Penn State Implements Clientless Remote Access to University Applications

Penn State has replaced its Java-based remote access system with a clientless solution to provide students and faculty with access to university software from anywhere, through virtually any device.

The university's previous Java-based system required installation and maintenance of software on faculty and student devices. "Any time a Java update came out, we experienced a flood of help desk issues," said Preston Baker, systems administrator in the Classroom and Lab Computing division of IT at Penn State, in a prepared statement. According to Baker, the university wanted to replace its existing remote access system with one that didn't require plugins or Java.

Penn State implemented Ericom AccessNow, a clientless remote access solution, to support 96,000 students and 7,000 faculty across 22 campuses. Ericom AccessNow lets authorized users access university software from any device with an HTML5-compatible browser, including Apple iPads and Google Chromebooks. According to information on the company's site, Ericom AccessNow works with "Windows applications and desktops (virtual & physical), running on Windows Terminal Services / RDS / VDI platforms, including Microsoft Hyper-V and other hypervisors."

Faculty and students at Penn State currently use Ericom AccessNow to access mathematics, statistics, Microsoft Office and SolidWorks computer-aided design programs. According to the company, AccessNow also extends the availability of the university's 8,696 Windows workstations located in more than 1,400 labs and classrooms. "From a business perspective, AccessNow allows us to extend the learning environment to off-campus students and faculty, at home or during off-hours," said Jonathan Holman, IT manager in Classroom and Lab Computing, in a prepared statement. "This helps facilitate remote learning and off-campus collaboration."

Since implementing AccessNow, Penn State's Classroom and Lab Computing division has seen a 90 percent reduction in help desk support tickets because they no longer have to install and maintain remote access software on client devices. "With AccessNow, we have a tenth of the support volume, freeing us up to focus on other IT initiatives," said Baker in a prepared statement.

This summer, Penn State plans to expand its use of AccessNow to deliver a full desktop experience for faculty and students.

About the Author

Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Hand holding a stylus over a tablet with futuristic risk management icons

    Why Universities Are Ransomware's Easy Target: Lessons from the 23% Surge

    Academic environments face heightened risk because their collaboration-driven environments are inherently open, making them more susceptible to attack, while the high-value research data they hold makes them an especially attractive target. The question is not if this data will be targeted, but whether universities can defend it swiftly enough against increasingly AI-powered threats.

  • interconnected blocks of data

    Rubrik Intros Immutable Backup for Okta Environments

    Rubrik has announced Okta Recovery, extending its identity resilience platform to Okta with immutable backups and in-place recovery, while separately detailing its integration with Okta Identity Threat Protection for automated remediation.

  • teenager’s study desk with a laptop displaying an AI symbol, surrounded by books, headphones, a notebook, and a cup of colorful pencils

    Survey: Student AI Use on the Rise

    Ninety-three percent of students across the United States have used AI at least once or twice for school-related purposes, according to the latest AI in Education report from Microsoft.

  • cybersecurity book with a shield and padlock

    NIST Proposes New Cybersecurity Guidelines for AI Systems

    The National Institute of Standards and Technology has unveiled plans to issue a new set of cybersecurity guidelines aimed at safeguarding artificial intelligence systems, citing rising concerns over risks tied to generative models, predictive analytics, and autonomous agents.