How the Catholic Education Department of the Diocese of Bathurst manages 17,000 endpoints using ManageEngine Endpoint Central
The Diocese of Bathurst Catholic Education is a K-12 educational organisation based in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. The organisation has been in operation for over a decade, currently runs 36 campuses and serves more than 12,000 students with a staff of around 2,000.
The 27-strong IT team manages around 17,000 endpoints running on five different operating systems, including MacBooks, iMacs, Windows devices, Chromebooks, iPads and interactive display devices for teaching.
Business challenges
Devices are not constantly connected due to remote working, being offline or manual intervention updated.
Prior to implementing ManageEngine Endpoint Central, the company faced a number of operational and management challenges in the areas of endpoint management, remote support, device compliance and software asset management. These issues had a direct impact on IT efficiency, user productivity and overall operational visibility.
Remote support is delayed by the need for multiple calls, user interaction or access to physical devices.
Managing the patching of operating systems and third-party applications across multiple devices and locations was a major challenge. Devices were often not updated consistently because users were working remotely, devices were offline, or manual intervention was required.
As a result, security vulnerabilities arose, and maintaining consistent compliance across the entire endpoint environment became increasingly difficult.
Software licence tracking is largely carried out manually, with no reliable reporting for audits or planning.
Providing remote support to staff and students across different campuses and off-site locations was difficult and delayed problem resolution. Managing a mixed environment of company-owned and BYOD devices led to inconsistencies in policy enforcement, software deployment and security controls. Tracking software installations, licence usage and application compliance was largely manual, and there was a lack of accurate reporting.
Taken together, these challenges increased the workload for the IT team and reduced the company’s overall productivity. More time was spent on repetitive administrative tasks, manual troubleshooting and compliance checks, rather than on strategic initiatives.
«Before implementing ManageEngine Endpoint Central, our organisation faced a number of operational and administrative challenges in the areas of endpoint management, remote support, device compliance and software asset management. These issues had a direct impact on IT efficiency, user productivity and overall operational visibility.»
Aathioli Sivaprakasam, IT Security Manager, Catholic Education, Diocese of Bathurst
Market assessment
Before selecting Endpoint Central, the IT team evaluated Microsoft Intune/SCCM and Ivanti Neurons. After comparing the options against their operational requirements, the complexity of the devices and the scale of the deployment, the team opted for Endpoint Central on the basis of the following competitive advantages:
| deciding factor | What it meant for Catholic education in the Diocese of Bathurst |
|---|---|
|
User-friendliness
and deployment |
The solution is simple enough for an IT team to deploy and operate an environment comprising 17,000 endpoints without the need for any special onboarding. |
|
Costs and value |
Enterprise-level capabilities at a price that allows an
educational organisation to balance its operational and IT investments. |
|
Patch management and
security features |
Automated patching and security coverage for five
operating systems and a highly diverse fleet of devices. |
|
Remote management
and support |
Reliable remote troubleshooting and support for multiple sites and
remote locations. |
|
Asset and
Software Management |
Centralised hardware and software inventory with integrated
licence tracking and compliance reporting. |
|
Automation and
productivity |
Policy-driven workflows and self-service tools to
remove repetitive manual tasks from the IT team’s workload. |
|
Scalability and management of multiple sites |
A platform that can scale with the organisation across 36 campuses and
17,000 endpoints. |
|
Support and trust
from the provider |
Confidence in ManageEngine’s support and track record as a provider. |
|
Flexibility in deployment |
Options that can be implemented in a way that is consistent with the existing
infrastructure and architecture of the Catholic Education Diocese of Bathurst. |
The Endpoint Central solution
Following the implementation of Endpoint Central, the Catholic Education Diocese of Bathurst was able to centralise endpoint management, automate patching, streamline remote support, improve visibility across all devices and gain better control over software assets and compliance. The platform has become a key operational tool in seven key areas.
Automated patch management
The automated deployment of third-party operating system and application patches has significantly improved the security posture and reduced the manual workload for the IT team. Planning, testing and compliance reporting are now optimised across all managed devices. Devices that previously fell behind with updates due to remote or manual processes are now consistently patched, closing the security gaps that had previously left the company vulnerable.
Remote Desktop and Troubleshooting
The remote support function is crucial for assisting users at other sites and remote locations. IT staff can troubleshoot issues, transfer files and resolve incidents quickly without the need for a physical
Access to devices is required, which significantly reduces downtime. Traditional troubleshooting tasks, which used to require several phone calls or on-site visits, are now resolved from a central console, causing far less disruption to staff and students.
Software Deployment and Application Management
Centralised software deployment enables the team to efficiently deploy applications, updates and configuration changes to devices. This has improved consistency across the entire environment and enhanced the lifecycle management of
Simplified applications. It has also saved the IT team a great deal of time that was previously spent on manual, one-to-one installations across a geographically dispersed area.
IT resource management and reporting
Tracking hardware and software assets provides a clear overview of device status, installed applications and licence usage. This has improved compliance monitoring, which
Improved assessment and planning for renewals and upgrades. What used to be a largely manual and imprecise process is now a live, centralised view of all IT resources.
Operating System Imaging and Device Deployment
The deployment of operating systems and imaging help to standardise device provisioning and speed up the onboarding of new devices. This has reduced set-up time and improved consistency across staff and student endpoints. Instead of setting up each device from scratch, the team can apply a standard image and get a device up and running much more quickly.
MDM for mobile devices
The MDM features in Endpoint Central have significantly improved the way in which the Diocese of Bathurst’s Catholic Education division manages, secures and supports mobile devices across the organisation. The team can now configure security settings, deploy Wi-Fi and email profiles, enforce code requirements, manage app access and restrict unauthorised device functions from a single platform.
From a security perspective, the enforcement of device encryption, remote lock and wipe functions, compliance monitoring and application management features enable the team to take swift action if devices are lost, stolen or non-compliant. Automated alerts and reports make it easier to identify outdated or non-compliant devices and resolve issues before they become major problems. Taken together, these challenges increased the operational workload for the IT team and reduced the organisation’s overall productivity. More time was spent on repetitive administrative tasks, manual troubleshooting and compliance checks, rather than on strategic initiatives.
«One of the biggest advantages was the ability to enforce consistent device policies on both company-owned and BYOD mobile devices. We can now configure security settings, deploy Wi-Fi and email profiles, enforce passcode requirements, manage access to applications and restrict unauthorised device functions from a single platform.»
Aathioli Sivaprakasam, IT Security Manager, Catholic Education, Diocese of Bathurst
Key benefits
Automated patching across 17,000 endpoints, replacing manual, inconsistent update cycles
The self-service application portal reduces the number of IT support tickets and routine software installation requests
Remote troubleshooting on campus and at off-site locations without physical access
Results and implications
Since the implementation of Endpoint Central, the IT team at the Catholic Diocese of Bathurst has seen improvements across all areas of endpoint management:
| Challenges ahead | Results by |
|---|---|
|
Devices are often not updated continuously due to remote working, offline status or the need for manual intervention. |
Automated patch management schedules, testing and reporting across all managed devices, without the need for
manual intervention. |
|
Remote support is delayed by the need for several
phone calls, user interaction or access to physical devices. |
Remote desktop and troubleshooting tools enable IT staff to resolve incidents, transfer files and support users across all sites and remote locations without
physical access. |
|
BYOD and mixed-ownership devices, which lead to inconsistent policy enforcement and security controls. |
MDM features enforce consistent security settings, Wi-Fi and email profiles, passcode requirements and app access on both company-owned and BYOD devices from a single platform. |
|
Software licence tracking is largely carried out manually, with no reliable reporting for audits or planning. |
The hardware and software inventory provides a clear overview of device status, installed applications and licence usage, and improves compliance monitoring
and renewal planning. |
|
Manual software installation requests, which take up the IT team’s time and delay user access. |
The self-service application portal enables users to install approved applications without IT support,
thereby reducing support tickets and routine service requests
. |
|
Device set-up time and inconsistencies across the entire device fleet, as there is no standardised imaging process in place. |
OS imaging and automated deployment standardise device builds and speed up onboarding for staff and student endpoints. |
|
Several separate tools with no single view of compliance or audit. |
A single platform with centralised reports covering patch status, device configurations, software compliance and
licence usage. |
One of the most quantifiable ROI outcomes of implementing Endpoint Central was the reduction in IT support workload achieved through the self-service application portal. Routine software deployment tasks, which previously required manual effort, are now automated or user-driven, enabling the IT team to focus more on strategic projects, security enhancements and higher-value operational tasks.
As these functions scale to 17,000 endpoints without the need for additional IT staff, the team can now support a much larger base of devices and users than would have been possible under the previous manual model.
«The automation and self-service features have enabled the IT team to support a larger number of devices and users more efficiently, without the need for additional staff. ManageEngine Endpoint Central has improved operational efficiency, reduced repetitive support tasks and optimised endpoint management processes.»
Aathioli Sivaprakasam, IT Security Manager, Catholic Education, Diocese of Bathurst
Looking ahead
The Catholic Diocese of Bathurst has established a robust, scalable foundation for endpoint management with Endpoint Central. With automated patching, centralised MDM, a self-service application portal, operating system imaging and real-time asset visibility – all running from a single platform – the IT team has moved from reactive, manual processes to proactive, policy-driven management across 36 sites.
As the organisation continues to expand its student numbers, staff numbers and device infrastructure, Endpoint Central enables the IT team to scale up without a corresponding increase in workload. New devices are provisioned more quickly, software is deployed consistently, and compliance status is visible at all times without the need for manual data collection.
Results
- Automated patching across 17,000 endpoints,
without the need for manual intervention. - Remote support has been implemented at 36 locations without the need to access physical devices.
- The self-service portal reduced the number of support tickets and routine
Software installation enquiries. - A single platform replaced several separate tools in a multi-OS environment.
Your ManagEngine partner in Switzerland – Flying Supporter
Do you have any questions?
We will be happy to help you.
Deutsch 
English (UK) 
Français 
Italiano 