Symplicity is a global leader in student experience solutions, providing intelligent platforms to over 1,500 colleges and universities worldwide. Their software helps institutions manage every facet of student life, from career services and student conduct to accommodations.
With a workforce of approximately 360 users spread across international offices in the US (Arlington, Virginia HQ), Australia, Canada, and Brazil, Symplicity operates in nearly every time zone, supporting a predominantly remote workforce.
The Challenge: A Global Operation Strained by Fragmented IT
To add to the complexities of managing a global user base, Symplicity’s IT team was juggling with a complex web of disparate tools. As their contract with Okta approached renewal, the team recognised an opportunity to streamline their operations.
The Core Problem
Symplicity needed a single, integrated suite offering MFA, SSO, and comprehensive MDM for both Windows and Mac to replace their disjointed solutions.
Operational Drag
Seeking an MDM solution at a decent price – specifically, to avoid “paying an arm and a leg to Microsoft” – the team cycled through nearly three different Windows MDM providers, alongside using Kandji for Macs.
This led to extensive IT staff time spent on evaluation and management, coupled with increased security vulnerabilities.
Compliance Headaches
The fragmented IT environment further made it difficult to ensure comprehensive device protection and generate consolidated compliance reports for auditors.
The Solution: A Search for a Unified Platform
Symplicity’s search for a truly integrated solution led them to evaluate several vendors. While Okta was considered, its lack of MDM and poor support were significant drawbacks. Azure AD presented a high cost per user, and Duo, while capable in its own right, didn’t offer the all-in-one platform they desperately needed.
Only JumpCloud offered the truly all-in-one platform they needed. The combination of comprehensive features and responsive support made it the clear choice.
| Feature | Okta | Azure AD | JumpCloud |
| Unified SSO, MFA, MDM | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Windows & Mac MDM | ❌ | Expensive Add-on | ✅ |
| Integrated LDAP | Difficult | ✅ | ✅ |
| Responsive Support | ❌ | Varies | ✅ |
Deployment: A 5-Week Sprint to Success
The deployment was a collaborative effort between Symplicity’s internal IT staff (including Kenneth Bates, Nathan Oliveira, Andrew Wippl, and Sysadmins across continents) and JumpCloud’s Professional Services. Ken couldn’t praise JumpCloud’s Jason enough, calling him their “guiding light through the storm.” Despite a tight timeline driven by the desire to avoid paying for two systems simultaneously, the entire migration was completed in an impressive “5 weeks and 3 days,” starting in November 2024 and navigating the US Thanksgiving holiday.
“By the end of November, we had user setup active and JumpCloud moved out 10 major apps like Microsoft, Netsuite, Zendesk and VPN, to have user MFA and SSO in,” Ken noted.
The Results: Efficiency, Security, and Sanity Restored
10+
Hours Saved Per Month
on
MDM update management alone
80%
Reduction in
New Hire Onboarding Time
From a full week to just one day
Dramatically Reduced IT Tickets:
“Our tickets have gone down dramatically in the IT queue because of JumpCloud,” Ken stated, a direct result of the platform’s stability and ease of use.
Everything under one roof:
“I can see everything that’s going on at our organization all in one spot. And I think that’s a fantastic capability,” said Ken.
Vastly Improved Support:
“The support has been great… when Nathan or I put in a ticket, we hear back… if it’s urgent, within hours,” Ken shared. Nathan agreed: “One great thing about you guys [JumpCloud] is the support.”
Better User Experience:
JumpCloud’s “nice user portal” proactively alerts users to expiring passwords, a “dramatic improvement” over their Okta experience, which had often led to numerous tickets daily.
Why JumpCloud? “It just works.”
If you’re looking for a solution that’s completely under one roof, offers all the capabilities you need, and simply works great without any issues or outages, then I think JumpCloud is a fantastic product.
Kenneth Bates, IT Lead, Symplicity
Kenneth Bates, IT Lead, SymplicitySymplicity is now leveraging JumpCloud for single sign-on (SSO), multi factor authentication (MFA), unified mobile device management (MDM) (including patching, remote assist, and software management), and is close to finalizing LDAP integration – a task that was “very difficult” with their previous provider.