The Challenge
A national charter school management organization serving 30,000 students, faculty, and staff needed to replace its legacy Windows NPS infrastructure with certificate-based authentication. The IT team lacked internal PKI expertise and needed a partner that could handle the complexity of a distributed K-12 environment.
The client needed to overcome two primary hurdles:
- The Chromebook “Login Gap”: Shared devices dropped connection when transitioning from the login screen to the student profile.
- Multi-Device Support: Staff required seamless enrollment for multiple Apple devices.
What the organization required was a managed platform that could deliver certificate-based authentication across 30+ campuses without requiring internal PKI expertise. The SecureW2 JoinNow Platform could offer Cloud PKI, Cloud RADIUS, and automated device enrollment to meet the demands of a large, dispersed user base.
The Solution
Working with the SecureW2 team, the organization deployed the new authentication network in three phases over several months:
- Phase 1: Chromebooks were secured via Google Workspace SCEP integration.
- Phase 2: Windows laptops and tablets transitioned via Intune-managed certificates.
- Phase 3: The team fully decommissioned the legacy Windows NPS infrastructure.
The shared Chromebook login gap was resolved through specialized configuration changes with SecureW2 support, ensuring an “always-on” connectivity experience for students. The team is now working on implementing authentication for Apple devices and extending the deployment to BYOD onboarding for staff personal devices and a guest Wi-Fi portal.
The Results
- Eliminated legacy infrastructure: The SecureW2 JoinNow platform replaced Windows NPS authentication for a more secure, agile system .
- Resolved connectivity gaps: Shared Chromebooks are now authenticated via device certificates across all campuses with the login gap resolved.
- Intune-managed devices enrolled and working: Windows laptops and tablets authenticate with certificates deployed through Intune.
With legacy NPS removed and managed devices authenticating across all campuses, the organization now has a system in place that will future-proof the network for a secure, continuous-trust environment.