Schools work better when they’re not flying solo. Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) swap isolation for collaboration to improve learning experiences for thousands of students.
MATs are now entering a new phase of digital maturity. With continued growth, stricter expectations around safeguarding, and the rise of AI-powered learning tools, 2026 is shaping up to be a defining year for how trusts design, secure, and operate their IT environments.
But many trusts will struggle to reach that next stage unless they rethink their underlying strategy, and, crucially, the network that holds everything together.
MATs are expanding faster than their networks were designed for, often inheriting fragmented systems, legacy hardware, and inconsistent safeguarding controls across schools. These inconsistencies slow progress, increase costs, and erode trust in digital tools among staff and pupils.
2026 demands a different approach.
The drivers reshaping MAT IT strategies
As MATs continue to grow and integrate new academies, the underlying complexity of their digital estates is reaching a tipping point. What once passed as “good enough” infrastructure is now struggling to keep pace with new safeguarding expectations, cloud-first teaching tools, and the rising demand for always-on connectivity.
These pressures are reshaping how trusts think about technology and highlighting the need for a more unified, resilient, and future-ready IT strategy.
We’re finding that MATs are understanding the importance of building strong foundations first to truly enable digital transformation across Trusts. There are so many amazing tools that can aid with learning experiences and safeguarding, but in order to make the most of those tools, Trusts must ensure they have the infrastructure in place for them to truly work.
Something I’ve seen a number of times now, which has been a great happy accident, is that spending the time cleaning up your underlying network and reducing vendor sprawl, can actually provide cost savings and free up budget that can then be re-invested in shiny new learning tools!
1. A shift towards enterprise-grade expectations
Teachers, leaders, and students increasingly expect the same reliability they experience in modern workplaces. Cloud-based Management Information Systems (MIS), safeguarding platforms, real-time data systems, and hybrid learning tools all require secure, high-performance connectivity.
MATs are beginning to consolidate these platforms to enable better reporting, governance, and strategic visibility.
2. Higher safeguarding and compliance pressures
Disconnected networks and inconsistent filtering or policy enforcement create risk. Leadership teams and auditors now expect data to flow safely between academies with full visibility, but fragmented infrastructure makes this difficult.
3. AI adoption and new digital capabilities
Emerging AI tools, behavioural analytics, and dynamic learning platforms add more strain to the estate. Only a unified, secure, scalable network can support these without compromising performance or privacy.
4. The operational burden on IT teams
Central IT teams are stretched thin, often managing multiple vendors, multiple firewalls, and multiple filtering systems - as many as one per school in some trusts, which also results in increased and often hidden costs. This creates a constant cycle of reactive work that leaves no room for strategic development.
2026: The year MATs will prioritise consolidation
The trusts making the most progress in 2026 are those simplifying their environments:
Standardising on a single technology stack
Centralising management, reporting, and safeguarding
Using SD-WAN to bring predictable, resilient connectivity across every academy
Eliminating legacy systems and overlapping licences
Reducing the number of vendors and point solutions
Improving onboarding speed when integrating new schools
Moving towards a unified network and security model
This unified approach creates predictable, measurable improvements, dramatically reducing the operational overhead that holds IT teams back.
I can’t remember speaking to a MAT in the last few years that didn’t understand the importance of consolidating the amount of technology and vendors in their estate. If you can give your IT team one platform to manage instead of five, then not only will you have saved some money, but your teams will be able to operate much more effectively.
Understanding which tools can be consolidated and which single platform to hang your hat on can be a challenge, which is where leveraging insight from specialists in the field can be key.
What a modern MAT IT strategy should look like
To meet the challenges ahead, MATs need more than incremental improvements. They need a strategic blueprint that enables consistent, secure, and scalable digital operations across every school. A modern MAT IT strategy doesn’t focus solely on technology choices; it defines how the trust will operate, safeguard its data, support staff and pupils, and adapt to future innovation. At its core is a shift from fragmented systems to a unified, centrally governed digital ecosystem.
Having an end-goal for IT is normally the easy bit; building the roadmap to get there can be tricky. As a starting point, looking at the waste in your current estate is a great way to look at where you are over-spending your time and money.
When we design secure networks for MATs, we look at consolidation and building a solid foundation. From that point, you have freed up budget and have a platform to build on that can handle any further investment in technology.
1. A resilient, centrally governed network
This is the foundation. A unified SD-WAN introduces stable, application-aware connectivity between all schools while prioritising safeguarding and teaching needs.
2. A consistent security and safeguarding perimeter
When every school has its own firewall or filtering tools, safeguarding varies from site to site. A unified security fabric ensures policies are enforced equally across the trust.
3. Full visibility across the entire estate
Leadership teams need clarity. Tools like FortiAnalyzer and FortiView provide trust-wide insight, helping spot risks, monitor performance, and support auditability.
MAT Trail Infographic
4. Identity-first access
With hybrid learning embedded into daily life, controlling user identity from a central source is essential. This makes SSO, MFA, and role-based access absolutely critical.
5. A roadmap that reduces complexity - not adds to it
Trusts need an infrastructure that develops as a whole, not in pockets. A clear strategic roadmap ensures that every change aligns with a wider trust-wide architecture rather than introducing another isolated solution.
How Nasstar helps MATs transform their IT strategy
Nasstar provides a proven model for consolidation and secure networking, built specifically for education.
We help MATs:
Consolidate networking and security into one unified Fortinet platform
Connect schools with resilient SD-WAN, ensuring safeguarding and learning performance stay consistent
Centralise management, reporting, and safeguarding, reducing IT workload
Strengthen GDPR compliance with consistent security controls
Simplify onboarding of new academies with zero-touch deployment
Improve visibility using FortiAnalyzer, FortiManager, and FortiView insights
Adopt cloud and AI tools securely, with an infrastructure built to scale
Provide 24/7 co-managed support, ensuring operational stability as the trust grows
Multi-Academy Trusts don’t just need technology - they need a strategic partner who understands the education landscape. Nasstar’s certified Fortinet specialists deliver exactly that, from initial assessment through to ongoing optimisation.
The strategic move MATs should make now
A fragmented network will limit every future digital initiative - AI, cloud MIS, learning analytics, safeguarding automation, and whatever comes next. A unified, secure network will enable all of them.
2026 will reward the Multi-Academy Trusts that take steps now to simplify, consolidate, and secure their foundations.
Learn how Nasstar is helping MATs modernise their IT strategies.
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