Transforming the University of Queensland’s Digital Workspace with cubesys’ Cloud Solutions

In the ever-evolving landscape of higher education, the University of Queensland (UQ) sought to enhance its digital workspace to better serve its students and faculty. Faced with challenges related to virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) and the need for high-performance graphics processing, UQ turned to cubesys for a transformative solution.

The Challenge

UQ’s existing environment was limited, unable to support VDI desktops equipped with graphic cards. This limitation forced students to rely on classroom facilities for applications requiring high-end graphics processing, often creating bottlenecks and inefficiencies. The primary issues included:

Inability to attach gaming graphic cards to VDI desktops
Heavy graphics processing demands of certain applications
Lack of flexibility and efficiency in existing classroom facilities

“UQ engaged cubesys as its Cloud Solution Provider to transition UQ’s Digital Workspace environment into the Azure environment. This transition was targeted with providing increased capabilities allowing for support of applications requiring GPU resources.”
Luke Angel, University of Queensland

The Solution

cubesys was engaged as UQ’s Cloud Solution Provider to transition their digital workspace environment to the Azure platform. This transition aimed to address the core issues while introducing additional features and efficiencies. The key components of the solution included:

Migration to Azure
Implementation of multi-session Windows 10 desktops
Integration of Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) to support graphics-heavy applications
Deployment of non-persistent, secure multi-session Windows 10 desktops and remote apps

“Our aim was to provide UQ students with powerful GPU-accelerated virtual desktops, ensuring they have access to cutting-edge technology. The integration of multi-session desktops with GPUs and the transition to Azure have positioned UQ as a leader in digital education solutions.”
George Zajakovski, Senior Cloud consultant at cubesys

Results and Impact

The transition delivered remarkable benefits, significantly enhancing UQ’s digital capabilities and cost efficiencies. With the new setup, UQ achieved:

Increased Capability: The new environment supports applications requiring GPU resources, greatly improving the user experience.
Cost Efficiency: The implementation of multi-session Windows 10 desktops resulted in notable cost savings.
Enhanced Flexibility: Students can now access high-performance applications anytime, anywhere, on any device, removing the dependency on specific classroom facilities.

“cubesys provided a high level of technical skills and knowledge that has seen the successful increase in both capability and capacity of the platform such that it is now seen as industry-leading in its ability to deliver software anywhere, anytime to any device.“
Luke Angel, University of Queensland

This collaboration continues with cubesys and UQ partnering for the cloud managed services to manage and maintain the UQ cloud infrastructure, ensuring continuous optimisation and scalability.

Why migrate to AVD?

“In addition to this transition, cubesys have provided ongoing support and management of the platform, supplementing our internal teams, allowing them to focus on the specialist areas of education and research-specific applications whilst ensuring availability and reliability of the environment.”
Luke Angel, University of Queensland

The collaboration between the University of Queensland and cubesys has set a new benchmark for digital workspaces in the education sector. By leveraging managed services, UQ now offers its students and faculty a state-of-the-art platform that enhances learning and research capabilities while ensuring operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness.