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Pascagoula School District (PSD)

Finding visibility, flexibility and control with MaaS360

C u S To M e r :
Pascagoula School District (PSD)

I N D u S T ry:
Education

The Challenge: Need to Quickly Secure and Manage Newly Acquired iPads and iPod touch Devices
The Pascagoula District (PSD), located in the southeast corner of Mississippi and between the cities of Gulfport/Biloxi, MS and Mobile, AL, is a public school district that houses approximately 6,900 students in 19 elementary (K - 5), middle school (6 - 8), high school (9 - 12), and specialty school campuses that serve the cities of Gautier and Pascagoula, MS. The PSD, established in 1912, employs over 1,100 teachers, administrators, instructional and other support personnel. When many of the districts principals determined that laptops were no longer the optimal device for their on-the-go schedules and that iPads were better suited for both the administrative and learning environments, the Information Systems team began the process of

Lo C AT I o N :
United States

C h A L L e N g e:
PSD needed a mobile device management solution that could be quickly deployed to secure newly purchased mobile devices and support application management.

S o Lu T I o N :
MaaS360 by Fiberlink provides the visibility, agility and automated controls to manage all mobile devices for all user types from a single, web-based console.

r e S u LT S:
Efficient mobile application management, resulting in 98% time savings for IT Rapid deployment in the cloud, with devices enrolled in only three minutes Centralized control to ensure asset and information security Mobility Intelligence reporting and advanced search features provide real-time visibility of all devices and applications

MaaS360.com > Case Study

Pascagoula School District (PSD)

Curt Parker, Gradebook Manager, Information Systems, Pascagoula School District

If we didnt have MaaS360, specifically the MaaS360 app catalog, I would have to constantly travel between 17 campuses in two different cities, touching every iPad and iPod touch to install software. Each application installation could take an entire week of my time to complete; I can do it in one hour with MaaS360.

purchasing and securing iPads and iPod touch devices. The leap to mobile devices wasnt made without cautious planning on the part of the team and Curt Parker, Gradebook Manager, Information Systems. Its challenging enough for school districts to manage and hold on to fixed assets. With iPads as expensive and sought-after as they are, we were concerned about the process and time involved with securing the devices. How would we know that they are still in our district? If they are lost or stolen, how would we remove our sensitive information? With the devices already purchased and the plan to imminently deploy to administrators and students across 17 different campuses in place, Curt knew that PSD needed a way to protect the new mobile assets and safeguard confidential information. He began an online search for a comprehensive Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution that would be quick to deploy and easy to manage.

The Solution: MaaS360 for Mobile Device and Application Management

Curt started by evaluating Apples internal configuration utility, but quickly realized that it would not provide the level of tracking, security and reporting that PSD required. After reviewing a few other MDM solutions on Apples preferred vendor list, he came across MaaS360 and was immediately impressed by the solutions advanced functionality, cloud model and short implementation time. Because MaaS360 supports management of all device types and OSes in a single console, it could sustain PSDs mobile device program through any growth and change, including the addition of Android tablets or iPhones to its roster. Application management was also a key driver for PSD.

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Pascagoula School District (PSD)

Curt needed the ability to manage, push and track key administrative and educational apps to the devices. MaaS360 was clearly the best match for our project scope and needs. We knew we would be able to quickly get up and running with a solution that is easy to use, but offers the comprehensive management functionality we needed: advanced security, integration with the App Store, location tracking and support for multiple platforms. After an evaluation, PSD decided on MaaS360 and began immediate deployment in conjunction with the rollout of the 80 new devices for student and administrative use. PSDs MaaS360 deployment was simple and quick. The only time we needed to contact MaaS360 Support was when we had questions about Apples certificate signing procedure. They were able to walk us through the process immediately. Implementation of the MaaS360 solution itself was quite selfexplanatory; it is very simple to install. Curt and his team use MaaS360 Mobile Application Management to deploy and manage over 30 educational and support apps, including Observation 360 for principals classroom evaluations, Calendaring, Messaging, Common Core Standards, Accelerated Reader, Lexia Reading, and Stanza for eBooks and policy manuals.

The Benefits: Device Security and Application Visibility, With 98% Time Savings for IT
Today, MaaS360s web-based management console provides PSD with complete control over and visibility into the districts iPads, iPod touch devices and a small number of Android tablets. New devices are enrolled in only three minutes. Curt and his team can track application installation and usage in real time. Using MaaS360, the team can search on any attribute and instantly see details about the desired device or application.

MaaS360.com > Case Study

Pascagoula School District (PSD)

Even when Im off-site, I can open up a browser and run a search to see any device details where it physically is located, what OS it is running, and whether or not it has all required updates and applications. Without MaaS360, it would be nearly impossible to view this level of detail. Now, this in-depth device and application information is available on-demand, every day. PSD uses MaaS360 not only to physically secure all mobile assets, but also to remediate risk in the event that a device is lost or stolen. The ability to instantly locate a lost device and remotely wipe confidential student, administrative and district information ensures IT has the visibility and control it needs. With PSD faculty and students relying on more than 30 key apps for productivity and educational purposes, MaaS360 Application Management is critical. Curt and his team are able to easily deploy and manage applications and block any applications that are against school policies based on specific user types (teachers, students, specific grade levels, etc.). Visibility into overall application usage is another key benefit, as Curt can recommend and push popular apps to other teachers and administrators. Without MaaS360, the application installation process would involve the IT team sending an email with instructions detailing the app users needed to look for in the iTunes store, users then spending their time searching for the application, and some users possibly installing the incorrect app and calling Curt for assistance. Today, Curt can simply push the application directly to each users PSD app catalog and track installation in real time. If we didnt have MaaS360, specifically the MaaS360 app catalog, I would have to constantly travel between 17 campuses in two different cities, touching every iPad and iPod touch to install software. Each application installation could take an entire week of my time to complete; I can do it in one hour with MaaS360.

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