Case Study: Self-Service Password Management at University of California, San Francisco

Customer Profile: University of California, San Francisco The IT Department supports Windows and Mac users at a dozen different sites Number of users: 17,000 NetWrix Products Implemented: NetWrix Password Manager (http://netwrix.com/password_manager.html)

Overview The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a leading university dedicated to defining health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. A group of about one hundred IT professionals at UCSF drive IT activities daily, managing the University's networking environment. They support almost 17,000 Windows and Mac users at more than a dozen different sites belonging to the University.

As a part of their security improvement program, the IT team at UCSF implemented stronger password policies. Eventually, this created many password incidents and increased support costs, so the IT team sought a way to minimize these costs while maintaining a convenient environment for users.

Challenge: Strong Password Policies Introduced New Support Costs The IT team spent a great deal of time answering support calls from users who needed to reset their passwords. This routine work consumed a significant amount of time that would have been better spent on other IT projects. Of course, the IT team could have hired more personnel to handle these incidents, but budget constraints did not allow for this expensive resolution. Thus, the team needed to find a solution that could help them survive the new security requirements.

Solution: Automated Password Management The UCSF IT team turned to Password Manager to solve the above-mentioned problem. This product gives end users the ability to securely troubleshoot their password-related issues without the help of IT professionals or the IT help desk. This allows organizations to implement strong password policies in their Active Directory environments, while keeping costs at the same level. Thanks to Password Manager, when users cannot log in or access network resources, instead of picking up the phone and disturbing the IT department, they can use a Web browser or log on prompt to perform necessary actions with their user accounts, that is, resetting passwords, unlocking accounts, and even determining the reason accounts became locked out. "We couldn't wait any longer to spend our time on routine work and were seeking solutions for Web-based password resets," said Kraig Kluba, the manager of the Windows Server Support Team. "We chose NetWrix Password Manager, and that was the right decision. All of our users, including those using Macs, are able to handle their passwords with no hassle, and now we don't even care how many incidents happen daily." "Password Manager was a big step to increasing productivity and security," Kraig said. "I see a perfect fit without any extra complications. Moreover, product support is great: I can't wait to tell them how appreciative we are of their responsiveness."

About NetWrix Corporation Established in 2006, NetWrix Corporation provides innovative and cost-effective solutions that simplify and automate the management of Windows networks. With in-depth knowledge and experience managing Windows environments of all sizes, the company delivers solutions to meet complicated business requirements while fulfilling the best expectations of IT professionals.

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About The Author Established in 2006, NetWrix Corporation provides innovative and cost-effective solutions that simplify and automate the management of Windows networks.