DeVry Institute of Technology
Future-Proofing the Classroom
When DeVry Canada looked for a structured cabling system to meet the demands of their new Calgary, Alberta campus, they chose The Siemon Cabling SystemŽ. When they looked for a Certified Installer to implement their system of choice, Norsat Communications got the job done!
DeVry Institute of Technology in Calgary is part of a degree granting higher education system with campuses in nine states in the US and two provinces in Canada. With an annual enrollment of more than 33,000 students, DeVry is one of North America's largest private post-secondary education systems.
DeVry has operated in Canada since 1956 and in Calgary since 1981. With its current enrollment of 1,200, DeVry is the largest private sector educator in Calgary. Demand for courses in Calgary had been so strong (enrollment tripled between 1991 and 1997), it was decided that DeVry Calgary needed to expand its campus. In the summer of 1998, a new two story, 70,000 square foot building was built, with 16 classrooms, 5 labs, and offices and support areas for more than 110 staff members.
The decision making process for the structured cabling system began in the spring of 1997, when Ben Huber, project manager and senior IT manager for the campus, met with Michael Richards formerly Regional Sales Manager of AES Technet Ltd. DeVry wanted a very flexible, high-end solution that would support both its existing and future applications. In addition to voice, Ethernet and 5250 signals, Gigabit Ethernet, video into the classrooms and video conferencing were technologies that the new cabling infrastructure would be expected to support. DeVry Calgary has less than a 4:1 student to computer ratio and the computer equipment is regularly updated to meet the standards of industrial and business systems currently in use. Huber had learned from managing the explosive growth of the previous campus that a well organized cabling system could outlive most of his network components, and wanted to make sure it was done right the first time.
Huber's team met with Richards a number of times to discuss their needs, and came to the conclusion that a "certified 110" solution would be the best fit. That decision narrowed the group's choices to three or four top end manufacturers. It was eventually decided to create a specification that allowed both Lucent Technologies and The Siemon Company to respond. "We judged the quality of the two cabling systems to be roughly equivalent." says Huber. "The important differences showed up during the bid process. The attitudes of the two companies were like night and day. We were quite surprised. We eventually went with a Siemon solution, based on the long term commitment the company made to us, and the feeling of a team approach by all channel partners involved in the sale." Later, when their original installer (AES Technet) ran into trouble, the DeVry team was very happy they had made the decision to choose Siemon.
In June of 1998, just before final cutover, AES Technet was put into receivership. "If we had gone with another solution, DeVry would have been left in the cold," says Huber. "The Siemon team, however, stepped up to ensure that there were no missing pieces in the install." The contractor's distributor immediately sourced outstanding patching and cable management products. Norm Couture, local representative for Siemon Canada, ensured that the warranty certification process was not jeopardized.
Richards and a few key members of AES Technet's design and installation team moved on to Norsat Communications, a western Canadian company providing satellite, microwave and cabling solutions. Norsat completed the installation and took over the certification duties for the install.
"The power of the Siemon warranty was instrumental in ensuring the client was satisfied," says Richards. The company's 16-year application level warranty is one of the strongest in the industry, providing both parts and labour coverage on cable and connecting hardware. "While making customer calls, I used to joke about the eif we went under' scenario," he says. "Well, it happened... at the worst possible time in the implementation process. And Siemon Canada came through, like they said they would."
The structured cabling system at DeVry Calgary has more than eight hundred locations, run back to one main communications closet. Two intermediate closets are used, one to satisfy the distance limitations of Category 5, and the other to be used for student training purposes. Although fiber has been run to the building, the entire solution is copper based, using Belden 350 Category 5 cable, terminated to Siemon S110® blocks and modular panels in the closets, and Siemon MAX® jacks at the workstations.
DeVry Calgary's Siemon Cabling System® provides a total communications infrastructure. From the building's entrance to the work area, it provides a multitude of products to meet the specific needs of a variety of applications. Forward thinking companies like DeVry plan for the future by installing the Siemon Cabling System today.
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