendar, and prepare equipment off-site wherever possible. This helps minimise downtime, manage deployment risk, and keep teaching, research, and essential services connected.
Learn from University network and security leaders
Modernising infrastructure also means rethinking how you protect users, devices, and critical services across an increasingly connected campus.
At UCISA DISC26, university IT and security leaders shared their experiences of managing patching workloads, protecting research equipment, improving visibility, and applying segmentation without restricting teaching and research.
Discover the key takeaways, including how Durham University is approaching these challenges.
8 days to transform a University network
When teaching schedules leave little room for disruption, careful planning makes all the difference.
Block helped a UK university replace 52 switches and 495 wireless access points in just eight days over the Easter break, before extending high-speed connectivity and secure onboarding to 1,200 student rooms.
A real-world example of what can be achieved within a fixed delivery window.
Looking ahead: What’s next for University networks?
With the right foundations in place, the next opportunity is making networks easier to manage, troubleshoot, and optimise.
In our FutureNow podcast, Block’s Rob Brady and HPE Juniper’s Elliot Townsend explore how AI-native networking, intelligent assurance, and automation could change the way university IT teams manage their infrastructure.
