Summer 2025 saw a project to bring 20 sites onto Wave9 services in just a few months. Each site received dual connections (primary and backup), with Sophos XGS firewalls installed on-site.

“The project team have been really good, with regular check-ins to keep everything on track,” Nathan says.

For Nathan, the collaboration between the two technical teams was a highlight. “The technical team from Wave9 has been brilliant, working with my team to train, teach and put best practice in place so they’re confident to just crack on with things.”

“We’ve got a strong internal team… but where Wave9 really come into their own is the specialist areas like firewalls and cyber security.”

By the end of the summer, the first 20 sites had been delivered seamlessly, ready for the start of term.

A late July request added a new site. By 1st September, Wave9 had it live and ready.

“We found out the last week of July… less than six weeks to deliver… and by the 1st of September the broadband was installed, the firewall was in, configured, and the school was ready to go.”

For Nathan, that captured the difference from previous providers. “With Wave9, they take it upon themselves to do it and make sure you’re ready to go.”

“It’s the classic case of a large IT project – you know it’s gone well when nobody notices. It’s been seamless.”

The first phase gave the Trust what it had been missing: visibility, resilience, and confidence. Safeguarding is stronger, with Fastvue Reporter now deployed alongside Sophos to provide safeguarding leads with detailed, per-user reports.

Finance has improved too. Co-terming contracts means one invoice instead of 20. ‘The previous billing was not… streamlined.’

The cost model has held steady too. Nathan explains that the objective was always to deliver services in a budget-neutral way; giving every school a primary line, a backup line, and an on-site appliance for roughly the same overall spend as before. That goal has been achieved.

Nathan admits he had some concerns about whether service levels would drop after the project handover. “I was worried that once the project had finished the support might tail off… but it absolutely hasn’t.”

Another area where Wave9’s impact has been clear is in managing supplier relationships.

“Openreach will sometimes come direct and cut Wave9 out,” Nathan says. “When I inform the guys, they chase it up; having them in the middle is very helpful.”

Alongside the broadband and firewall rollout, Nexus has been testing Wave9’s WaveTalk telephony service. Four schools have already migrated.

The experience has been smooth and the transition straightforward. “The deployment was dead easy” he adds.

WaveTalk also supports the Trust’s longer-term aim of consolidating onto a single contract, with one supplier and one support team. Softphone trials are the next step, giving staff the ability to work more flexibly across sites.

With another 20 sites scheduled for rollout, and new schools continuing to join the Trust, the demand for reliable, resilient, and well-supported services is only increasing. Nathan is clear on what matters most in a partner. “We’re constantly growing and we need a supplier that we can work with, that we can trust and that can deliver what we’re after.”

For him, Wave9 has demonstrated that ability not just in planned projects, but in last-minute challenges and ongoing support. That consistency has built a foundation of trust between the two organisations.