Coventry University Migrates Moodle to AWS

Coventry University’s logo includes “the Phoenix,” which mirrors the university’s ability to reinvent itself. Coventry University has been on a continuous cycle of reinvention over the past 175 years – from its origins as the Coventry School of Design in 1843 through to its growth as a technical college in 1902. Having gained university status in 1992, Coventry’s reinvention has led it to become the top modern university in the UK.

At the university, Moodle, a Learning Management System (LMS), is the core digital interface between the educator and the students. The LMS provides 24/7 access to timetabling, learning forums, learning content (documented and video), and multiple pathways to knowledge and experiences, as well as a route for coursework submissions. This is important, as outside of the classroom this is how a student continuously learns, collaborates, and connects with the university.

In 2017, Coventry University and its subsidiaries moved Moodle and Mahara portfolio instances to Amazon Web Services (AWS) in an effort to improve the scalability, security, and availability of its platforms.

Prior to moving to AWS, the university would typically encounter multiple service outages a year. These incidents occurred around peak periods relating to coursework submission activity. This impacted the student experience when working on a deadline.

“Since moving to AWS, these outages have been eliminated and we now have a platform that we are confident can scale to meet our ambitious growth targets as an organisation, whilst providing an exceptional experience for our students through availability and access to critical-learning services at anytime from anywhere,” said Simon Launder, Deputy Chief Digital Information Officer, Coventry University.

The university has also increased its security posture through the implementation of the AWS Advanced Shield, which protects its services against DDOS attacks. This was something they had issues with in the past. Overall, users have experienced a faster, more secure, and more reliable system with no significant outages or disruptions since migrating to AWS.

“The move to AWS has provided a stable and manageable platform that not only serves immediate demands but also offers flexibility to accommodate future developments in technology, innovation, and business reinvention,” said Simon.

Learn more about migrating enterprise systems to AWS.