This blog is the first in our “Lessons from the Community” series, spotlighting practical stories from institutions tackling complex digital learning challenges. Through these stories, we aim to share insights, lessons learned, and practical approaches that can inspire and inform others across the global education community.
The Vision: Reaching 600,000 Learners Online
When your student population surpasses 600,000 and stretches across the African continent, ensuring a seamless online learning experience isn’t just ambitious, it’s essential. For the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), going digital meant more than adopting Moodle; it meant building a secure, stable, and scalable platform that could empower learners at every level.
So, how did they do it? And what can other institutions learn from their journey?
Here’s how we partnered with NOUN to transform their Moodle platform into a high-performance, scalable learning environment, designed to meet growing demand and deliver an exceptional user experience.
The Challenge: When Self-Hosting Isn’t Enough
NOUN had a bold vision: move all instruction online. But with this ambition came the challenge of serving tens of thousands of simultaneous users, especially during high-pressure periods like exams, without downtime, delays, or data loss.
Previously self-hosted, their LMS faced repeated service interruptions, sluggish log-ins, and insufficient storage. The risk of disrupting thousands of learners during peak times wasn’t just inconvenient, it was unacceptable.
The Turning Point: Partnering with a Moodle Certified Partner
Recognising the need for deep technical expertise, NOUN partnered with us. From the outset, we took a thorough and strategic approach:
- A full analysis of NOUN’s LMS infrastructure
- Migration to our high-performance cloud hosting on AWS
- Implementation of elastic infrastructure to auto-scale with demand
- Ongoing support and optimisation tailored to NOUN’s unique needs
With years of experience supporting education providers globally, our team ensures every platform meets the highest security, data protection, and compliance standards, giving institutions like NOUN peace of mind and the freedom to innovate.
With Catalyst, we gained the space and confidence to focus on what we do best, delivering quality education, while they ensured our platform was stable, secure, and always available.
—Dr Lukuman Bello, Director of LCMS, NOUN
The Transformation: From Downtime to 100% Uptime
What followed was nothing short of transformational:
- 100% uptime for over six years
- Capacity for 30,000+ concurrent users during exams
- Increased enrolments, driven by greater learner confidence
- Greater capacity for educators to innovate and refresh content every semester
Behind the scenes, our infrastructure quietly scaled and flexed, providing the reliability and performance essential for a digital-first university.
Building Resilience: Self-Hosted Support Options
While NOUN chose our fully managed hosting solution, we know every institution’s setup is different. If your IT team manages your Moodle infrastructure but you’d benefit from having expert support in your corner, we offer two flexible services that give you confidence and control:
Code Management
Let us handle the backend code, so your team can focus on what matters most: supporting learners.
We manage:
- Security patching
- Plugin updates
- Moodle upgrades (including annual and LTS versions)
All on your infrastructure, with Catalyst keeping your Moodle codebase secure and up to date.
Retainer Support
Our Retainer Support acts as an external safety net for your internal team:
- On-demand technical advice from Moodle and Linux experts
- “Over-the-shoulder” guidance when needed
- Peace of mind during complex upgrades or high-traffic periods
Some of our clients want the best of both worlds; they have got the internal team, but want reassurance that they’ve got Catalyst taking care of the potentially tricky elements of managing their Moodle. That’s exactly what these services offer.
—Mark Glynn, Head of Business Development EMEA, Catalyst IT Europe
Together, Code Management and Retainer Support create a powerful package for institutions that want to stay in control without compromising on quality or stability.
Lessons Learned: What the Institutions Can Take Away
- Scalability is a must, not a luxury
Platforms must be able to grow with institutional ambitions. - Infrastructure matters as much as content
Even the best-designed course needs a stable system behind it. - Expert support empowers internal teams
Free your staff to focus on pedagogy, innovation, and student engagement. - Confidence drives momentum
Stability builds trust, and that trust fuels long-term growth.
Explore More: Dive into the Full Case Study
Read the full story of NOUN’s transformation with Catalyst in our in-depth case study.
What’s Next?
Whether you’re managing thousands of learners or planning your next digital transformation, the right infrastructure and partnership are essential.
With Catalyst IT, you have the freedom to innovate, securely, reliably, and at scale.
Speak with one of our team of experts today!
