Vibrant Networks Wi-Fi project Stephen Lawrence Trust won the Network computing awards Network Project of the year 2020.

Success Story
Putting a community space to work : Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust expands with networking upgrade from Zyxel

Overview Success

• Achieving faster, wider and more secure connectivity to support growth and the ability to take on business tenants
• Maintaining a business-wide network without full time IT support
• Implementing a scalable network solution that will grow with an expanding number of daily and external WiFi users

Solution

• Nebula Cloud Managed Solution

Background
Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust works with young people from disadvantaged backgrounds aged 13 to 30 to inspire and enable them to succeed in the career of their choice. The Trust believes that someone’s background should not limit what they can achieve and run high impact programmes that inspire and enable young people from disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds to succeed.

The Trust owns an iconic building, The Stephen Lawrence Centre, in South London which was built in 2008. In 2017, the interior of the building was redesigned by world-famous architects Gensler introducing the co-working hub, Your Space. The operation of Your Space required fast wi-fi
throughout the whole building to support multiple users and enterprises.

Challenges
As a non-profit organisation, Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust doesn’t have dedicated IT support service or set up, relying instead on one part-time IT volunteer to help troubleshoot devices and reset routers. Originally, the centre was fitted with just one router and a Wi-Fi extender to boost the signal in more distant parts of the building, which often failed. As a result, the signal was poor, network transparency was limited and the Trust had no central bandwidth control. As the trust grew larger and wanted to include separate businesses on its WiFi network, it was faced with a growing concern: the need for faster, wider and more secure network coverage.

Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust now enjoys a quick, stable network across the whole centre. In the 12 months since the Zyxel system was installed, Vibrant Networks, which monitors the new network, hasn’t received any calls for support or to fix issues. The trust can now work more efficiently, without having to worry about the Wi-Fi or IT systems. Importantly it has also been able to expand the number of users on the network, now up to 70 a week including tenants, with no downtime or loss in connection.

Solutions and Benefits
The trust approached IT support provider Vibrant Networks, initially looking for new routers or Wi-Fi boosters. After assessing the centre’s needs, Vibrant advised deploying the Zyxel Nebula system, along with access points and a switch to ensure a fast and secure network. As the centre redevelopment was a pro-bono project, Zyxel donated equipment to help the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust achieve growth, without having to use funding that could otherwise go back into the trust.

“Previously, we only had Wi-Fi for staff, which constantly broke down and only had signal in certain areas of the building. So, we knew that to transform our new centre into a co-working space, we needed a faster, more stable network. Since installing the Zyxel Nebula system our Wi-Fi is stronger and faster, and we have been able to take on tenants who can use our centre as their office.

“Operationally, co-working is now fundamental to what we do here. Thanks to that extra revenue, the trust broke even on our building costs this year for the first time, meaning we’re able to put more money back into the work we do with disadvantaged young people – and we haven’t had to pick up the phone to IT support once,” comments Chelsea Way, Programmes Manager at Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust.

Link to the full case study from Zyxel

Link to the Network Computing Awards 2020 Winners listing.

If your trust or charitable organisation has requires for a Wireless network why not call us on (01922) 612387 or Contact Us for more information.