At Mendocino College in rural Northern California, technology plays a vital role in supporting both learning and operations. With approximately 5,000 students and 650 staff across a main campus and three satellite locations, the college’s IT department is responsible for maintaining a wide range of systems—from instructional computers and administrative devices to servers, wireless networks, and internet infrastructure.

The challenge: Disconnected tools, growing demands

Like many education institutions, Mendocino College saw a dramatic shift during the pandemic as more instruction moved online. With increased reliance on digital tools, the pressure to provide fast, reliable support grew. The IT team needed a more efficient way to manage assets, monitor systems, respond to support tickets, and ensure devices were secure and up to date.

Initially, they were just searching for an inventory tool—but what they needed was much more.

“We wanted a way to track assets, warranties, who had which computer… but Atera offered all that—and more we didn’t even know we needed.” 

 

The solution: A unified IT platform with built-in AI agents

After evaluating several tools, Atera stood out—not just as an asset management system, but as a complete IT operations platform. Rolling out Atera across the college’s 650+ PCs and 75 servers brought immediate benefits. The platform allowed the team to remotely monitor devices, push updates, and deploy software applications—all without needing to be physically present. The time saved was substantial, especially when setting up new machines or resolving common issues. The stand-out capabilities include:

• AI Copilot, the personal IT companion: Staff can ask AI Copilot for scripting help or troubleshooting suggestions, saving valuable time.

• Ticketing & Workflow Automation: Custom workflows assign tickets instantly and send alerts based on issue types.

• Remote Monitoring & Management: Real-time insights into hard drive and memory usage across all devices.

• Patching & Security: Critical updates are automated, ensuring compliance and safeguarding sensitive student data.

• Professional Services: Onboarding support made implementation seamless and fast.

• “What i really like about Atera is they have robust AI scripting capabilities that is really easy to use. And if you’re working on a ticket and you’re not really sure, what to do to solve the problem, the technician can literally ask the AI Copilot and it will give them recommendations.” 

The impact: Clarity, control, and confidence

With Atera, the Mendocino College IT team went from reactive to proactive. They now have:

1-  Centralized visibility over their entire IT infrastructure
2- More time to focus on strategic projects
3- Empowered staff who can deploy apps and scripts with ease
4- Peace of mind from 24/7 monitoring and AI-driven recommendations

Looking ahead: Empowering end-users with 24/7 IT support

Next up for Mendocino: rolling out Atera’s IT Autopilot, enabling faculty and staff to self-serve IT needs by simply describing their issue and getting instant suggestions to resolve their issues, minimizing downtime.