Headquartered in Canada, this utility services consultancy with customers across North America helps telecom, energy, and natural gas companies with distribution and infrastructure optimization, providing engineering support, design, and preconstruction services, among other things. Founded over a decade ago, the organization has 325 employees who work in a mostly remote hybrid environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like many businesses, the organization had to rapidly pivot to remote work<\/a> when the Canadian government mandated everyone stay home to stop the spread of COVID-19 during the onset of the pandemic. At the time, the company used Active Directory as a directory service and Google Workspace as a productivity suite; almost all of their devices were Windows, with a few Linux servers sprinkled in the mix. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe had to come up with a solution really quickly to have asset management, infrastructure, and identity management,\u201d says the company\u2019s IT manager. \u201cWe had to be able to manage our entire fleet of users and devices and we had to do it quickly because the government mandated everybody go home and we didn\u2019t want to stop operating.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Needing an Active Directory replacement<\/a>, the IT manager began searching for a solution to the problem. After running a simple Google search for \u201calternatives to Active Directory,\u201d he came across JumpCloud<\/a>, the cloud-native unified identity, device, and access management platform, and began researching the platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It just seemed like a natural fit. The marketing material that JumpCloud had was very, very on point for being exactly what we were looking for. Every little subset of what we were looking for had a page that was well-written and tackled the problem that we had perfectly.<\/p>\nIT Manager<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n JumpCloud turned out to be the exact tool the utility consultancy needed \u2014 to the point the organization never fully transitioned back to the office after the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been able to stay fully remote thanks to JumpCloud,\u201d the IT manager says. \u201cRight off the bat, we were just using it for identity management<\/a> and inventory management<\/a>. Then we later graduated to using it for automatic provisioning of devices. And now we\u2019re using it for PowerShell<\/a> and managing devices in a bit more of an intricate way.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Thanks to JumpCloud, setting new users up on devices is simple. Once someone on the technical team receives a new device, they set up initial accounts, run Windows updates, and then install JumpCloud agents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOnce the JumpCloud agent is installed, thanks to Dynamic Groups<\/a>, it automatically assigns the device to our workstation group which then applies all of our policies,\u201d explains the company\u2019s IT project coordinator. \u201cWe then run a couple of post-install scripts for some proprietary software, and once all those finish running, we have a fully functional workstation ready to assign to a user.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n With JumpCloud powering onboarding, \u201chands-on time dropped dramatically.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAt one point, I think I staged five PCs at once,\u201d the IT project coordinator continues. \u201cThey were all done in the same amount of time as it would have taken to do one previously. It\u2019s kind of an exponential gain, too. If we had more onboarding, it would be an even bigger gain.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n With JumpCloud, the utility services firm has been able to strengthen its security posture using multi-factor authentication<\/a> and conditional access policies<\/a>, which help them ensure that only authorized users can access sensitive company resources. With a workforce that primarily works out of the field, about half of employees currently use JumpCloud Protect<\/a> for multi-factor authentication on mobile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We use a whole host of policies. One of my favorites from a security perspective is the fact that we can automatically enable BitLocker and have this key stored within the JumpCloud portal.<\/p>\nIT Manager<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n \u201cLargely, it\u2019s been great. We have had issues with some of our field staff having issues with it, although I suspect that\u2019s more due to the fact that sometimes they\u2019re quite literally in the middle of a farmer\u2019s field without any connectivity,\u201d the IT project coordinator says with a laugh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The team also makes use of other policies and custom commands<\/a> to further shore up security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe use a whole host of policies,\u201d he continues. \u201cOne of my favorites from a security perspective is the fact that we can automatically enable BitLocker and have this key stored within the JumpCloud portal.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n JumpCloud\u2019s Remote Assist<\/a> tool has also been a life-saver in certain situations when technicians have needed assistance in the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s one of those tools that \u2014 when you need that level of access \u2014 it\u2019s great to have,\u201d the IT project coordinator says. \u201cIt saved the day on a couple of occasions for us and has gotten us out of some really tight situations.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n [Remote support] saved the day on a couple of occasions for us and has gotten us out of some really tight situations.<\/p>\nIT Manager<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Looking ahead, the consultancy is planning to utilize several additional JumpCloud features, like patch management<\/a> and single sign-on<\/a>. The team is also happy about JumpCloud\u2019s updated reporting capabilities, and they\u2019re keen on being part of JumpCloud\u2019s early access program, which enables them to test new functionality early and share feedback that they\u2019ve later seen incorporated into those features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019ve seen a ton of benefits from it,\u201d the IT manager says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On top of this, the team appreciates the fact that JumpCloud is regularly rolling out new features, proving it\u2019s a tool that can keep pace with the organization as it scales as its needs change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Constant progression and improvement in the tools is something we look for in the vendors that we utilize, and we\u2019re absolutely getting that with JumpCloud.<\/p>\nIT Manager<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n JumpCloud\u00ae delivers a unified open directory platform that makes it easy to securely manage identities, devices, and access across your organization. With JumpCloud, IT teams and MSPs enable users to work securely from anywhere and manage their Windows, Apple, Linux, and Android devices from a single platform. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To see the power of JumpCloud yourself, request a demo<\/a> or start a 30-day trial<\/a> today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This Canadian utility services consultancy helps telecom, energy, and natural gas companies with engineering support, design, and preconstruction services.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":167,"featured_media":119408,"template":"","categories":[],"collection":[2775,2780],"wheel_hubs":[],"platform":[],"resource_type":[2313],"funnel_stage":[3014],"coauthors":[2706],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nChoosing JumpCloud as an Active Directory alternative<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Increasing IT productivity & maintaining a hybrid workforce post-pandemic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Accelerated onboarding<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Improved security<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Remote support<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Future-proofed IT management<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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About JumpCloud<\/h2>\n\n\n\n