4-page Case Study - Posted 11/4/2009

Views: 36

Rate This Evidence:

Ricoh Canada Inc.

Ricoh Canada streamlines IT administration with help of Windows 7, Windows Server 2008

Throughout its history Ricoh Company has prided itself on being the first to market with innovative solutions. In 2009 Ricoh Company acquired one of the world’s largest document management technology distributors, IKON, which had an immediate and dramatic effect on the Canadian business unit, Ricoh Canada Inc., a move that will very quickly double the company’s size in terms of revenue. It will also grow the number of PCs the IT department must manage from 1,000 to an estimated 2,000. In response, the IT department sought ways to achieve even greater levels of automated management and control over the company’s computing environment, and ensure maximum uptime for applications. To accommodate growth, Ricoh Canada has begun a company-wide migration to Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. Together, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 have helped to improve mobile and on-premise security, help the IT team achieve greater manageability, and set the stage for further growth.

Situation

Founded in 1936 as a producer of specialty paper, Ricoh Corporation is today one of the world’s leading providers of printers and document content management solutions. The company employs 75,000 employees globally and has sales in excess of $17 billion (U.S.).

Throughout its history Ricoh has prided itself on being the first to market with innovative solutions. It was Ricoh that produced the first mass-produced twins reflex camera in 1950, and unveiled the world’s first digital facsimile machine, the RiFax 600S. To maintain that competitive edge into the 21st century, Ricoh strives to ensure its people have the resources they need to push the next generation of print product design.

I’m future proofing our organization. Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 work well, but even better together Bashir Khokhar, Manager, Network Solutions, Ricoh Canada

To do this the IT department sought ways to achieve even greater levels of automated management and control over the company’s computing environment, and ensure maximum uptime for applications. The team also needed to minimize user support requirements. At the same time, the needs of Ricoh Canada employees are evolving. An estimated 60 per cent of its workforce works remotely at any given time, as the company is primarily a sales and service support organization. Workers need reliable access to technology to do their jobs effectively - and securely - from any location. The surge in remote working and the growing amount of information leaving the company’s walls is leaving Ricoh Canada more vulnerable to security risks, something the IT department wanted to address.

Finally, Ricoh Canada also needed stable PC and server operating systems that enable people to be as productive as possible. “We need something that will run great today and in five years, and that gives us clear ROI,” adds Khokhar.

Solution

In 2009 Ricoh Canada undertook a phased implementation of Dell laptops running the Microsoft® Windows® 7 operating system in several critical areas of the company – the 70-person professional services division, the IT team, which consists of 30 people, and the senior executive team. The migration replaces a fleet of PCs running a mix of the Windows Vista® and the Windows XP operating systems. The results to date have exceeded Kohkhar’s goals. “So far everyone from our most technical users to executives who are looking for access to information has found Windows 7 to be intuitive and easy to use. They like working with it,” says Khokhar.

Windows 7 ships with a range of new productivity features, plus a number of performance and energy savings capabilities, that together help people work faster and more efficiently.

Ricoh Canada was particularly attracted to the speed, stability and ease-of-use of Windows 7. Khokhar was also impressed by the support for virtualized applications that comes as part of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP). Support for application virtualization turns solutions designed for Windows into centrally managed virtual services that can be delivered to any physical or virtual desktop or device. “Most of us run multiple instances of virtual machines, and Windows 7 can help us better support that,” he adds.

Besides the usability improvements, plus the enhanced security and productivity capabilities, Khokar has also found that the company’s key ERP and line of business applications work well with Windows 7, which has eased the migration process considerably.

On the server side, Ricoh Canada has also started a migration from Microsoft Windows Server® 2008 to Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2. Windows Server 2008 R2 builds on the foundation of its predecessor, expanding on existing technology and adding new features to help organizations to increase the reliability and flexibility of their server infrastructures. To date, 60 per cent of servers have been moved to Windows Server 2008 R2, with the remainder likely to be phased in through 2010.

”I’m future proofing our organization. Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 work well, but even better together, eliminating application compatibility issues, providing easy and secure remote access to corporate data and even addressing bandwidth issues at our branch offices” says Khokhar. “Plus, as we already have an Enterprise Agreement in place, I can move to the latest platform at no additional cost and reap the full ROI benefits of a major upgrade as early as possible.”

Benefits

Enhanced mobile security

Ricoh Canada was concerned by the growing amount of sensitive information traveling with mobile workers, and the risks of that data falling into the wrong hands. Using Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 together helps make it easier for the IT team to minimize that risk. The Microsoft BitLocker™ feature of Windows 7 enables the IT team to encrypt hard drives, which allows for greater peace of mind.

“This benefits us from an IT and business perspective, as we can now minimize our liability in the event of lost or stolen data, and that has made our legal department happier,” says Khokhar.

The DirectAccess feature in Windows Server 2008 R2 designed for Windows 7 client computers are also helping Ricoh Canada build a more secure environment for its mobile workforce. It allows remote Windows 7 client computers to easily and securely connect directly to corporate resources via the internet, without the complexity of establishing a VPN connection, helping to ease the administrative burden on the IT team.

Improved productivity

The feedback to date on Windows 7 from users has been very positive. “Everyone thinks the PCs running Windows 7 are fabulous – from the CEO to my IT colleagues. They tell me it’s even faster, more stable and more intuitive than previous versions of Windows, and that it helps people get more done,” says Khokhar.

The native support for virtualized environments in Windows 7, including the BranchCache feature, which allows a file requested over a WAN to be cached locally for subsequent use and distributed across PCs in a branch, is an additional benefit for Ricoh Canada. The Professional Services team often assimilates customer environments directly on their laptops to help address their needs as quickly as possible, and Windows 7 makes this process even faster and more reliable.

Greater manageability

Bashir was also attracted by the improved manageability and scripting capabilities of Windows Server 2008 R2. For example, it ships with 2008 R2 and PowerShell 2.0, which offers a number of improvements over version 1.0, including improved remote management and improved security for management data, including state and configuration information and enhanced GUIs for creating and debugging PowerShell scripts. As well, the DirectAccess feature in Windows 7 helps keep individual PCs managed and secure whether or not they are connected to the network.

Enabling growth

Ricoh Canada is facing the prospect of rapid growth, and needs a technology environment flexible enough to scale on demand. Windows Server 2008 R2 is the first Windows operating system to be dedicated exclusively to 64-bit processors. It also includes features that allow businesses to support larger workloads on individual computers, and supports up to 256 logical processor cores for a single operating system instance.

“We’re running many 64-bit systems, and demands on resources are growing. Together, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 will help us benefit from new technologies and take better advantage of the hardware we already have,” adds Khokhar.