The Challenge
The Maine Correctional Center (MCC) has three locations in southern Maine. The center’s IT department is responsible for managing and updating devices that residents use for educational classes.
“Technology is essential for our organization to enable residents pursuing a college education to securely use their laptops for learning,” says Mark Cardilli, Resident Network Assistant Administrator. “However, manually managing their devices was not effective.”
The biggest challenge for the MCC IT team was deploying security updates and applications. The manual approach caused delays in patching security flaws, with some cases taking up to 90 days. It also led to delays for students taking classes since they had to submit their devices to the IT team, making it impossible to complete some of their work and causing unnecessary stress.
To ensure security, productivity, and end-user satisfaction, Mark searched for a solution to automate patch management and software deployment remotely.
The Action1 Solution
After evaluating various tools such as NinjaOne, Itarian, Atera, and PulseWay, Mark chose Action1 due to its usability, intuitive interface, and exceptional customer service.
The Benefits
High return on investment (ROI). The IT team started seeing the value of the Action1 platform from the very first day. They were able to push updates and software on their laptops in bulk with just a few clicks, as well as establish intelligent policies to streamline the process. “Thanks to the Action1 support team, we were quickly set up with the solution, and I could see the patch status across all my endpoints right away,” says Mark. The MCC IT team saves 600 hours annually on endpoint management and patching, resulting in significant cost savings, thanks to the Action1 platform’s steep learning curve, ease of use, and robust automation capabilities.
Thanks to Action1 platform’s steep learning curve, ease of use, and robust automation capabilities, we save 600 hours annually on endpoint management and patching.
Improved device security and performance. Action1 provides the IT team with full control over the patching status and software deployment on their endpoints, helping eliminate the risk of downtime and the organization’s exposure to security flaws. “Without prompt patching, computer issues can arise due to various potential causes. Resolving the root cause can be even more time-consuming as one needs to understand if the problem is localized or part of a bigger issue. Additionally, unpatched vulnerabilities can pose security risks,” explains Mark. “With Action1, not only can we keep up with the latest updates, but we can also automatically monitor if every computer is compliant with the latest Windows version.” If they need more control, they can use Action1’s reporting for more visibility and the script library to push scripts.
Increased end-user satisfaction. One of the biggest benefits for the IT team is that they no longer have to take laptops from students. Instead, they can resolve all issues remotely. “Before, even when students needed certain applications for their classes, they waited until the end of the semester because they did not want to hand them over to the IT department, which negatively impacted their education process,” says Mark. “With Action1, we can push the apps students need remotely in just a few clicks, eliminating unnecessary interference with their classes and ensuring our organization’s mission to help residents with rehabilitation to the best of its abilities.”
