The University of Western Australia Strengthens Remote Support and Research Access with Splashtop
Consolidating remote support and remote access into one secure, centrally managed platform, supporting approximately 9,000 devices, 3,000 staff, and researchers across multiple campuses.
Impact
Reduced IT Management Overhead with Cloud-Based Remote Support
Splashtop's cloud-based platform reduces administrative complexity and saves UWA approximately four hours of manual patching per person each month.
Secure, Centralized Remote Access for IT Teams and Researchers
Splashtop consolidates IT support and researcher remote access into one secure platform with centralized permissions, identity management, and session logging.
Reliable Remote Support Across 9,000 Devices
Splashtop enables efficient troubleshooting with stable connections, multi-monitor support, and elevated sessions while providing researchers with secure, anytime access to laboratory systems.
Challenges
The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a leading Australian research-intensive university, supporting education, research, and innovation across multiple campuses. With thousands of staff, students, and researchers relying on technology, maintaining secure and reliable IT services is essential to supporting daily operations and research activities.
As Manager of System Administration, Sandy Miao oversees enterprise licensing, systems, and infrastructure management at UWA. Her team is responsible for managing core IT infrastructure and providing remote access services to the university's Service Delivery team and end users, with more than 20 IT personnel using Splashtop.
With approximately 9,000 devices across its technology environment, providing secure and reliable remote support is essential. IT technicians need to assist staff across multiple campuses, while researchers require remote access to laboratory computers and instruments without being physically present.
Prior to adopting Splashtop, UWA relied on separate tools, including TeamViewer, for remote support and end-user access. These fragmented solutions created security and management challenges, including high maintenance overhead, limited access permissions, and a lack of centralized governance.
The university began evaluating alternatives that could consolidate remote access and support into one secure, cloud-based platform while reducing administrative complexity and aligning with its Zero Trust architecture.
Key objectives included:
Consolidate remote support and end-user access into one platform
Strengthen security with centralized access permissions and identity management
Reduce maintenance overhead through a cloud-based SaaS solution
Enable secure remote access to laboratory systems for researchers
Integrate with existing cloud identity and Zero Trust architecture
Support approximately 9,000 devices reliably
Splashtop had already been successfully used by one of UWA's research centres for several years. Building on this positive experience, the university evaluated its security, functionality, and pricing before selecting Splashtop as its enterprise remote access and support solution.
Resolution
Following a successful evaluation, The University of Western Australia adopted Splashtop SOS and Splashtop Streamer to provide secure, centralized remote support and access for IT teams, staff, and researchers across its campuses.
One Platform for IT Support and Research Access
Splashtop enables UWA to consolidate remote IT support and researcher remote access into one centrally managed platform. Using Splashtop SOS, the university's Service Delivery team can remotely troubleshoot issues and assist approximately 3,000 staff across multiple campuses.
Meanwhile, Splashtop Streamer allows researchers to securely access on-campus computers and laboratory instruments from anywhere, enabling experiments to be started, monitored, or stopped outside regular working hours without requiring physical access to the lab.
Stronger Security Through Centralized Access Governance
Previously, some researchers and staff independently installed remote desktop tools such as TeamViewer, making it difficult for IT to maintain visibility and control over remote access.
With Splashtop, UWA can centrally manage access permissions, user identities, and session logging. The platform integrates with the university's existing cloud identity infrastructure and aligns with its Zero Trust network architecture, ensuring remote access is securely governed.
Reduced Administrative Overhead with Cloud-Based Management
Moving from its previous remote support solution to Splashtop's cloud-based platform has significantly reduced UWA's ongoing maintenance requirements.
The university now saves approximately four hours of manual patching work per month, reducing administrative overhead and allowing its infrastructure team to focus on higher-value IT initiatives.
Beyond time savings, the cloud-first approach simplifies ongoing administration and supports UWA's broader IT modernization strategy.
Reliable Remote Connections and Improved Support Experience
Splashtop has improved the reliability of remote support sessions, allowing technicians to troubleshoot issues more efficiently across UWA's technology environment.
Multi-monitor support enables technicians to view and navigate users' multiple screens without repeatedly asking them to move windows between displays, reducing communication difficulties during troubleshooting.
Reliable elevated sessions also allow technicians to perform administrative tasks, such as installing applications, without losing access or interrupting the remote connection.
Straightforward Deployment and Rapid Adoption
UWA's central IT team successfully deployed Splashtop for remote support in approximately one week, allowing technicians to transition with minimal disruption to their existing workflows.
While the support process remained largely unchanged, Splashtop introduced a more structured approach for end users, who can now request centrally managed remote access instead of independently installing remote desktop tools.
The university continues to consolidate individual remote access tools into its centrally managed Splashtop environment.
Built for a Secure, Cloud-First Future
As UWA continues modernizing its IT infrastructure, Splashtop provides a flexible platform that supports its evolving remote access and security requirements.
With reliable performance, centralized administration, and compatibility with existing identity and network architecture, Splashtop helps the university deliver consistent remote support while enabling researchers to securely access critical laboratory systems.
The solution has met UWA's primary selection criteria, with promising support from the Splashtop team.
Splashtop in Three Words
Reliable. Multi-functional. User-friendly.
By adopting Splashtop, The University of Western Australia has strengthened remote support across approximately 9,000 devices while simplifying IT management, improving security, and reducing administrative overhead.
With reliable remote connections, centralized access controls, and secure access to laboratory systems, Splashtop enables UWA to support staff and researchers more efficiently while advancing its cloud-first strategy.
About the Customer
The University of Western Australia (UWA), established in 1911, is a leading public research university in Perth and a member of Australia's prestigious Group of Eight. UWA offers undergraduate and postgraduate education while conducting internationally recognized research across various disciplines. With multiple campuses and research facilities, the university relies on secure and reliable IT infrastructure to support academic excellence, innovation, and collaboration.