Queen Mary University of London transforms campus experiences with Dynatrace

Technology underpins every aspect of the student experience at Queen Mary University of London, including applications, enrolment, accommodation, and lectures. The University strives for 99.9% availability of its digital services to meet the needs of the thousands of staff and students who rely on them. This high standard is vital to Queen Mary’s National Student Survey scores, which drive applications and research funding. Reliability is especially critical during peak periods such as clearing and enrolment, when service disruptions can hinder recruitment, resulting in lost income. Queen Mary is also pursuing an AI-driven ‘smart campus’ vision, using data to personalise services and regulate lighting and temperature to support its sustainability goals.

To realise this vision and ensure its services could scale to meet growing demand, Queen Mary launched an initiative to modernise its digital strategy. First, it migrated more than 80% of its services to Microsoft Azure, allowing greater flexibility and resilience during periods of high traffic. Second, to support AI, Queen Mary recognised it needed to become even more data-driven and make observability a key part of its IT strategy. The University aimed to use observability data to move from a reactive service model to a proactive one, optimising digital experiences before students or staff were impacted by issues, and unlocking the full potential of its smart campus ambitions.

Queen Mary selected Dynatrace for its ability to provide deep, end-to-end, full stack visibility across the University’s entire digital estate. The unified platform offered the depth of data and real-time insights needed to progress its smart campus vision, while breaking down silos across IT operations. A key differentiator was Dynatrace’s willingness to collaborate closely with Queen Mary to build a custom extension for monitoring audio-visual equipment in lecture rooms, which competitors’ solutions were unable to support.

“Our strategy is to bring in best-of-breed tools, and with Azure and Dynatrace, that’s exactly what we’ve got,” said Rachel Bence, Chief Information Officer at Queen Mary University of London. “For us, Dynatrace goes beyond metrics. The platform is a core part of how we look after students’ digital experiences every day. What really stood out was Dynatrace’s willingness to help us build a custom extension to monitor hardware and software in our lecture theaters. Previously, our IT teams had to conduct manual checks each morning. Now, we can monitor and optimise everything from a central dashboard and resolve issues before they interrupt a lecture. It’s a great example of how we’ve shifted from being reactive to proactively improving our campus experience.”

• Greater efficiency and cost optimisation: Before Dynatrace, Queen Mary relied on multiple fragmented monitoring tools, each offering only partial insight. The University has now replaced around 30 legacy solutions with Dynatrace, which provides a single source of truth for all teams. This shift has broken down data silos and is enabling more effective collaboration both internally and with external partners. Queen Mary’s IT teams are freed from reactive firefighting, allowing them to focus on delivering innovation that enhances the student experience.
• More reliable student services: As Queen Mary’s digital estate migrated to the cloud, complexity grew, which made it increasingly difficult to gain a clear view of services and dependencies. Dynatrace now provides full-stack visibility and has dramatically reduced daily alerts from hundreds to around 20, with each prioritised by impact. This enables IT teams to focus on the issues that matter most to the student experience, rather than being overwhelmed by noise.
• Seamless experiences prevent revenue loss: By proactively maintaining service availability, particularly during high-pressure periods like clearing and enrolment, Dynatrace is helping Queen Mary support greater student intake and avoid digital disruptions. Seamless digital experiences throughout the student journey also contribute to higher satisfaction scores, strengthening the University’s reputation and performance in the National Student Survey. This helps Queen Mary remain competitive in a crowded higher education landscape.
• Smarter decisions: Dynatrace plays a key role in Queen Mary’s shift toward a data-driven culture, providing the depth and quality of insight needed to support AI initiatives and smart campus ambitions. With access to real-time, actionable data, teams can make more informed decisions across operations, infrastructure, and student services. This fact-based approach is laying the groundwork for innovations that personalise experiences, optimise resources, and improve sustainability.

“Dynatrace has transformed the way we operate at Queen Mary University of London,” comments Bence. “We’re no longer stuck in reactive mode – we have the data, visibility, and confidence to deliver seamless digital experiences for our staff and students. As we continue progressing towards our smart campus vision, Dynatrace will be critical in helping us innovate sustainably, support growth, and meet the evolving expectations of our university community.”

* According to the U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities rankings (Queen Mary recognised as top global university - Queen Mary University of London)

** Facts and figures - Queen Mary University of London

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