Guild

$220K Annual Savings and 40+ Hours Reclaimed Weekly Through Identity Automation

How Guild Education enabled a secure remote workplace while automating onboarding, off-boarding, and network security—without increasing operational costs.

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$220K
annual cost savings
40+ hours
saved per week

Guild Education is a learning platform company that helps thousands of employers provide education benefits to employees through accredited, non-profit learning providers. Founded in 2015 with the belief that "when opportunity is as evenly distributed as talent, everyone benefits"—individuals rise, companies grow, and the economy thrives.

The Challenge

Secure Remote Work Without the Cost Overhead

Guild Education needed to better support a remote workplace for its employees—but not at the expense of security or operational efficiency. The shift to distributed work had exposed gaps in their IT infrastructure that manual processes couldn't address at scale.

Guild approached EverOps to assess the current state of their IT infrastructure, identify risks, and develop a roadmap forward. The scope spanned network layout and security, IAM and endpoint engineering, and core infrastructure services.

The mandate: enable remote work securely and efficiently, without adding headcount or operational costs.

The Approach

Comprehensive IT Assessment Across Three Domains

EverOps worked closely with Guild leadership and engineering teams to review the current state of IT infrastructure. Rather than jumping to solutions, the engagement began with a thorough assessment focused on three critical areas: network layout and security, identity and endpoint engineering, and core infrastructure services.

This assessment identified specific gaps and produced a prioritized roadmap. Some solutions were technical—automation, network upgrades, security hardening. Others were procedural, establishing operating models that would sustain the improvements long-term.

Technologies & Tools: Identity Management · MFA · WPA3 · Chatbot Automation

Technologies & Tools:

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The Approach

Embedded Expertise with a Clear Roadmap

EverOps embedded a 3-person FinOps Pod directly into Life360's platform team. Within the first week, our engineers had access to their AWS accounts, joined their Slack channels, and began a comprehensive cost analysis using our proprietary Opportunity Finder methodology.

The engagement followed a structured approach: two weeks of discovery and prioritization, four weeks of execution on high-impact optimizations, and two weeks of governance implementation to sustain savings. Throughout, the Pod operated as an extension of the internal team — attending standups, collaborating in real-time, and transferring knowledge continuously.

Unlike consultants who deliver reports, our Pod executed the changes directly — rightsizing instances, eliminating waste, renegotiating reserved capacity, and implementing automated cost controls.

The Solution

Automation, Security, and Process—All Three

EverOps delivered a multi-faceted solution that addressed technology, security, and operational processes in parallel.

Key Initiatives:

  • Identity Management Automation — Built fully automated onboarding and offboarding processes with auto-provisioning and deprovisioning of all sensitive applications. Created a chatbot integrated with existing Guild tools to automate MFA enrollment and password reset workflows.
  • Network Uplift — Decommissioned several physical offices and related networks, redistributing equipment to the main office location for increased redundancy. Upgraded wireless infrastructure from WPA2 to WPA3 site-wide, reinforcing data protection with advanced encryption and mitigating password-based attack vectors.
  • Automated Security Controls — Implemented automated machine locking and application locking to ensure security policies were enforced consistently across the remote workforce.
  • Engineering Processes — Established a baseline operating model including delivery sprint cadence, standup cadence for regular check-ins, a Corporate Advisory Board (CAB), and end-to-end delivery traceability and reporting for both delivery teams and executive leadership.
The Results

Secure, Automated, and Ready to Scale

The fully automated onboarding and off-boarding process delivered $220K per year in cost savings through identity management automation alone. Procurement processes that previously consumed 40+ hours per week were automated, freeing IT staff to focus on higher-value work.

Security improved significantly with automated machine and application locking enforcing policies consistently across the remote workforce. The WPA3 upgrade provided advanced encryption protection site-wide. Meanwhile, the new operating model gave engineering and leadership clear visibility into delivery cadence and value.

Guild can now support a remote workplace at scale while knowing their IT operational processes are automated and trusted—with security and quality built in, not bolted on.

$220K
Annual savings
40+ Hours
Saved weekly
WPA3
Security upgrade
Client Experience

"EverOps automated our entire onboarding and offboarding process. We're saving 40+ hours a week, and our team can finally focus on strategic work instead of password resets."

Emily CellarVP of IT, Guild Education
VP of IT, Guild Education
CLIENT EXPERIENCE

"EverOps automated our entire onboarding and offboarding process. We're saving 40+ hours a week, and our team can finally focus on strategic work instead of password resets."

— Emily CellarVP of IT, Guild Education
VP of IT, Guild Education
What's Next?
With automated identity management and modernized network security in place, Guild Education has the foundation to scale quickly without compromising security or quality. The operating model and delivery traceability established during this engagement ensures continued visibility as the organization grows.
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