Case Study: Franklin County Board of Education strengthens secure Wi‑Fi across schools with WatchGuard

Franklin County Board of Education cuts $60,000 controller costs with WatchGuard

The Franklin County Board of Education, a school district in rural Alabama, faced the challenge of providing secure and reliable Wi-Fi for students and staff, a critical need as an estimated 80% of students lacked internet access at home. Their existing network required a high-performing security solution to support new technologies like Google Chromebooks. They turned to WatchGuard for a solution.

WatchGuard provided its XTM firewall series with a Security Suite subscription and deployed a large fleet of AP200 wireless access points. The solution offered centralized management through the Gateway Wireless Controller and Dimension reporting tool. This resulted in dramatically improved wireless security and performance across the district. The school also extended free, secure Wi-Fi to the community. For the small IT staff, WatchGuard's easily manageable system was essential, saving an estimated $60,000 compared to a previous vendor's controller solution.

Franklin County Board of Education