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Kansas City School District Embraces IoT and Paves Way for 1:1 Learning with Aerohive Solution
[April 20, 2017]

Kansas City School District Embraces IoT and Paves Way for 1:1 Learning with Aerohive Solution


Aerohive Networks® (NYSE:HIVE), the fastest growing enterprise Wi-Fi vendor, announced today that Olathe Public Schools, the second largest and fastest-growing district in Kansas, deployed Aerohive's (News - Alert) enterprise-grade Wi-Fi solution to support their 1:1 learning initiative across more than 50 schools.

News Facts

  • Serving the greater Kansas City Metropolitan Area, Olathe Public Schools is the second largest and fastest-growing district in the state. The district is home to 35 elementary schools, nine middle schools, and four high schools, with plans for a new high school to open in the coming year. In addition to these schools, the district has 21 support facilities throughout the area to support more than 29,000 students and over 4,000 staff.
  • Olathe Public Schools first deployed a Wi-Fi network in 2004, installing 3Com (News - Alert) access points in school libraries before wireless was in high demand. After several years with 3Com, the IT team implemented a Trapeze network to accommodate changes and growing demand at the school. A few years ago, the district began having issues with reliability, which coincided with a 1:1 implementation across many schools, forcing Olathe to look at new enterprise-grade wireless solutions to accommodate density and seamless network management, as well as to upgrade to 802.11ac technology across all schools.
  • Olathe's IT team set up a bake-off with solutions from Aerohive, Aruba, Meraki, and Ruckus at some of the oldest elementary schools in the district. In 2014, Olathe had many drivers for needing a rock-solid comprehensive wireless solution that was easy to manage across the entire network, including upgrades, configurations and seamless management for more than 22,000 IoT devices on the network.
  • Following the evaluations and pilot tests, Aerohive came out on top for performance and reliability, as well as offering an intuitive and intelligent network management system. Working with Aerohive reseller Aercor Wireless, Olathe moved forward to deploy Aerohive across all schools and throughout the entire district.
  • Olathe completed the install in-house and chose Aerohive AP230 access points, and will soon install AP245X, AP250 and AP550 access points as the deployment expands and new schools open. At the time of the initial deployment, Olathe's IT team used Aerohive's mapping tools to do a walk-through at each school and administrative building to maximize access point placement.
  • The IT team is on-boarding users and devices with Aerohive's Private Pre-Shared Key (PPSK) technology. Olathe has successfully on-boarded an initial group of users, with plans to on-board over 22,000 users onto HiveManager™ NG using PPSK by the end of the summer, creating unique pre-shared keys for users on the same SSID. This solution is ideal for a district of Olathe's significant size, as well as for a 1:1 school environment where BYOD capability is not as critical.
  • Olathe is currently using CloudPath to on-board users for guest login onto Aerohive's enterprise-grade Wi-Fi solution, providing the required enterprise features and interoperability for the district. Soon, guests and users requiring BYOD will be routed by PPSK to a separate SSID with a captive web portal for optimal security and firewall management.
  • Olathe's IT team has transitioned students to new devices, such as Windows devices, MacBooks, iPads and Mac minis. Teachers and administrators are equipped with Wi-Fi to integrate technology into the classroom. Every part of the curriculum and classroom is leveraging the Aerohive solution for efficiency and blended learning.
  • Students use educational tools, such as Google (News - Alert) Classroom and Edmodo, as well as a host of other applications. Teachers and administrators can take attendance wirelessly, and even print tardy slips from wireless printing devices. Recently, several middle schools collaborated on a STEM project, creating wind turbines using wireless probe devices to test and problem-solve designs. The students used iPads to Skype (News - Alert) and collaborate via Google Docs on blade design and other aspects of their projects.
  • Olathe Public Schools will continue to expand and advance its technology initiatives, including integrating many STEM programs and administrative operations onto the Aerohive network. By expanding the Wi-Fi network to allow more schools to adopt 1:1 and blended instruction, Olathe students and teachersare set to embrace future technologies.
  • To read the full Olathe Public Schools case study, please visit: http://www.aerohive.com/customers/Olathe-Public-Schools.html



Resources

Comments


"PPSK is especially ideal for environments like Olathe Public Schools that are embracing IoT since complex configuration is not required and support is extended even for devices where 802.1X may not, providing greater security for our schools," said Jay Merkle, wireless network engineer, Olathe Public Schools. "Olathe has several thermostats on the wireless network and other devices such as blood sugar monitors for certain students that automatically send reports to school nurses. Other departments, such as the district TV studio, may have needs to request PPSK as more operations eventually move to wireless devices."

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding new Aerohive product and service offerings and statements regarding their expected performance, market receptiveness and competitive advantage. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult or impossible to predict. The actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those contemplated by these forward-looking statements as a result of these uncertainties, risk and changes in circumstances, including, but not limited to, risks and uncertainties related to: our ability to continue to attract, integrate, retain and train skilled personnel, general demand for wireless networking in the industry verticals targeted or demand for Aerohive products in particular, unpredictable and changing market conditions, risks associated with the deployment, performance and adoption of new products and services, risks associated with our growth, competitive pressures from existing and new companies, technological change, product development delays, our inability to protect Aerohive intellectual property or to predict or limit exposure to third party claims relating to its or Aerohive's intellectual property, and general market, political, regulatory, economic and business conditions in the United States and internationally.

Additional risks and uncertainties that could affect Aerohive's financial and operating results are included under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," in the Company's recent annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly report on Form 10-Q. Aerohive's SEC filings are available on the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at http://ir.aerohive.com and on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to the Company as of the date hereof, and Aerohive Networks disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking statements provided to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made, except as required by law.

About Aerohive Networks (News - Alert)

Aerohive (NYSE: HIVE) enables our customers to simply and confidently connect to the information, applications, and insights they need to thrive. Our simple, scalable, and secure platform delivers mobility without limitations. For our customers worldwide, every access point is a starting point. Aerohive was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Milpitas, CA. For more information, please visit www.aerohive.com, call us at 408-510-6100, follow us on Twitter @Aerohive, subscribe to our blog, or become a fan on our Facebook page.

"Aerohive" and "HiveManager" are registered trademarks of Aerohive Networks, Inc. All product and company names used herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. All rights reserved.


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