Case Study: Escambia County achieves $100K in savings and countywide Wi‑Fi expansion for millions with HPE Aruba Networking

Popular Gulf Coast destination cost-effectively exceeds mobility expectations for millions of constituents with Aruba ESP

Escambia County, Florida—home to about 1,800 employees serving roughly 300,000 residents and millions of annual visitors—faced an aging wired and wireless infrastructure that couldn’t meet growing mobile expectations, stretched a lean IT staff, and exposed digital-access gaps highlighted by the COVID‑19 pandemic. End‑of‑life gear and steep licensing costs made it urgent to modernize while delivering equitable connectivity across urban and rural areas.

The county deployed Aruba ESP — including Wi‑Fi 6 APs, Aruba mobility controllers, CX/2930 series switching, ClearPass, AirWave and cloud management via Aruba Central — to create an intelligent, secure network. The upgrade saved about $100K in licensing and equipment (funds reinvested to add ~15% more APs), delivered indoor/outdoor Wi‑Fi at 40 sites and coverage in over 80% of county facilities, reclaimed up to 30% of rack space, reduced management overhead, improved public safety and remote services, and established a future‑ready platform for AIOps and continued growth.

Escambia County

Bart Siders

IT Director