Customer story

How Island paid for itself at Brightline Trains

98% reduction in support tickets
Simplified login and access experience
Eliminated VDI complexity
Lower infrastructure costs

Impact Summary

Brightline Trains took a bet on simplifying access, and it paid off fast. By replacing VDI with Island, the passenger rail service eliminated daily friction, reduced support load, and saw an immediate return on their investment.

High-speed passenger rail service

Industry
Transport

Scale
5M+ passengers since 2017

Team
Lean IT organization

Goal
Secure access for remote teams

Use Cases
VDI Reduction, 3rd Party Contractors, SaaS and Web App, Say Yes at Work

Challenges

  • Constant VDI issues and daily support tickets
  • Complex onboarding for end users
  • Poor experience for remote and guest teams
  • High infrastructure overhead

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High-speed passenger rail service

Industry
Transport

Scale
5M+ passengers since 2017

Team
Lean IT organization

Goal
Secure access for remote teams

Use Cases
VDI Reduction, 3rd Party Contractors, SaaS and Web App, Say Yes at Work

Challenges

  • Constant VDI issues and daily support tickets
  • Complex onboarding for end users
  • Poor experience for remote and guest teams
  • High infrastructure overhead

Prefer to read offline?

Download the PDF 

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The Challenge

Brightline operates with a lean team and a clear philosophy: don't settle for the status quo. But their virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) wasn't keeping up. VDI created constant friction, both for IT and for end users.

  • Tickets were coming in daily
  • Issues were unpredictable and hard to troubleshoot
  • Onboarding was confusing and incomplete

"We were pretty much getting tickets, issues reported to us every day because of the anomalous glitches we were seeing on VDI," said Lloyd Lucas, director of cybersecurity and networking at Brightline.

As a result, employees were stuck dealing with the technology meant to enable their work, rather than focusing on the work itself.

"Their job is to focus on the task at hand," said Lucas. "They don't want to be burdened by the technologies for them to get there."

For Brightline, there had to be another way.

The Solution

Brightline replaced VDI with Island to simplify access and reduce operational overhead.

With Island:

  • Users log in once
  • Access is federated through their identity provider
  • Everything is immediately available from a single homepage
  • Setup and workflows are simple

"With Island, it's a lot more simple," said Lucas. "They log in, they immediately get pointed to our ITP, directly federated. That single login gives them the ability right there in the Island homepage to get access they need."

Why Brightline chose Island:

  • Simplicity for end users
  • Reduced IT burden
  • Alignment with innovation mindset
  • Scalable for a growing organization

“With Island, it’s a lot more simple.”

Lloyd Lucas, Director of Cybersecurity and Networking, Brightline Trains

Results

98% Reduction in IT Tickets

Switching to Island dramatically reduced support burden.

"Essentially switching over to Island, we've decreased our ticketing around 98%," said Lucas.

Lower Infrastructure Costs & Immediate ROI

VDI required significant investment just to maintain. Island eliminated that overhead.

"Just to spin up the resources to support the VDI, Island paid for itself." – Lucas

Simpler Experience for End Users

Users no longer struggle with setup or access. Everything is centralized, intuitive, and immediate.

"Everything's federated," said Lucas. "They have to think less."

Reduced IT Complexity

Brightline's team no longer has to:

  • Constantly troubleshoot issues
  • Redeploy environments
  • Maintain fragile infrastructure
  • Powering a Better Way

For Brightline, replacing VDI was a shift toward simplicity, scalability, and better user experience.

With Island, their team can focus less on maintaining infrastructure and more on delivering innovation.

"We try to work with partners that can really help with that vision," said Lucas.

“Just to spin up the resources to support the VDI, Island paid for itself.”

Lloyd Lucas, Director of Cybersecurity and Networking, Brightline Trains