Juniper Networks’ approach is intelligent, agile and secure.
WITH many students belonging to the digital generation, universities and tertiary organisations are beginning to recognise the importance of embracing technological innovation. From delivering hybrid classes to introducing Internet of Things (IoT) devices on campus, these institutions are finding new ways to engage students and create digital learning experiences.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) in particular has emerged as an area of investment for higher education institutions . This is also echoed in a Juniper Networks’ global survey on AI readiness and adoption that shows that 75% of Asia-Pacific respondents now consider AI a top strategic priority.
One of the ways universities have been embracing this technology is through the introduction of AI-driven networks. This will assist universities in implementing technology-driven problem-solving solutions to achieve academic and security objectives, reduce operational costs, and increase student retention and recruitment to drive additional revenue.
Furthermore, optimising client-to-cloud experiences saves time and money, while enabling a university’s IT departments to best align with key institutional objectives.
Juniper Networks, a global leader in secure, AI-Driven networks, is able to do all that as it aims to help universities to transition into the multi-cloud era with its products and solutions and transform the on-and-off campus experience with AI.
Juniper has been looking into how it can better assist customers to handle potential threats and improve risk detection response through the use of AI-driven systems.
Experience one of the world's best on-campus WiFi
Universities may experience slow connectivity on campus with the influx of WiFi usage and unstable WiFi connection at different locations on campuses.
With an AI-driven network by Juniper, universities are able to address inconsistencies such as unstable WiFi access across campuses by delivering a secure and experience-first network to students, faculty and staff alike, as well as, elevating the hybrid learning experience.
It can effectively deliver classroom, hybrid and remote learning, while extending a university’s network to any location on campus.
For instance, staff and students experienced a positive change over at Dartmouth College in the United States with the Juniper- and Mist-powered network.
The university received a six-fold influx of connected devices, which was equivalent to 25,000 devices and counting. Juniper was able to refresh the network and deliver a best-in-class WiFi experience for Dartmouth College.
By utilising a 5GHz WiFi network, designed for today’s high-density mobile environments, students can easily access learning management systems, collaborate on business presentations or run engineering simulations from the classroom to the quad.
Increase operational efficiency and reduce cost with a smart campus
Driven by Mist AI, universities are able to save time and money while maximising the value of the network infrastructure.
Juniper’s Mist WiFi allows a university’s IT team to have newfound visibility into the user experience, including the ability to track WiFi and application usage, hence simplifying network operations, which frees them up for more strategic projects.
Dartmouth College saved time with the development of automation tools and managed to automate what it used to do manually. With Juniper, Dartmouth no longer needed to go through the process of installing over 2,000 WiFi access points, saving labour costs equivalent to an employee’s annual wages.
Besides that, the IT team can establish, measure, and enforce defined service levels. For instance, should a staff or student take more than two seconds to join the library WiFi network, the support staff would know right away and pinpoint whether it was the device or a specific part of the network that failed.
With this, support staff can solve more connectivity issues on their own, without escalating to the IT team.
Juniper’s differentiated portfolio is recognised by Gartner as a Leader in the 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Wired and Wireless LAN Access Infrastructure for the second year in a row, furthest in both ‘Completeness of Vision’ and ‘Ability to Execute’.
Juniper Networks’ has assisted AI-driven solutions to other notable universities like University of Reading in England.
Network security, secured
Juniper safeguards university networks against rising cyber threats, which provides secure student, faculty, research, as well as administration data and records with a zero trust, threat-aware network.
Nabbing the title as a challenger under Gartner’s 2020 Magic Quadrant for Network Firewalls, it also received an “AA” Rating from CyberRatings.org in Feb 2021.
Juniper aims to provide a secure network, devices, software and data, with top security efficacy against exploits, malware, and ransomware to ensure institutional regulatory compliance.
Meanwhile, Juniper Advanced Threat Prevention Cloud finds and stops botnet and ransomware threats without decryption, ensuring both privacy and security.
Universities are able to utilise any point of the network for policy and security enforcement; manage security policy across the entire network, including third-party devices.
Foundation for innovative new services
Juniper is gearing up institutions for the future by also building educational spaces based on location data to drive student success, along with automation and data centres.
For instance, the University of Reading built a digital foundation to enhance the student experience.
The network provides insights into student success, integrating location data with the university’s attendance management system. It can reveal whether a student regularly attends class.
With insights like this, along with other indicators of educational success, the university can take action to help students stay on track.
Furthermore, with Juniper, a university can also navigate staff members to the nearest empty parking lot when they have reached the gate, or a cafe mobile app offering a student their usual order when they stop for a cuppa on the way to class.
The possibilities are endless and benefits abound for an AI-driven campus. As was the case with wired and wireless access, the Juniper Mist success with indoor location services is also being recognised in the 2022 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Indoor Location Services , positioning Juniper as a Leader and furthest in Completeness of Vision.
Juniper Networks’ secure and AI-driven networks aim to assist Malaysian universities build strong, well-connected digital foundations for those on their campuses, giving them the leg up and the space to focus on transforming student and staff experiences.
For more information on how Juniper Networks can help your institution prepare for the next era of digital learning, visit here .
