password management for mobile workers

Organization: Allan Myers
Country: United States
Industry: Construction

Goal: Automate password management for a mobile workforce and reduce the password-related call rate to the helpdesk.
Result: Reduction in calls, costs and off-hours support with self-service password management in place.
Solutions: Specops Password Reset, Specops Password Policy

The IT team at Allan Myers was resetting passwords and unlocking accounts around the clock for their users. Password-related calls made up 70 percent of the helpdesk call rate, which was not sustainable for the construction company with a small IT team. They needed password management for mobile workers to empower their users with self-service.

Allan Myers builds roads, bridges, treatment plants and pipelines. The company is involved in many large-scale construction projects across five states. The workforce at Allan Myers is highly mobile, with about 700 iPad users and 400 laptop users. What all of the employees have in common is the need to access systems, regardless of where they are physically. Without a way to reset their passwords, whether they were in the field or working off hours, users couldn’t access their email, time slips or project information.

Chris Kelly, Senior Technical Support Specialist, explains: “When we introduced iPads to all of the supervisors in the field we couldn’t rely on the login window to inform people of password expirations. We needed a way to allow people to manage their own passwords without needing to contact the helpdesk.”

The iPad users were the trigger for the initial project, but all of the staff members use Specops Password Reset to manage their passwords today. The mobile device users can reset their passwords though a mobile app or a web page in the browser. The password-related call rate dropped from 70 percent to 20 percent and eventually landed at 10 percent where it remains two years after the project started. To convince the stragglers, the helpdesk staff helped users by walking them through the enrollment and reset process.

“The reduction in call load is major benefit for us,” Chris says. “We’ve also seen a significant cost reduction for the company as a result. The IT department can focus on more important tasks than resetting passwords while the users can help themselves whenever they need to.”

Allan Myers uses Specops Password Reset in tandem with Specops Password Policy. The password policy tool is used to set different complexity tiers for different user groups based on access to sensitive information. The IT team has also been successful at increasing the overall password complexity level by restricting particular words, consecutive passwords and keystroke combinations.

“Implementing the policy piece has been easy because the users can see exactly which rules they need to follow,” Chris says. “We are very happy with Specops Software, the tools and the support we receive.”

See how Specops Password Reset can work for your team.