In this exclusive interview, we sit down with Keith Woolley, Chief Digital Information Officer at the University of Bristol, to discuss how their partnership with Xtravirt has provided support across critical technology and skills areas, to help the university deliver their digital strategy and create a foundation for future innovation.
Could you tell us about the University of Bristol’s digital strategy and what you set out to achieve?
Our digital strategy promotes effective and well-designed investment in technology and IT services. We’re transforming how IT designs, delivers, and manages services, ensuring that the end-user or customer receives a tangible solution or service that meets their needs, rather than simply a set of technology components.
To implement this strategy effectively, we have created an IT operating model that aligns trusted specialist partners to different strategic pillars, ensuring a balanced distribution of skills, ownership, and contribution from our internal teams and partners like Xtravirt.
How has Xtravirt supported your infrastructure transformation journey?
Over the past four years, we’ve built and evolved a partnership with Xtravirt to deliver and manage a scalable private cloud platform with enterprise virtual desktops. This flexible, self-service platform provides the foundation from which we can launch the next phase of our roadmap, including support for advanced research and AI adoption in a secure, well-governed private data centre.
What makes this partnership particularly effective?
We targeted a ‘shared ownership’ model for the management of our new infrastructure. We knew this would only be possible with a partner who was as committed to our collaborative success in the way Xtravirt are.
From their support staff, through their delivery teams, right up to the Executive sponsorship level, the people at Xtravirt demonstrate open, honest communication. Their understanding and collaborative style has ensured continuous momentum and operational improvements.
How has Xtravirt’s approach benefited the university’s broader objectives?
Xtravirt’s investment in building relationships with stakeholders across our IT and academic communities has created continuity and alignment from strategic planning through to design, delivery and operational activities. This introduces significant efficiencies as subsequent activities don’t each require investment in onboarding, sharing knowledge, and building working practices, thereby accelerating delivery and value realisation.
With technology evolving so rapidly, how do you ensure your investments remain future proof?
Delivering value to the university from budgets is key to all functions, not just IT. Working with our strategic IT partners and drawing on their unique knowledge and capabilities, we can ensure that these significant investments deliver solutions that aren’t disposable or short-term in use. They need to be capable of growing and adapting to support the ‘as-yet unknown’ demands of an academic and research community whose role it is to be at the forefront of change, while supporting our sustainability and community value goals.
What concrete results have you seen from the partnership with Xtravirt?
Four years into our five-year IT investment plan, we’re on target to deliver our strategic objectives. We’ve deployed VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) as our core private cloud platform delivering the features and benefits of public cloud while taking our unique requirements around security, governance, and sovereignty into account.
Our collaboration has delivered IT platforms which have strengthened our research capabilities, enabling grant submissions and pioneering work with research teams from around the world. Thanks to standardisation, these multi-use platforms are capable of delivering against many use cases, meeting the needs of students, academic staff, back-office staff, and research teams alike.
With strong digital foundations in place, what does the future look like for the University of Bristol?
Our progressive digital strategy has gained attention beyond the higher education sector, with media celebrating our innovation and attracting wider commercial interest. Built on solid foundations, I am confident that no matter what IT challenges lie ahead, Xtravirt will be there to support us in our objectives, road mapping solutions, and delivering predictable outcomes.
In the spirit of true collaboration, we’ve not only transformed our infrastructure, but created a model that can adapt and scale to meet future challenges, positioning University of Bristol at the forefront of digital innovation in higher education, ready to embrace whatever technological advances come next.
Take the next step
Contact our team today! We want to hear your vision and discuss how we can support your journey from strategy through implementation and beyond. Email us at HigherEducation@xtravirt.com.
