University of St Andrews

Founded in 1413, the University of St Andrews is Scotland’s oldest university and one of the world’s most illustrious academic institutions. With a diverse community of 8,700 students from 138 countries, over 2,000 staff, and a complex digital estate spanning 150 buildings, the institution is renowned for its rigorous academic education. Made famous by its most prestigious alumni, Prince William and Princess Catherine of Wales, St Andrews combines tradition and innovation, driven by a strong focus on excellent student experience.

Student feedback is taken seriously at St Andrew’s, and they made it clear: traditional campus delivery models had to change. From long walks to specific faculty buildings to crowded library spaces, students wanted faster, fairer, and more flexible access to the software they needed-and the freedom to decide where and how they worked.

With 99% of students owning laptops, and 43% using Macs, the university recognised the need to support BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). It became an early adopter of AppsAnywhere in 2015, launching the new service campus-wide.

By deploying AppsAnywhere across 1,100+ campus PCs and enabling access on personal devices, St Andrews transformed how academic software is delivered. Students can now run apps on-demand, whether they’re on a university machine or their own laptop, PC or Mac- from any location.

“AppsAnywhere is a really important development for us. It provides our university community with the ability to access software apps wherever and whenever they choose.”

‍- Steve Watt, Chief Information Officer, University of St Andrews

This flexibility supports a modern, digital-first campus experience and helps the university meet evolving student expectations.

Watch the video to see how St Andrews is redefining software delivery for a digital-first generation.