Challenges

ECU needed a modern remote connectivity platform that enabled university IT staff to support other departments in the university regardless of their location, while ensuring secure device connections. This was especially important since ECU faced several challenges, including supporting devices spread across four campuses, the inability to remote into Microsoft Intune accounts and connect to devices using multi-factor authentication as well as encountering problems in accessing new hardware that was not on-premises and facing authentication issues while onboarding devices with Intune.

As part of its efforts to address these challenges and support its distributed environment, ECU decided to transition from Microsoft Endpoint Manager to Intune. However, this move hampered its ability to fully support modern devices and maximize the benefits of cloud management. This posed a challenge for ECU in ensuring that staff had secure and reliable access to the network files and systems they needed, regardless of their location.

It also caused delays in resolving IT issues and impacted the overall productivity of various stakeholders across the university. In this context, the IT helpdesk team acts as a central point of contact on IT issues for all university staff, guests, and students. The main task is to handle inquiries by telephone, remote support, by e-mail or in person, to provide first or second level support and to advise the end user that might need real-time support. Against this backdrop, the university needed a solution that would let IT staff remotely access the network through disparately located devices and authenticate securely using state-of-the-art technology.

ECU sought a modern, device-agnostic approach to expand its device management capabilities beyond computers and mobile devices. The university required a platform that could integrate with leading device management platforms. Moreover, ECU wanted a solution that would not only meet its remote access needs but also integrate well with other modern platforms to provide a seamless staff experience.

Furthermore, given the high number of customers and technical requests, it was imperative that the chosen solution was efficient and easy to use. The IT helpdesk, known as Digital and Campus Services (DCS), needed a solution that could quickly and easily support end-user devices, requiring quick remote access and monitoring.

Results

Since implementing TeamViewer Tensor, ECU’s remote support process has undergone a significant transformation. The solution is a perfect fit for ECU’s needs, enabling the university to move swiftly away from on-premises infrastructure, enhancing organizational agility and streamlining IT helpdesk processes.

With the successful integration of TeamViewer Tensor with Microsoft Azure AD and Intune, the university is now able to securely connect and provide support to its remote end-users. This has led to a significant increase in productivity and an improved experience for students and staff.

TeamViewer Tensor is now primarily used by the IT team for the remote monitoring of off-premises devices and to assist end-users in resolving IT-related issues. On managed devices, IT administrators can control and secure the device, elevating their accounts to provide support with proper permission set up through MS Azure AD accounts.

Sachi Bandaranayake said, “The convenience of not relying on any on-premises infrastructure, with the solution supporting cloud and remote, makes TeamViewer a perfect fit for us. We were able to quickly move into a product that could support our devices that were using Intune.”