Johnson C. Smith University Selects Enterprise Networking Innovator Nile to Power its ...

SAN JOSE, Calif., Sept. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nile, the pioneer of a new breed of enterprise network solutions aimed at securing organizations from cyberattacks and automating daily operations, today announced that Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU), a leading Historically Black College and University (HBCU), has selected the Nile Access Service to replace its existing wired and wireless LAN solution across its entire campus. The institution selected Nile’s solution due to its unique performance guarantees for availability, coverage, and capacity, its AI-powered “as-a-Service” architecture that automates network lifecycle management, and its native campus zero trust security that prevents lateral movement attacks such as ransomware.

“Our number one goal in IT is to deliver a satisfying experience for our student body. That means handling their needs for high-performance connectivity, but also ensuring they’re secure as well,’” said John Norris, CIO, JCSU. “As we considered a refresh, I knew I needed a partner as much as a new solution. I have an amazing staff, but considering everything we had to deliver in implementing a new network, including security, performance, and reliability, whatever we selected had to augment my current resources, not create new demands. Nile nailed it on all fronts.”

Located in Charlotte, North Carolina, JCSU is a premier professional liberal arts HBCU with thousands of students and faculty that require reliable, secure, and high-performance connectivity. Its existing hardware-centric managed wireless network had aged significantly, and its vendors were no longer providing support despite their unpredictably high licensing costs. A potential increase from 5% to 30% in those costs, often without notice, was cause for concern, along with making budgeting a challenge. Additionally, students and faculty were both very vocal about the network's poor performance. On top of these issues, the previous solution had no modern security component, something critical to the overall health and safety of the student body and the university network.

JSCU quickly turned to Nile to address all of these demands. Nile delivered high-performance, secure wired and wireless LAN connectivity across the entire campus, including student, faculty, and administrative buildings, as well as outdoor campus settings.

• Performance Guarantees - Prior to Nile, JCSU’s students regularly complained about the network's performance, particularly for high-demand applications like gaming. With an on-campus eSports league, performance quickly became a top priority for ensuring student satisfaction. What’s more, faculty regularly expressed concerns about students’ ability to deliver work assignments. Thanks to Nile’s industry-first performance guarantees for availability, coverage, and capacity, Nile was the only vendor to ensure high-performance connectivity for the entire campus.
• Built-in Campus Zero Trust Security—Nile is the only vendor to offer per-device isolation and the elimination of lateral movement attacks, such as ransomware, from Day 1, with no configuration or professional services required. This capability was critical with the number of services that JCSU offers, both on-premises and in the cloud.
• Network Observability and Management Automation - Augmenting JCSU’s existing IT staff and providing 24/7 visibility into the system's overall health was essential in selecting Nile for its network refresh. Nile’s extensive sensor network and AI-based automation doesn’t just identify problems; it proactively solves many of them without human intervention, all while providing IT leadership with granular insight into the network's overall health.
• Nile’s “as-a-Service” Model and overall TCO - With a predictable payment model, instead of massive upfront costs for a hardware-centric network architecture, JSCU’s team was more easily able to get the budget for this project approved. This also meant that IT no longer had to worry about unpredictable licensing costs or the next hardware upgrade/refresh cycle. All of those costs are included in their subscription fee. That’s why Nile delivers the industry's best Total-Cost-of-Ownership (TCO).

“The predictability, reliability, and security of the Nile Access Service make it ideal for higher education settings,” said Surbhi Kaul, Nile’s vice president, Customer Experience. “These organizations are often challenged by budget, availability of certain IT skills, and resource management issues, but still need to deliver a solid foundation of connectivity for students, faculty, and administration alike. At Nile, we’re proud to make that possible for historical campuses like JCSU.”

About the Nile Access Service

The Nile Access Service is powered by a new approach for securing enterprise networks that combines built-in zero trust security for the campus, cloud native software delivery, AI, and automation with a high-performance wired and wireless LAN in an “as-a-Service” offering. The Nile Access Service was built from the ground up to prevent lateral movement cyber attacks while completely automating the network lifecycle management process. This complete service offering is a comprehensive package including hardware and software components, 24/7 support, and zero upfront capital expense, all of which are backed by the industry’s only performance guarantees for availability, coverage, and capacity.

To learn more about the Nile Access Service, visit https://nilesecure.com/solutions/nile-access-service

About Nile

Nile is disrupting the enterprise network market by building natively secure connectivity that modernizes IT operations with a new AI networking architecture, delivering enterprise networks entirely as a service. For the first time in the industry, the Nile Access Service integrates zero trust security and offers performance guarantees for connectivity, coverage, and availability. With Nile, IT organizations close the gap between their digital aspirations and legacy realities with superior connectivity that reduces the burden on critical IT resources. For more information, visit nilesecure.com/solutions/nile-access-service.

Media Contacts: Nichols Communications for Nile Jay Nichols +1 408-772-1551 jay@nicholscomm.com