Delivered 2025
300,000+ accounts unified in 24 months, after a previous provider spent six years
A statewide system of 12 community colleges and a system office needed one directory across its campuses, one way to manage devices, and its servers migrated. Preeminent Solutions took over the project and delivered all of it.
- 300,000+user accounts migrated to one Active Directory forest
- 20,000+endpoint devices onboarded to Configuration Manager and Intune
- 2,000servers migrated
- 400+legacy applications migrated
- Client
- Statewide higher education system
- Size
- Twelve community colleges and an IT system office, 13 campuses in all
- Industry
- Higher Education, State & Local Government
- Year
- 2025
- Duration
- 24 months
- Services
The challenge
Thirteen campuses ran thirteen Active Directory domains, managed devices with KACE, Altiris, or PDQ, and patched campus by campus, with state leadership and the Board of Regents watching.
The previous provider had held the contract for years without results. We were brought in to take over, restructure the initiative, and deliver it on a fixed timeline within the original budget.
What we did
Assess:Campus by campus
We interviewed local IT teams at all 13 campuses and mapped directory structures, device inventories, application dependencies, patching practices, and security gaps.
Design:One forest, one toolset
We designed one new Active Directory forest to replace the separate domains. Microsoft Identity Manager creates accounts centrally, and Configuration Manager handles deployment and patching for all campuses. Intune, Autopilot, BitLocker, and Defender for Endpoint manage and protect the devices.
Develop:Proven before rollout
We built the migration scripts and the structure of the new forest, and connected identity sync to the HR systems. We proved the deployment process on 130 pilot devices, added Patch My PC for third-party patching, and ran user acceptance testing from start to finish.
Implement:Cut over and hand over
Accounts, devices, and servers moved to the new environment with zero downtime. Legacy tools retired, local IT teams trained, and operational documentation handed over.
“Preeminent Solutions accomplished in two years what our previous partner failed to deliver in six.”
Results
No cut to scope
Delivered in the timeframe we committed to, on budget.
One managed environment
Accounts, devices, and servers managed from one platform instead of thirteen.
Security raised across the environment
Timely patching, with Defender for Endpoint and BitLocker encryption on managed devices.
Lower running cost
Retiring legacy tools reduced licensing and maintenance overhead.
Before and after
| Area | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | Separate Active Directory domains at thirteen campuses | One forest, provisioned from HR systems through Microsoft Identity Manager |
| Devices and patching | KACE, Altiris, PDQ, and each campus’s own patching habits | Configuration Manager and Intune, with Autopilot and Patch My PC |
| Security | Gaps that differed from campus to campus | Defender for Endpoint and BitLocker across the environment |
| Delivery | Years with the previous provider and no results | Full scope on the committed timeline |
Read about the service: Active Directory Migration and ConsolidationWindows 11, Intune, and Cloud PCsThreat ProtectionIdentity and Access
