Getting started
Implementation and onboarding
What implementing an Education Host platform involves: scoping, identity and SSO configuration, academic structure setup, pilot or rollout, training and ongoing support.
Implementing an Education Host platform typically runs through five stages: scoping, environment and identity setup, academic structure configuration, a pilot or phased rollout, and handover into ongoing support. Timelines depend on the platform and the deployment, and are agreed during scoping — Education Host runs the platform side so institutional IT effort stays contained.
What does implementation involve?
The typical shape, adapted per platform and institution:
- Scoping — student numbers, modules, integrations, support model and success criteria
- Environment setup — provisioning the deployment on Education Host managed infrastructure
- Identity — Microsoft Entra sign-in configuration where the platform and deployment support it
- Academic structure — courses, modules, teaching blocks, roles and delegation (SWHM); lab templates (Cloud Pulse); school roles and workflows (Cover Manager)
- Pilot or phased rollout — often one module or cohort first
- Training and handover — administrator and lecturer walkthroughs, then ongoing support
What will our IT team need to do?
Less than a self-hosted deployment: Education Host operates the infrastructure and platform. Institutional IT typically covers identity configuration (app registration/consent for Entra sign-in where used), DNS where institution-branded domains are involved, and review of security and data-protection arrangements. Integration specifics are confirmed during onboarding rather than assumed.
What if a lecturer needs a custom setup?
Custom requirements are normal in education. Cloud Pulse supports lecturer-built images and custom lab templates for module-specific environments; Student Web Host Manager models your actual academic structures; and where a requirement goes beyond current capability, Education Host can help scope it honestly — including saying when something is not the right fit.
What does support look like after go-live?
UK-based, education-only support planned around academic calendars — term dates, teaching blocks, assessment and marking periods. Institutions that want a standing support arrangement beyond the platform itself can scope managed technical support.
Implementation and onboarding — frequently asked questions
Direct answers for IT, security, procurement and teaching teams.
- How long does implementation take?
- It depends on the platform and deployment — a single-module pilot is much quicker than a multi-campus rollout. Timelines are agreed during scoping so they land sensibly against your term dates.
- Do we have to migrate anything?
- Only where you are replacing an existing service. Migrations — for example moving hosted sites — are planned as part of implementation, typically out of teaching hours.
- Who configures Microsoft Entra sign-in?
- It is configured together during onboarding: your IT team handles the institutional side (app consent, policies) and Education Host configures the platform side, for platforms and deployments where Entra sign-in is supported.
- Can implementation start mid-term?
- Yes — setup and configuration can run any time, and go-live is usually aligned to a sensible academic moment such as a new teaching block or module start.
- Is training included?
- Administrator and lecturer walkthroughs form part of onboarding, and the scope of training is agreed during scoping based on who will run the platform day to day.
Every deployment starts with a conversation
Tell us about your institution, modules and requirements — we will answer the technical and commercial questions honestly, including where something is not the right fit.