A large community college in the state of Maryland, Prince George’s Community College (PGCC) has partnered with Cloudforce since 2020 to boost its cybersecurity posture at minimal cost. PGCC used Cloudforce’s practical experience deploying Microsoft solutions to secure its sizeable student email network, build a robust disaster recovery plan, and meet U.S. Department of Education standards for protecting student data. The college has reduced costs by maximizing its existing Microsoft licenses and consolidating vendors, two strategies that have helped its IT staff to quickly identify and mitigate potential security threats. PGCC sees Cloudforce as more than a vendor; it is a trusted, strategic partner invested in the college’s success.
Prince George’s Community College (PGCC) in Prince George’s County, Maryland, serves a diverse student body in six locations across the county. Over the past 20 years, PGCC has gradually updated and modernized its IT infrastructure, but the rise of remote work and learning in 2020 created new vulnerabilities that exposed the college to increased security and financial risks. PGCC’s IT staff had an existing relationship with Cloudforce, a close neighbor in Prince George’s County, and the college reached out to learn more about security best practices in higher education.
During discussions with PGCC, Cloudforce identified ways the college could optimize its use of Microsoft products to enhance security without significant additional software investments. Like many universities and corporations, PGCC already had access to an array of underused Microsoft tools and services. PGCC and Cloudforce collaborated on a new security architecture that would maximize PGCC’s existing Microsoft licenses and mitigate cybersecurity risks.
PGCC’s main campus is just outside of Washington in Largo, Maryland, and the college serves over 34,000 students in programs throughout Prince George’s County. Its student body ranges from high school students and graduates to midcareer professionals interested in new skills and even seniors looking for enrichment activities in retirement.
PGCC has gradually migrated toward a cloud-based IT environment, and the increase in remote work and learning in 2020 created a new set of cybersecurity challenges for the college. Faculty, staff, and students needed to access their work from anywhere in the world. The size of the student email network made commercial protection cost-prohibitive, leaving it vulnerable to attacks in an evolving cyberthreat landscape. PGCC was also concerned that its disaster recovery plans would take weeks or months to restore services in the event of a security incident.
PGCC had an existing relationship with Cloudforce, as the two organizations share a commitment to investing in local organizations and technology workforce development in Prince George’s County. The college wanted to add security features without incurring additional costs. “The cost of maintaining our infrastructure was ballooning, but we needed new security measures,” says Dr. Rhonda Spells, vice president for data science, innovation, and effectiveness at PGCC. “I asked Cloudforce how other organizations were managing their security costs, and they pointed us to Microsoft security products.”
As PGCC learned more about Cloudforce’s practical experience deploying Microsoft security products in a higher education setting, the two organizations began finding ways PGCC could maximize its existing Microsoft licenses. Rather than buying specific security capabilities from a variety of vendors, PGCC — with assistance from Cloudforce — deployed and configured Microsoft Defender for Office 365 to secure the student email network, with a balance between security and the user experience. Microsoft Sentinel provided additional cybersecurity insights with its security information and event management capabilities.
“We had activated some pieces of Microsoft Defender and thought we had leveraged its capabilities,” says Manuel Arrington, director of network infrastructure and administration at PGCC. “But Cloudforce helped us fine-tune our use and improve the security on the student email system. The Cloudforce team was actively engaged with Microsoft and able to troubleshoot any issues that arose.”
With students, faculty, and staff signing in from different places and with personal devices, PGCC needed to be able to quickly identify and mitigate potential vulnerabilities, capabilities that Cloudforce developed with the new security architecture based on Microsoft Sentinel and Defender. PGCC also began looking at Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager, now part of Microsoft Intune, and Cloudforce worked with PGCC to fill in knowledge gaps and train the IT staff to manage the system.
PGCC’s gradual migration to a private cloud-based environment also allowed Cloudforce to create a new disaster recovery plan with Azure Site Recovery. Rather than traveling to a separate, physical location to restore servers in an emergency, PGCC can get its servers back online remotely within hours rather than days. “We really learned more about the benefits of being in the cloud as we were working with Azure Site Recovery and Cloudforce,” says Arrington.
We had activated some pieces of Microsoft Defender and thought we had leveraged its capabilities. But Cloudforce helped us fine-tune our use and improve the security on the student email system. The Cloudforce team was actively engaged with Microsoft and able to troubleshoot any issues that arose.
Manuel Arrington Director of Network Infrastructure and Administration, PGCC
By capitalizing on Cloudforce’s creative solutions and experience, PGCC enhanced its IT security without a significant financial investment. The college has mitigated financial and security risks that it previously deemed too costly to resolve, and its new security architecture is able to protect student data in compliance with standards from the U.S. Department of Education. “Our work with Cloudforce has put us in a different category for cybersecurity risk and compliance,” says Spells. “We were able to check off previously identified risks without major additional investments, and that’s phenomenal.”
PGCC has also saved money by consolidating vendors and reducing the IT team’s administrative overhead. For example, PGCC saved $80,000 by not renewing an existing security software license. The college also avoided a need to deploy additional security protections to student email accounts, delaying a potential expense of almost $70,000.
The college’s new disaster recovery plan has also slashed the amount of time needed to restore its servers in an emergency. “In 2019, we did a disaster recovery workshop and estimated it would take weeks or months to get our system back online,” says Arrington. “After moving to Azure Site Recovery, we did a simulation with Cloudforce, and the servers and database booted up fairly quickly with our applications intact.”
Our work with Cloudforce has put us in a different category for cybersecurity risk and compliance. We were able to check off previously identified risks without major additional investments, and that’s phenomenal.
Dr. Rhonda Spells Vice President for Data Science, Innovation, and Effectiveness, PGCC
PGCC’s ongoing work with Cloudforce is helping the college better prepare for the future. As PGCC considers its long-term budget and IT infrastructure needs, Cloudforce’s detailed knowledge of the technology landscape is informing the college’s decision-making on how to invest its resources most effectively. The relationship has evolved into a strategic partnership between the two organizations, and PGCC feels that Cloudforce is committed to the college’s success.
“Many vendors are very sales focused; they are always trying to sell you something,” says Spells. “I’ve never gotten that feeling from Cloudforce. They are willing to help even without the formal contractual relationship, and that is priceless.”
Many vendors are very sales focused; they are always trying to sell you something. I’ve never gotten that feeling from Cloudforce. They are willing to help even without the formal contractual relationship, and that is priceless.
Dr. Rhonda Spells Vice President for Data Science, Innovation, and Effectiveness, PGCC
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