How do educational facilities with limited budgets adjust to ever-growing technology demands?

Educational facilities ranging from kindergarten to college level are pursuing innovative technological solutions that will enhance knowledge and collaboration among the students, faculty, and administrative staff. An influx of technological advancements in the classroom over the past decade including smart boards, laptops, and tablets has created an immediate and growing demand for robust, secure and multifunctional wired and wireless networks in schools nationwide. Simultaneously, the method of delivering education is evolving from testing a student’s ability to memorize information to examining a student’s capability to discover information in real time.

While the technological demand is immense and the cost of delivery can be high, the need is real and the reward is astronomical. It seems like we’re at the apex of the demand/capability curve. On the one hand, we’ve moved away from the days of chalk boards and physical text books, on the other hand, pricing for new infrastructure is high and unattainable. What’s needed is a solution that can deliver the technological capabilities of the future to the schools of today at the cost of yesterday. What’s needed is SLICE.

The SLICE gateway controller is a multi-purpose software solution designed specifically to manage highly populated network environments with authoritative control. SLICE sits in between the modem and radios and provides some of the following benefits:

Tiered Usage Policies

Based on login credentials, SLICE can determine whether the user browsing the internet is a student, faculty member or administrative staff, adjusting the web experience as defined without any ongoing operator interference.

Web Content Filtering

Using the user interface, web pages featuring certain language and topics can be blocked from access for some or all group policies.

Uplink Aggregation

SLICE allows the operator to input multiple uplink providers and output as one giant pipe. This creates opportunity for cost-savings as schools won’t be limited to purchasing one large service plan from one provider.

Multi Radio Functionality

SLICE is capable of functioning with all major radio providers including Cisco, Ruckus, Ubiquity, etc. Schools that have recently purchased new access points will not have to invest in new equipment.

Proactive Security

SLICE’s security engine proactively detects nefarious activity (pirating, phishing, hacking, spamming, etc.) over the network and immediately quarantines offending users while simultaneously throttling their speed to levels where malicious activity cannot be committed.

Portal Customization

SLICE enables the operator to deliver a portal to all users entering the network. The portal is a branded login page which will be used to determine which usage policy to apply to the end user. After login, the portal can be used to host valuable information which can only be accessed by users when connected to the school network. Examples of information that can be hosted includes calendar of events, administrative contact information, lunch menus, etc.  

Push Notifications

SLICE can push notifications directly to connected user devices via timed injection or persistent overlay features.

Transparent Reporting

SLICE’s user interface allows for full transparency into end-user activity. User activity reports can be generated and exported in to excel format.

With the SLICE solution, schools will not have to sacrifice network capabilities for price or scalability. SLICE delivers the functionality of several pieces of network hardware and delivers them as a software solution. As SLICE is based in code and not physical hardware, updates to the system are simple and quick.

Implementing SLICE with your current network infrastructure will dramatically change the way internet in delivered, managed, and used at the school. I invite you to join me for a virtual demo of the SLICE interface and all of its capabilities. Please contact me at 646-467-9630 to reserve your spot.