Providing flawless network interconnectivity throughout an R1 research university with 30,000 students and exceeding all expectations is no easy task. For one thing, it takes 3,000 switches supporting 60,000 wired connections. Ryan Turner, Senior Manager of Networking at a large public university makes sure his IT team continually seeks out new ways to delight all their university users. The strategic partnership Ryan has forged with Extreme Networks plays an important role in his networking success.
Ryan was instrumental in leading the discussions among higher education CIOs and IT managers at the higher education Birds of a Feather session during Extreme Connect 2018, a role he is expected to reprise at Extreme Connect 2019 in Nashville. His work on network access control, technology-based copyright mitigation techniques, and wireless security methods has been recognized nationally and presented at multiple conferences including EDUCAUSE and the National Association of Attorneys General.
“I have a vision statement for our group, it’s that ‘we cannot be a commodity.’ Networking is traditionally assumed as the plumbing; the utility for connectivity in higher education, but we have a greater mission. I expect my group to always evaluate how we can differentiate ourselves and bring new services to the customer, make sure that the network works best for their needs, as opposed to putting the need of the networking group before their needs. We’re always looking at how we can take a service that works and make it better. There are a lot of people that have the philosophy of ‘if it’s not broke, don’t fix it,’ and that’s a philosophy I run away from. I’m always thinking you can iterate towards a better solution and that’s what we’ve done with Extreme.” – Ryan Turner, senior manager of networking at a large public university
For more information on Extreme’s networking solutions, see Automated Campus Networking Solutions.
This blog was originally authored by Robert Nilsson, Director of Vertical Solutions Marketing.
