For many clients of care and welfare organisation HVO Querido, Wi-Fi is the connection to family, services, and the rest of the city. This made it even more difficult that the guest password drifted across the whole of Amsterdam, meaning nobody knew who was on the network anymore. When modernising the infrastructure, something really had to be done. Marco Pollie and Quinten Buijs, from the IT department, explain what they put in its place and what they recommend to other care organisations regarding secure Wi-Fi access.

Sixty locations in Amsterdam, one Wi-Fi network

Across some sixty locations in Amsterdam and the surrounding municipalities, HVO Querido offers shelter and support to people in vulnerable circumstances, such as people who are homeless or sleeping rough, refugees, undocumented people, and mental health clients. Because the council regularly asks for extra shelter – for people from Ukraine, for example – the number of locations keeps shifting, and the organisation is constantly on the move.

As IT professionals, Marco Pollie and Quinten Buijs are responsible for the modern workplaces and the network across all locations. Their department now counts around twenty to twenty-five people who look after the whole of IT. The Wi-Fi isn’t used by permanent staff alone, but by residents and outreach workers too. So it is important that there is one stable network that everyone can access securely.

One password for the whole city

In the past, HVO Querido’s Wi-Fi network had one password for all users. Over time, this password had been shared so often that it was no longer a secret to anyone. Additionally, while all staff and residents had their own network at each location, all internet traffic ran through the same line. This regularly caused a slow connection – much to the frustration of the staff.

To limit the risk somewhat, the IT department changed the password every month. This created a lot of work, as the new password had to be sent to all locations and reset on all devices every time. Team leaders were not exactly looking forward to this.

“Even though you have a rotating password that provides some access security, you still don’t really know who is on your network and what is happening there,” says Marco. For an organisation with vulnerable clients, that is not a pleasant thought.

Log in once, access everywhere

Marco and Quinten decided that something had to be done to improve and secure access to their Wi-Fi network. Marco was already familiar with roaming from eduroam, from his time at the National Archives and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. When he saw a Publicroam instruction card at their IT partner Wentzo, he immediately made the connection. He knew this had to be the solution: easy and secure access to the Wi-Fi network at all locations, without the hassle of setting and distributing a new password every month.

This also made using a Wi-Fi network at different locations much easier for the outreach workers at HVO Querido. With Publicroam, they log in once, after which their device automatically connects at all affiliated HVO locations. In addition, so many organisations now use Publicroam that a secure connection is also made immediately at NS stations, municipalities, and libraries, for example. This is ideal for employees who are on the road a lot and regularly work at multiple locations.

Staff, residents, and guests each on their own network

IT partner Wentzo designed the new, secure network. Each target group was given its own VLAN, its own network name, and its own bandwidth, so that everyone could use the Wi-Fi without restrictions. Staff now have a highly secure environment and a separate connection for their devices, so that sensitive patient data is even better protected. For residents, there is a unique code per room, ensuring their network access is also secure. And for clients, outreach workers, and all other visitors, there is Publicroam.

The implementation is now in full swing, and Marco and Quinten consciously chose a phased approach. “The rollout is deliberately done per location, simultaneously with the resident network. Except for a few colleagues, everyone is back online quickly and very few questions come in. Moreover, the monthly password rounds are a thing of the past, and we are very happy about that,” says Quinten.

Their advice: the more organisations participate, the better

The use of Publicroam grows every month, and thousands of people use it weekly at HVO Querido’s locations. HVO Querido’s buildings are now among the more than 1,900 locations where Publicroam makes Wi-Fi access more secure.

For Marco and Quinten, this was the best possible choice. “I recommend that other care and welfare organisations use Publicroam. Because the more organisations participate, the better clients and staff are served. As an organisation, we are simply obliged to offer Wi-Fi, so let’s work together to ensure it’s done properly and safely.”

Does your organisation still work with a shared password or an open guest network, meaning you don’t actually know who is on your Wi-Fi? And do you want clients, visitors, or staff to connect automatically and securely at all your locations, without it costing you extra work? Then, like HVO Querido, contact us. We will look together at how Publicroam fits into your existing network.