The Challenge
A regional accounting and consulting firm was spending valuable time and money on an underperforming server. At over $800 per month, the server hosting fees were a costly solution. Meanwhile, the firm’s corporate Wi-Fi still ran on pre-shared keys (PSKs), a security gap that endangers sensitive data.
The firm had never implemented on-premises public key infrastructure (PKI) because building and maintaining an in-house certificate management system was not a justifiable workload for a one-person IT team.
The IT director needed a secure, financially viable cloud solution that could replace the RADIUS server and add PKI capabilities without on-premise components. When they learned that SecureW2 handled both Cloud RADIUS and cloud PKI as a single platform, it was the obvious choice.
The Solution
In just one deployment, SecureW2 replaced two pieces of the firm’s infrastructure. Cloud RADIUS replaced the previous server, eliminating the performance issues and the steep monthly bill. Cloud PKI provided certificate authority capabilities as a managed service, enabling EAP-TLS authentication without building on-premises infrastructure.
The deployment moved from discovery through closing in under two months, with implementation sessions covering Intune SCEP configuration, RADIUS policy setup, and certificate template design. With the help of SecureW2, the IT director managed the entire rollout alongside his existing responsibilities without help from outside consultants or additional staff.
The Results
- Eliminated $800+/month in costs after cutting a costly, underperforming server
- Reduced infrastructure workload for IT — with SecureW2 Cloud RADIUS, there’s now one less server to manage
- Eliminated PSK vulnerabilities — corporate Wi-Fi access now requires a valid certificate, securing sensitive data
- Gained new PKI capabilities with the SecureW2 JoinNow platform, opening the door to future functionalities
With certificate-based Wi-Fi implemented, the firm is considering passwordless Windows login next. Each device’s existing certificate can be used to authenticate the operating system.