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Indiana University Provides Secure Remote and Chat Support with Bomgar
[September 03, 2015]

Indiana University Provides Secure Remote and Chat Support with Bomgar


Bomgar (News - Alert), a leader in secure remote support and access management solutions, today announced Indiana University (IU) is using Bomgar Remote Support to provide secure technology and chat support across eight campuses. With a total student population of more than 114,000, IU is a major public research institution, grounded in the liberal arts and sciences and a world leader in professional, medical and technological education.

In 2007, the IU Clinical Affairs schools (part of the IU School of Medicine) had four service technicians supporting approximately 600 desktops, as well as 800 faculty and staff. The technicians, after unsuccessful attempts to incorporate remote support into their workflow, typically needed to make a site visit when a device required attention.

"Our service technicians tried other tools, but these solutions were slow and they often dropped connections," said Lisa Schunk, manager of client services for clinical affairs information technology services (CAITS). Schunk sought a better remote support option, so technicians wouldn't have to travel to hospitals and other campus buildings. After reviewing several possible solutions, CAITS chose Bomgar because they liked its ease of use and reliable connections.

UITS has a branded 'ithelplive' website that is available to anyone affiliated with IU for launching chat-based tech support. "We have approximately 85 representatives who manage the chat sessions 24/7 and field a variety of questions," explains Momi Ford (News - Alert), support center manager. "We answer a wide rane of technical questions regarding hardware, software and university systems. Last year we fielded over 34,000 support requests from our chat service."



Because of the importance of chat support to the university community, maintaining an easy-to-use chat feature was a primary consideration when migrating to Bomgar at UITS. Ford appreciates how Bomgar enhances collaboration among her team. "It is very easy to transfer a chat session when a technician's shift ends or when a supervisor needs to take over. The ability to share sessions is also a vital feature when it comes to training new technicians."

Security considerations also played a central role in CAITS and UITS choosing Bomgar. Having a solution that supports HIPAA patient confidentiality requirements is essential. "The fact that the Bomgar solution is an appliance is a plus," said Norzinskay. UITS didn't want a solution that was peer-to-peer or that might allow spoofing or collection of data on a consultant's personal computer. "Bomgar's appliance works inside our firewall, and its fully encrypted sessions give us the protections we need." All major actions technicians take using Bomgar are permission-based: The end user has to grant permission for the remote support rep to view their screen, take control of the mouse or initiate a file transfer.


"It's unusual to find a solution as versatile and reliable as Bomgar has been for UITS," Norzinskay said. "The solution's feature set and the support we get from Bomgar is first class. We are very pleased with our decision to use Bomgar."

For a full case study about IU's use of Bomgar, please visit: www.bomgar.com/customers.

About Bomgar

Bomgar connects people and technology securely, providing leading remote support and privileged access management solutions that strengthen security while increasing productivity. Bomgar solutions help support and security professionals improve business performance by enabling secure, controlled access to nearly any device or system, anywhere in the world. More than 9,500 organizations across 65 countries use Bomgar to deliver superior support services and manage access to valuable data and systems. Bomgar is privately held with offices in Atlanta, Jackson, Washington D.C., Frankfurt, London, Paris, and Singapore. Visit Bomgar at www.bomgar.com, or on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+.


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