![\"\"](\"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/IVAR-1024x589.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nRomine initially sought a cloud-based directory service to serve as Active Directory\u2019s backup in case of an earthquake, but it became the company\u2019s primary IT infrastructure during a rapid transition to remote work amid the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Organization<\/strong>: Inland Valleys Association of Realtors (IVAR)<\/li>
- Location<\/strong>: Riverside, California<\/li>
- Problem<\/strong>: No disaster recovery plan & remote work<\/li>
- Goal<\/strong>: Implement a cost-effective AD backup<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Background: Plan for Disaster Recovery<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A single server running Windows\u00ae<\/sup> Server 2012 secured IVAR\u2019s users and devices, which kept Romine awake at night and which he sought to mitigate in the organization\u2019s strategic plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Van.Romine.jpg\")
Van Romine
IT Manager, Inland Valleys Association of Realtors<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019d been lying awake at night, wondering when that server was going to fall apart,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIn Southern California, Romine\u2019s primary disaster recovery scenario was an earthquake. However, he had to activate the plan instead when the company transitioned to remote work with less than a week\u2019s notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Challenges: Active Directory & Remote Work<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Romine had looked at Active Directory\u00ae<\/sup> as one of the last holdouts of the organization’s 10-year cloud transformation, which included implementing Voice over IP (VoIP) phones, replacing Microsoft Exchange, and moving financial and other systems to cloud-based platforms. Last year, he selected JumpCloud\u00ae<\/sup> Directory-as-a-Service\u00ae<\/sup> to run in parallel with AD<\/a>. JumpCloud can either serve as a comprehensive identity bridge, extending AD to non-Windows and cloud-based resources, or it can serve as a standalone directory service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
JumpCloud was already in place when Romine\u2019s CEO asked what it would take to move their workforce out of the office and keep them safe. They first began discussing it on a Friday, and by Tuesday the employees were carrying their small Windows desktop computers and monitors home. They hadn\u2019t previously planned for such a scenario.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe went to the cloud for reliability, for stability, for disaster recovery, for all kinds of worst-case scenarios,\u201d Romine said. \u201cWe never expected to depend on it for anything more than a brief period while we sorted things out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution: Cloud Integration<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
IVAR\u2019s employees were able to take their desktops home and get to work the next morning. JumpCloud \u2014 combined with the other cloud-based tools, such as the VoIP phones \u2014 ensured that employees were able to stay productive and continue serving the organization’s members without service disruptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although Romine isn\u2019t yet taking advantage of the full breadth of features available through JumpCloud, he plans to examine the GPO-like Policies and custom commands<\/a> he could deploy from the web-based Admin Portal to configure security settings, update patches, and undertake other maintenance tasks. He\u2019ll also consider implementing JumpCloud\u2019s System Insights<\/a>, which returns telemetry data about machine hardware, software, and network configurations. He wouldn\u2019t have the same remote control and visibility with AD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat server could melt in the ground for all I care,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Implementation: \u2018I Just Depend On It\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
When he implemented JumpCloud, Romine migrated users to JumpCloud and converted their domain-bound accounts to local, JumpCloud-managed accounts on their Windows machines. He also maintained password synchronization between AD and JumpCloud. By the time his employees had to shift to remote work, they were already accustomed to the JumpCloud login workflow and didn\u2019t experience any other major changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The best technology is the one that just works,\u201d Romine said. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to think about it, and it\u2019s sort of invisible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s how I think about JumpCloud: It\u2019s an invisible, essential resource. I don\u2019t worry about it. I don\u2019t think twice about it. I just depend on it.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Romine hasn\u2019t shifted off AD entirely, but he\u2019s no longer worried about it or dependent on it for day-to-day operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I hate to say it, but I forgot I even had Active Directory,\u201d he said. \u201cI probably could just turn it off and save another $1.98 on my utility bill. It\u2019s almost useless to me at this point. It doesn’t really serve much purpose. It\u2019s there, but it\u2019s really not an essential service for us.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Result: \u2018We\u2019re Never Going Back\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Romine said he initially hesitated in shifting IVAR to a cloud-based directory service. He\u2019s spent 30 years in IT and said it was a mental hurdle to adjust to such a radically different way of doing things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDid I hesitate to jump in? Of course I did,\u201d he said. \u201cThat was a mental thing because I only thought about the problem one way for 30 years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He now recommends JumpCloud because of his organization’s frictionless experience in rolling it out and migrating off AD, as well as the flexibility it affords them to decide if and when they\u2019ll return to the office safely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Get over the hesitation, and have some assurance and confidence that this is the future,\u201d Romine said. \u201cWe\u2019re never going to go back to the old ways of doing things. We\u2019re never going back to having racks and racks of on-premises equipment. I can say with a lot of assurance that I\u2019m so glad I did this.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Learn More<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
With JumpCloud\u2019s Active Directory Integration, you can ensure your users, credentials, and groups are reflected in a cloud platform \u2014 whether you experience a domain controller failure or ultimately decide to migrate off AD entirely. From JumpCloud, you can manage Windows, macOS\u00ae<\/sup>, and Linux\u00ae<\/sup> machines and federate core user identities to virtually all IT resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read our guide to implementing JumpCloud and establishing a plan<\/a> in case your AD domain goes down.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"