Case Study: Durham University achieves time savings and improved threat protection with Sophos Central (Sophos)

Durham University makes a simple and beneficial switch from Sophos Enterprise Console to cloud-based Sophos Central

Durham University, a higher-education institution with around 19,000 students and 4,300 staff, faced the challenge of protecting a large, highly connected community—many using BYOD—from phishing, spoofing and other cyber threats while keeping systems and personal data available and GDPR-compliant. Already a Sophos customer, the university moved from the on-premises Sophos Enterprise Console to the cloud-based Sophos Central to extend protections and simplify management.

Sophos implemented Sophos Central, enabling automated workflows, a user-following policy model, and an uncluttered dashboard with APIs that reduced repetitive manual tasks for the IT team (supporting some 8,000 managed users). The migration was smooth and delivered measurable benefits: time savings from automation, improved threat prevention and easier feature rollouts, plus layered protection alongside Office 365 and third‑party firewalls—helping Durham University strengthen security and compliance while freeing staff to focus on higher‑priority work.

Durham University

Gary Foster

Senior Manager