Okan University's Digital Transformation

Okan University's Digital Transformation: A Success Story with Bilgi Birikim Sistemleri and HP Technologies

A Future-Oriented Vision for Education – Okan University Profile

In today's competitive higher education environment, the success of a university's academic and administrative operations depends largely on the robustness and flexibility of its technological infrastructure. For an institution like Okan University, whose mission is to serve as a bridge between academia and the professional world, a modern and seamlessly functioning IT infrastructure is not just a support unit, but a strategic asset that enables the fulfillment of its core vision.

Founded in 1999 by the Okan Culture, Education, and Sports Foundation and commencing education in the 2003–2004 academic year, Okan University stands out as one of Turkey's youngest and most dynamic educational institutions. Adopting the motto “The University Closest to Business Life,” the university differentiates itself with its unique Career Preparation Program, which introduces students to the business world starting from their first year. This program allows students to combine theoretical knowledge with practical experience, meet industry professionals, and graduate with a work experience certificate alongside their diploma, giving them a competitive advantage in their careers.

The university's mission of combining theory with practice and its rapid growth since its establishment placed significant demands on its IT infrastructure. From student automation systems to career center management, from academic research to administrative processes, a flawless and fast IT environment was critical to delivering on its brand promise. This ambitious vision and rapid expansion presented Okan University with major technological challenges that required a strategic approach.

Strategic Challenge: The Need for a Robust Infrastructure to Support Growth

The challenges faced by Okan University went far beyond technical issues, directly influencing the institution's ability to achieve its strategic goals. Any weakness in IT infrastructure would threaten the university's capability to deliver on its “University Closest to Business Life” promise. The key strategic needs were defined as follows:

Infrastructure Stability and Reliability: The university's rapid growth was placing increasing demands on its IT infrastructure. Ensuring uninterrupted academic and administrative operations required a solid, stable, and reliable foundation. System instability could cause class disruptions, administrative delays, and overall efficiency loss.
Centralized Data Management: Data scattered across different units increased network traffic, created security vulnerabilities, and complicated backup processes. The primary goal was to consolidate all critical data in a centralized storage environment, enhance data security, and manage backups automatically from a single point. Inefficient data management slowed access to information and heightened the risk of data loss.
Operational Efficiency and Accessibility: Fast and seamless access to servers and applications was vital for daily operations. Printing processes across campus also needed to be simplified and accelerated. Additionally, the use of more compact hardware was required to optimize workspace. Inefficiencies in these areas caused significant time loss for both staff and students.

Overcoming these multifaceted challenges required more than choosing the right technology—it demanded a comprehensive strategy guided by an experienced partner with proven expertise.

Solution Architecture: The Strategic Combination of Technology and Expertise

The solution developed for Okan University's challenges went far beyond a simple hardware purchase. It involved the conscious design of a comprehensive IT architecture that aligned with the university's strategic objectives, implemented under the guidance of an expert partner. The university's trust in HP was reinforced by the fact that the products procured in the first project had been operating smoothly for nearly five years.

The strategic approach behind the project was based on the following principles:

Single Point of Support: Reducing the complexity of system management and accelerating problem resolution by receiving support for all products through a single responsible contact.
Expert Partnership: Leveraging the expertise of a specialized partner, Bilgi Birikim Sistemleri, to ensure the right solutions were applied at every stage of the project.
Automation and Efficiency: Automating IT management as much as possible, allowing existing staff to focus on more strategic, value-added tasks.

Based on this strategic approach, the following HP technology infrastructure was deployed:

Server Infrastructure: Critical workloads—including network management, backup, security, web/mail servers, accounting, and the student automation system—were deployed on HP ProLiant DL and ML Series servers, providing high performance and reliability.
User Systems: For academic and administrative staff as well as student labs, a wide range of HP client devices were implemented, including dx2390, dx2300, dc7100 ultra-slim desktops, and t5000 thin clients. This diversity ensured the right solutions for different user needs.
Specialized Requirements: The Faculty of Fine Arts' high-performance graphics processing needs were met with HP Workstation xw6600 systems, designed specifically for such workloads.
Data Storage and Backup: A Fibre Channel storage network was deployed to centralize data management and boost performance. This architecture provided fast access to large volumes of data while ensuring critical data protection with a tape automation backup unit.
Business Application Integration: At the university's Career Center, Microsoft Dynamics CRM was implemented to manage student, alumni, and corporate partner data. Integrated with the student system and supported by a public-facing web portal, the platform enabled students to create CVs, apply for jobs, and allowed companies to manage applications. This platform became the digital reflection of the university's “Closest to Business Life” vision, strengthening the bridge between students, graduates, and the business world through technology.

The implementation of this robust, tailored architecture quickly delivered measurable and significant improvements across the university's operations.

Transformation Results: Measurable Benefits and Operational Excellence

The true success of a technology project is measured by its tangible impact on organizational strategic goals. Okan University's digital transformation project delivered concrete benefits ranging from operational efficiency to future-readiness.

Key outcomes include:

Uninterrupted Support and High Reliability: Through its strategic partnership with HP and HP Gold Preferred Partner Bilgi Birikim Sistemleri, the university ensured 24/7 uninterrupted support. Rapid incident response, smooth system upgrades, and part replacements were achieved without disrupting academic or administrative operations. This minimized the risk of IT interruptions and guaranteed continuity in education.
Centralized Management and Increased Efficiency: One of the most significant achievements was centralized data management. As IT Director Celil Çakmak stated: “With the Fibre Channel data storage network, we can manage and expand the data of servers running high-volume applications in a shared environment and manage our backups more easily and from a single point.”

This structure enhanced data security while reducing the administrative burden on the IT team.

Proven Scalability and Future-Readiness: The architecture's scalability was demonstrated when Hasanpaşa Vocational School was established. The seamless addition of 105 desktops, 18 laptops, 27 workstations, 11 network printers, 4 servers, and 1 tape automation unit proved the infrastructure's scalability and long-term value.
Visible System Performance: The improvements were immediately noticeable to end-users. As Celil Çakmak noted: “After the products were deployed, our system improved visibly.” This highlighted not only technical success but also enhanced user experience.

These positive outcomes fostered a strong, trust-based relationship between Okan University and its technology partners, laying the foundation for future collaborations.

Conclusion: A Strategic Partnership for Future Growth

Okan University's digital transformation journey exemplifies how an institution facing the challenges of rapid growth evolved into a future-ready, operationally stronger educational organization with a solid digital foundation. This transformation was not merely a technology refresh but a strategic initiative aligned with the university's “Closest to Business Life” vision.

The key success factors can be summarized in two dimensions:

Beyond Technology: Success stemmed not only from hardware purchases but from a holistic strategic vision prioritizing stability, efficiency, and scalability. Centralizing data management and automating processes were the most concrete indicators of this approach.
The Power of Expert Partnership: The strong collaboration among Okan University, HP, and especially HP Gold Preferred Partner Bilgi Birikim Sistemleri was the project's critical success factor. With BBS's expert guidance, the right technologies were selected and implemented in the most efficient way, ensuring the project achieved its goals.

With proven success and a trust-based partnership, Okan University is considering continued collaboration with HP and its partners for future projects and technology procurement. This demonstrates that the project was not just an immediate solution but the beginning of a long-term and sustainable strategic partnership.