The story of Life Enriching Communities

Introduction

In today's digital era, many organizations rely on Apple devices to execute their workflows. However, effective device management is equally crucial to safeguarding these devices from potential security breaches. In this case study, we will see how Life Enriching Communities were able to manage their fleet of Apple devices just the right way with Hexnode.

Background

Life Enriching Communities is an Ohio-based not-for-profit organization that offers senior living services in Cincinnati, Montgomery, Westlake, Reynoldsburg, New Albany, and Columbus. Earning a consistent seventh consecutive “BBB” rating from Fitch Ratings, they are dedicated to supporting residents and their families in exploring lifestyle options like independent living or memory support. With a commitment to enriching lives, they stand to create vibrant and supportive communities for senior citizens.

Challenges faced

Tom Jones, the IT and Procurement Manager at Life Enriching Communities, successfully deployed more than 250 Apple devices for the working staff across the organization. These included both iPhones and iPads. In the course of time, managing such a vast fleet of devices quickly became a headache for the firm's IT team. They also invested a significant amount of time manually changing ownership and configuring devices for new and existing employees within their branches. Feeling the need for a more efficient solution, Tom knew there had to be a better way around these challenges.

Consideration of MDM solution

Initially, Life Enriching Communities' IT team chose a different MDM solution to manage their fleet of Apple devices. However, the results fell short of satisfaction. Tom faced numerous difficulties and restrictions in handling the overall device management process until he came across Hexnode.

Tom found Hexnode's interface to be remarkably simple and easy to use compared to other UEM solutions he had used before. Navigating the portal was effortless and required very little knowledge of device management, so you didn’t have to be an IT pro to take control of your devices.

Integration of MDM

Life Enriching Communities had its devices partitioned across various departments within the facility. With Hexnode, Tom had the option to set different policies for different employees based on their designation.

He mentioned that they established a standard set of policies for all employees' devices, and they could easily customize it or create a new one for experienced employees who needed broader access to the devices.

Changing device ownership was a breeze with Hexnode. Tom could assign an existing device to a new user with just a few simple clicks. All the policies associated with the old user were removed, and the policies assigned to the new user were promptly pushed to the device. They also had the option to reassign the device to the previous owner, and all the policies would get associated right away.

Tom was impressed by the fact that Hexnode could seamlessly integrate with Apple Business Manager. This integration allowed him to quickly onboard his devices into Hexnode and push the required apps to several devices in bulk. Hexnode also assisted the team in imposing restrictions on end-user devices. Tom chose to disable the App Store on all his employee devices to prevent any unrecognized downloads and ensure the devices were used only for intended work purposes.

Tom also mentioned that there have been incidents where some of his devices were misplaced, but he was quickly able to retrieve them using Hexnode's location services. The lost mode feature allowed him to lock down lost devices and display custom messages on the lock screen remotely from a unified portal.

Implementation and Results

The team at Life Enriching Communities believes the features offered by Hexnode perfectly meets their expectations. They were equally pleased with the customer support team which assisted them during the initial onboarding process. Tom mentioned that they never had the need to arrange a call with the tech support team since most of their queries were instantly resolved through Hexnode's chat assistance. This saved them from the hassle of scheduling annoying calls every time they encountered issues, allowing them to use their time wisely for other activities.

Overall, Tom acknowledged that Hexnode effectively addresses most of his IT concerns and considers it the go-to solution for all his Apple device management needs.

Conclusion

Adopting Hexnode proved to be a worthwhile investment for the team at Life Enriching Communities. They could seamlessly deploy apps and impose restrictions on their fleet of Apple devices remotely from a unified portal. Tom has been using Hexnode for more than three years and has nothing but praise for it!