How PC Corp's Procurement Experts Helped Golden Hills School Division Revolutionize Its IT Infrastructure
With a head office in Strathmore, just east of Calgary, Golden Hills School Division (GHSD) supports over 10,000 students and their families at more than 40 schools, each unique, scattered across the vast rural Alberta. Every day, the institution faces both the inspiring rewards and logistical challenges of serving such a large and dispersed community.
Unfortunately, they were contending with a network that was showing its age. The outdated wired system could no longer meet the digital demands of modern learning and was becoming increasingly unsustainable for their small IT team to manage.
In education, every dollar counts, and time is scarce. GHSD needed a solution that could transform their connectivity without stretching their limited budget or adding complexity to their team’s workload.
The Solution
The school board partnered with PC Corp’s experienced procurement specialists to benefit from their deep market knowledge and ability to identify the most cost-effective options without losing quality.
They were able to purchase their ideal network, investing in 100 Ubiquiti USW-Enterprise 48 PoE switches powered by the UniFi platform. This industry-leading solution was budget-friendly, rich in features, as well as easy to manage and robust enough to serve students and staff for years to come. Under PC Corp's guidance, they opted for the same model across all sites, reassured that it was already trusted globally by more than 85 million devices.
Although everyone at the organization was concerned over the disruption to their operations and the possibility of having sensitive information accessed and disclosed, their team immediately knew that they had a reliable partner by their side to help remediate the issue—PC Corp, their managed IT services provider.
PC Corp swiftly stepped in, leveraging our expertise to limit this organization's downtime, secure its data, and mitigate any potential adverse business impact.
Lower Cost
PC Corp worked hard to find the school board a cost-effective solution, sourcing the Ubiquiti Layer 3 switch that's reasonably priced even lower than many comparable Layer 2 options. Its lifetime licensing option, unique among other network and Wi-Fi providers, also helps GHSD rely on a platform that will remain stable and secure for years. This helps the school division cut recurring fees and future upgrade costs from their budget, delivering long-term value, predictable future expenses, and a lower total cost of ownership.
In addition to the cost savings from the Ubiquiti platform's lifetime licensing, the solution's exceptional port density allowed Golden Hills School Division to further reduce equipment and installation expenses. Its USW-Enterprise 48 PoE switch employs a 2.5Gb throughput that provides 600W (total) to allow for 30+ AP’s and other PoE devices.
Easier management and maintenance
With Ubiquiti’s Layer 3 switches, PC Corp transformed GHSD’s network into a sleek, efficient setup that minimizes downtime and connects students and staff without friction.
Now, each location operates with just one Ubiquiti Enterprise 48 PoE switch, two access points, and full Layer 3 advanced routing capabilities. In the rare event of a hardware failure, the IT team can quickly swap out the faulty part using a replacement from the on-site pool, then return the defective piece for warranty replacement. This streamlined configuration also means the board experienced quicker installation and its IT team has an easier time managing the network on an ongoing basis. With the centralized hub of the intuitive UniFi Management Platform, they can easily oversee configurations, monitor the network, and optimize traffic flow—all from one dashboard—without sacrificing power or performance.
Future-proofed and secure network environment
PC Corp's procurement support has provided the Golden Hills School Division with a scalable and safe digital infrastructure for the long-term.
The solution seamlessly integrates with Ubiquiti's wireless installations, which are increasingly becoming the standard for Alberta K-12 institutions due to their rich features and competitive pricing structures - ensuring GHSD can keep pace with the evolving needs of modern education.
The high-power capacity of the Ubiquiti Enterprise Series switches—delivering up to 720W per switch and 34.2W per port—helps GHSD’s network easily support the heavy bandwidth needs of students, teachers, and staff alike. Their network will also prioritize the most critical traffic with its advanced Quality of Service (QoS) settings to deliver smooth, uninterrupted performance for those users.
And when cyberthreats are on the rise, Ubiquiti’s enhanced security features protect GHSD’s network and safeguards their sensitive data.
A smart network transformation for empowering the next generation
When Golden Hills School Division set out to transform its aging network, it wanted a reliable partner that could find a solution reflecting the needs of modern educational settings. They turned to PC Corp, trusting their procurement expertise to identify a system that balanced performance with cost efficiency. After thoughtful evaluation, PC Corp recommended Ubiquiti Enterprise PoE switches paired with the UniFi Management platform—a choice that proved both forward-thinking and practical.
With this new infrastructure, the school board has achieved substantial savings on hardware, eliminated ongoing support and upgrade expenses, and streamlined network management, allowing their small IT team to focus more on supporting students and teachers.
