Overview
Kauai Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) is a not-for-profit generation, transmission and
distribution cooperative owned by the members it serves. Headquartered in Lihue, Hawaii, the
cooperative serves 33,000 electric accounts on the island of Kauai. KIUC is a nationally
recognized leader in the use of renewable energy and is committed to using solar, biomass
and hydropower to produce at least 50 percent of the island's electricity by 2023.
Challenge: Increase IT agility across BYOD and COPE
KIUC’s location presents some unique challenges that make it different from its sister
cooperatives on the mainland. While most co-ops purchase electricity from large coal-fired
power plants and huge hydroelectric power stations that can be hundreds of miles away, KIUC
must generate all of its power on the island of Kauai. These smaller generating plants are
powered by imported fossil fuels – which are less efficient and more expensive than mainland
power sources.
In an effort to reduce its power cost, decrease its use of imported fossil fuels and increase the
amount of energy generated from Kauai’s own resources, KIUC has launched a strategic
initiative to generate 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2023. This
initiative exponentially expands the areas serviced by KIUC employees, which places a
significant employee mobility challenge on IT through Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and
corporate-owned personally enabled (COPE) devices. KIUC’s IT must serve employee mobility
across:
• 151 – Employees delivering safe and reliable electricity to the citizens of Kauai
• 32,700 –Meters (electric accounts) served by KIUC
• 23,300 –Active member-owners
• 562 – Square miles in KIUC’s service area
• 1,400 – Miles of 57.1kV transmission and 12.47kV distribution lines owned and
maintained by the co-op
In order for KIUC to meet their strategic initiatives, employee mobilization and enablement
became mission critical. IT was challenged to increase productivity, streamline business
operations, and increase device support across an ever-expanding list of BYOD and COPE
devices.
KIUC needed to simplify remote access, but this was no easy IT task given the vast number of
remote access devices. As a result, for remote users accessing applications from a PC or other
device outside of the office, IT experienced a complex and a continuous support challenge.
Solution: Workspace as a Service secures managed and unmanaged mobile devices
KIUC selected Workspot for BYOD to enable remote access for employees. KIUC leveraged Workspot for:
• IT Ease of implementation
• Instant device deployment
• Immediate reduction of IT device complexities (provisioning and management)
“In our search for a solution to deal with the tsunami of devices, I focused our efforts to identify a next generation
solution along two main categories – (1) tight integration with in house technologies, and (2) ability to provide flexible
and painless remote access, for BOTH users and IT. With Workspot, our remote users are no longer restricted to the
use of IT managed systems to gain access to the company’s private cloud infrastructure. They can now access apps
and data from their own devices from where they need to be productive – in the field. Workspot delivered with a
smooth implementation and world-class dedication to customer and business success! ”
– Stephen Tangalin,
Network Specialist at Kauai Island Utility Cooperative
Workspot’s Workspace as a Service also securely delivers apps and data to any device. Designed for frictionless access to all apps and
data from any device, Workspot drives end user adoption of both managed and unmanaged (BYO) devices. Workspot is a 100% cloud
based service and with zero datacenter footprint. Unlike other solutions that require on premise appliances, Workspot leverages the
existing VPN to connect users to web, Windows, native apps and content repositories. Workspot provisioning also enables KIUC’s IT to
configure devices for access without sharing sensitive configuration information with end users and thus maintains security without
impacting the user experience. Lost devices are remotely wiped from the Workspot cloud. For KIUC, Workspot balances usability and
security across each one of its platforms, enabling BYOD expansion, simplification, and ultimately maximizing employee productivity.