Omani Ministry of Education deploys Microsoft technology for countrywide live communications and collaboration

The project, which uses Microsoft Windows Server Systems solutions, will create the foundation for the state-of-the-art infrastructure that will eventually connect the Ministry and its staff with every public school and teacher in the Sultanate.

"As part of our goal of providing the highest standards of education, the Ministry has embarked on this project to connect all of our staff and teachers across Oman. For such a major project, we required not only a superior technology platform, but also a committed partner. Microsoft's commitment to Oman, through its local presence, and its proven commitment to the use of ICT in education through the Partners in Learning Program, convinced us that Microsoft was the best partner for this," said Khalid Al-Siyabi, IT Director, Ministry of Education.

The Ministry's IT department, working with personnel from Microsoft Oman, deployed Active Directory based on Microsoft Windows 2003 at the Muscat headquarters, and are now ready to extend the Directory Service to regional offices across the Sultanate. The Windows Server System, with Windows 2003 as the foundation will provide the Ministry with an integrated server infrastructure designed to help IT staff to deliver new capabilities and support, while simplifying and optimizing IT infrastructure.

The initial phase of the project involved the migration of the Ministry's servers from Windows NT to Windows 2003. Deployment of Windows 2003 took just two months, and the Ministry has also deployed other elements of the Microsoft Windows Server System like the Management Suite, Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 and Microsoft Operations Manager which will provide IT staff with powerful tools to manage a wide range of network administration and management tasks. For internal communication across the entire staff, instant messaging is available through the deployment of Microsoft Live Communication Server. The communications capabilities will be completed with the roll out of Exchange 2003, which is due to begin in the near future.

Over 900 staff in the capital access the Ministry's network, and one of the major elements of the project was replacing the Windows NT directory with Windows Active Directory, to manage user identities and network structure. The network will be extended to another 2,000 of the Ministry's staff that work across eleven regions in Oman, with the eventual aim of providing communications for 55,000 teachers in all 1,200 public schools in the Sultanate.

"One of the biggest reasons that the Ministry decided to go with Microsoft software was the presence of local support through Microsoft Oman," explained Arif Suri, IT Consultant, Ministry of Education. "The fact that Microsoft is present in Oman, with a strong team, gives us real confidence. Our IT staff are also comfortable with Microsoft solutions, as most of them are Microsoft Certified Systems Engineers, so Windows Server System is very convenient both in terms of functionality and features and in terms of maintaining and administering the network."

The Ministry already has a number of other deployments planned that will leverage the Windows platform that has been put in place. A wide range of applications covering functions such as email, instant messaging, web publishing and portals are planned, as well as enhanced network management and databases.

In September, the Ministry of Education and Microsoft signed a Memorandum of Understanding to bring improved ICT education to schools in the Sultanate of Oman, under the Partners in Learning global initiative. The agreement will support teachers in raising their level of ICT awareness, and also includes programs to help provide cost effective software and provide learning resources for communities throughout Oman.

"Microsoft is working with the Ministry through Partners in Learning, and now with this project, to help realize the benefits that ICT can bring to education. The Windows Server System provides a comprehensive, integrated and interoperable platform that the Ministry can build future solutions on. We are very pleased to be working with the Oman Ministry of Education, and we are happy that they have the confidence in our presence in the country to choose our solutions to build their IT infrastructure on," said Sami Al Lawati, Business Development Manager, Microsoft Oman.