HSBC

HSBC Improves Reliability, Security, and Cost Savings for Desktop Standardization Effort

In 2004, financial group HSBC launched an initiative to reduce the cost of supporting 300,000 desktop computers by 20 percent through rigorous standardization. To help achieve this goal, the company deployed Microsoft® System Center solutions as an integral part of its new environment. Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 facilitates centralized software deployment, roaming user desktops, and the ability to track software usage to the individual user, while Operations Manager 2005 provides the granular monitoring capabilities needed to ensure that the globally distributed server computers supporting the new desktop environment remain up and running smoothly. To date, HSBC has realized an estimated U.S.$50 million to $75 million reduction in annual costs—expected to increase to $100 million by the time deployment of the new desktop standard is finished at the end of 2007.

Situation

HSBC Group is one of the largest banking and financial service organizations in the world, with 9,500 offices in 76 countries and territories, and an IT infrastructure that includes 300,000 desktops and 15,000 Windows®-based server computers. In the past, decisions on which technology to use were made at the local level, with each of the hundreds of companies in the HSBC Group potentially having its own data center, Windows domain, desktop standard, software deployment tools and processes, and monitoring and alerting solutions.

In 2004, HSBC launched its Common Windows Desktop initiative, with a goal of reducing the U.S.$500 million annual cost of maintaining and supporting 300,000 desktop computers by 20 percent through rigorous standardization. From a technical perspective, the initiative called for a single worldwide desktop image based on the Windows XP Professional operating system and a single worldwide directory forest based on the Active Directory® directory service in the Windows Server® 2003 operating system.

Along with the new desktop infrastructure itself, HSBC also needed the tools to best manage and support that new environment, including a solution for the centralized deployment of new software and software updates. In the past, the various HSBC companies used a number of tools and processes, none of which offered the levels of reliability, scalability, and integration needed to support a unified global environment.

With more than 225,000 users in a single directory forest, it simply can’t fail. System Center solutions help us manage Active Directory with mainframe-like discipline, and are the reason we can sleep at night. Matthew O’Neill Group Head of Distributed Systems, HSBC Global IT Operations

“In many cases, new software and software updates were deployed by using physical media, with technicians visiting each PC and installing software by hand,” says Matthew O’Neill, Group Head of Distributed Systems for HSBC Global IT Operations. “Even with some groups using automated deployment methods, with each group operating independently, there still was a huge amount of duplicated effort. For example, across HSBC, we must have packaged Microsoft Office for distribution more than 100 times, at a total cost of about $200,000.”

In addition, HSBC wanted to be able to associate installed software with individual users instead of with physical desktop computers—and to have that software automatically removed and reinstalled to follow users as they moved from one computer to another. “In our headquarters building alone, the effective number of office moves was the same as everyone moving at least once last year,” says O’Neill. “Not only did we have to pay for technicians to move each person’s PC, but in many cases the users of those systems lost hours or days of productivity as their PCs were moved.”

HSBC also needed a way to ensure that whichever solution it chose for desktop management—and the Active Directory service on which all user desktops would depend—could be kept continually up and running. “An Active Directory failure simply cannot happen,” says O’Neill. “That service is the means by which all users authenticate, so it needs to be treated with respect and be monitored and managed.”

Solution

To best support its new Common Windows Desktop environment, HSBC chose the Microsoft System Center family of IT management solutions, including Systems Management Server 2003 for desktop management and Operations Manager 2005 for server monitoring. “System Center solutions give us the tools and insight needed to properly manage a globally distributed IT infrastructure,” says O’Neill. “None of the IT management solutions that we had in place before were scalable enough, nor could they deliver the necessary levels of security, reliability, and integration that we needed.”

O’Neill’s team received final approval for the Common Windows Desktop initiative in September 2004, having spent most of 2004 designing the new global infrastructure with Systems Management Server and Operations Manager as integral components. Deployment began in early 2005 and, by the end of 2006, more than 75 percent of the company’s 300,000 computers were running the new standard desktop image.

“Today we have a single global Active Directory forest, a single desktop management solution for all PCs running the new standard desktop image, and a single solution for monitoring the critical Windows services that support that environment,” says O’Neill. “Our goal is to have all 300,000 desktops on the new standard image and managed with Systems Management Server by the end of 2007, during which time we’ll expand our use of Operations Manager to monitor all 15,000 Windows-based servers.”

Comprehensive Desktop Management

Currently, HSBC uses Systems Management Server to support 225,000 desktops in 25 countries, replacing third-party and internally developed tools that were previously used in various regions, including five in North America alone. During 2007, HSBC will work to bring its remaining 75,000 desktops into its new Common Windows Desktop environment and under management with Systems Management Server, including 40,000 desk-tops that today run IBM OS/2 and those in locations where network configuration issues must first be resolved.

Some ways in which HSBC is taking advantage of its new desktop management system include:

• Deployment of new software. With Systems Management Server, technicians are no longer required to visit a user’s desktop to install new software, nor do users need to install new applications from a file share or through other methods. Instead, a user simply requests the desired application and Systems Management Server automatically installs the application on his or her computer.
• Distribution of software updates. HSBC is using Systems Management Server for the centralized deployment of software updates, enabling the company to rapidly deploy those updates to all computers in the Common Windows Desktop environment.
• Support for roaming user desktops. With Systems Management Server, desktop applications are tied to users instead of physical computers, eliminating the need to move those computers when people change desks. Instead, the user can simply log on to any computer managed by Systems Management Server, which will automatically remove and reinstall the desktop applications associated with that person.
• Billing of IT assets to business units. HSBC is using Systems Management Server to streamline billing for the use of IT assets by business units, which lease those assets from an internal IT service company. Inventory data collected by Systems Management Server is loaded into a global database, from which information is extracted to charge the cost of desktops and desktop applications back to business units.

Comprehensive Server Monitoring

With Active Directory and Systems Management Server playing such critical roles in the Common Windows Desktop environment, HSBC needed a way to proactively monitor those technologies—internally called “critical Windows services”—to help ensure that they remain up and running. Deployed as an integral part of the desktop environment, Microsoft Operations Manager subjects approximately 70 server computers running Systems Management Server and 30 server computers running Active Directory to highly granular levels of continuous monitoring, enabling HSBC IT staff to immediately detect and take action against potential problems before they can affect end-user service.

Nobody knows how to monitor Microsoft technology better than Microsoft, and Operations Manager provides us with that needed expertise in a form that’s ready to use. Matthew O’Neill Group Head of Distributed Systems, HSBC Global IT Operations

Operations Manager management packs for Systems Management Server and Active Directory provide the built-in expertise needed for HSBC to properly monitor those technologies. Created based on knowledge and expertise from the same Microsoft developers who built those technologies, each management pack provides a set of monitoring rules with predefined thresholds, a built-in knowledge base with troubleshooting and resolution information, and scripts that can be used to quickly and efficiently resolve issues. Upon detecting abnormal behavior, configurable processing rules built into Operations Manager notify HSBC IT staff by pager or e-mail that a potential issue exists, with knowledge base information appended to the alert to aid in problem resolution.

“Operations Manager was easy to implement, with very little configuration required,” says Phil Clark, Regional Head of Distributed Systems—Europe, HSBC Global IT Operations. “We took it out of the box, deployed it along with the appropriate management packs, and had it up and running. Based on our success with Operations Manager in monitoring Systems Management Server and Active Directory, we’re now expanding its use to monitor all 15,000 Windows-based servers worldwide.”

Benefits

By deploying Microsoft System Center solutions as an integral part of its Common Windows Desktop initiative, HSBC is improving the reliability and security of its global desktop environment. System Center solutions also are helping the company’s IT service group provide improved service to internal customers and maximize the cost savings obtained through a common desktop.

Strong Reliability and Security

Operations Manager is helping HSBC keep the critical infrastructure services on which user desktops rely up and running by providing a single global view of system health, including the ability to rapidly detect and troubleshoot potential problems. “With more than 225,000 users in a single directory forest, it simply can't fail,” says O’Neill. “System Center solutions help us manage Active Directory with mainframe-like discipline, and are the reason we can sleep at night."

Predefined monitoring rules provided in the management packs for Operations Manager enable HSBC to detect problems faster than it could otherwise. With Active Directory, one particularly useful capability is in the detection of trust failures between domains. “In the past, we didn’t know a cross-domain trust had failed until users complained,” says O’Neill. “Operations Manager helps us proactively monitor for such failures and, if detected, address them before users are affected.”

When potential problems are detected, built-in knowledge base information appended to alerts helps simplify the identification of issues, streamline root-cause determination, and accelerate problem resolution. “Nobody knows how to monitor Microsoft technology better than Microsoft, and Operations Manager provides us with that needed expertise in a form that’s ready to use,” says O’Neill. “The knowledge base information appended to Operations Manager alerts saves hours in researching issues and gives us greater confidence in the steps to remedy a situation.”

Systems Management Server helps HSBC ensure the stability and security of its desktop environment by enabling the company to easily and quickly deploy new security updates. “We can package and push out software updates to all 225,000 desktops in just a few hours or days instead of the weeks that it used to take,” says O’Neill. “Not only does Systems Management Server reduce the effort required to help keep user desktops secure, but it also reduces security risk because we can push out security updates much faster than before and know for certain that they’ve been correctly applied.”

Improved Customer Service

The HSBC IT service group is delivering better service to the internal customers that it serves. Any application conflicts are resolved as the software is packaged for delivery by Systems Management Server, ensuring that users will have a smooth experience when the new software is delivered to their desktops.

Not only does Systems Management Server reduce the effort required to help keep user desktops secure, but it also reduces security risk because we can push out security updates much faster than before. Matthew O’Neill Group Head of Distributed Systems, HSBC Global IT Operations

Today, with Systems Management Server, users don’t need to wait for a technician to visit to install software or software updates, nor do they need to do those tasks themselves. “When a user requests an application, that user is added to an Active Directory group for the application and it’s delivered and installed automatically, usually within a few minutes or hours and without the need for further user participation,” says Clark.

End-user service and productivity also are improved through the support that Systems Management Server provides for roaming user desktops. “If users move to a new desk, they simply leave their old PC behind and log on to the PC on their new desk,” says Clark. “Within minutes, all of their desktop programs are removed from their old PC and reinstalled on the new PC so that they are fully available and ready to use. It’s especially nice for mobile workers, in that they know they can sit down at a desk in any office and have access to their applications.”

10 to 15 Percent Reduction in Desktop Cost of Ownership

HSBC is well on its way to meeting its goal of a 20 percent reduction in the total cost of ownership for its global desktop infrastructure. The company estimates its savings so far at between 10 and 15 percent, or $50 million to $75 million, with the rest of the savings to come in 2007 from additional process improvements and continued deployment of the Common Windows Desktop environment to include all 300,000 desktops.

One area of significant cost savings is in the reduction of the number of applications supported, along with the elimination of duplicate packaging efforts for remaining applications. Of the 10,000 applications that HSBC had two years ago, roughly 5,000 are packaged for delivery by Systems Management Server, with the other 5,000 eliminated as part of the Common Windows Desktop initiative.

“Not only did we reduce the number of applications supported by 50 percent, but more than 1,000 applications are shared across business units,” says O’Neill. “Today, Microsoft Office is packaged once for global deployment instead of 100 different times, thus reducing the total labor costs involved from $200,000 to less than $1,000. Multiply that efficiency gain by the 1,000 shared applications we have today and the total savings is in the tens of millions of dollars.”

HSBC also is saving significant money by no longer having to move computers as users change desks, thereby eliminating the expense of hiring technicians, renting trucks, and so on. “By eliminating the need to move PCs as users change desks, we’ll save $750,000 for our head office building alone,” says Clark.

The desktop inventorying capabilities provided by Systems Management Server have eliminated the need for HSBC to perform that task manually—a labor cost savings not calculated in the company’s current savings estimate. In addition, those same capabilities enable the IT service organization to more accurately and dynamically charge business units for the IT resources that they consume.

“Data collected with Systems Management Server is used to generate monthly billing for the use of desktop assets,” says O’Neill. “Previously, we averaged the cost of applications across the company and charged business units a blended cost, regardless of which applications people in each group actually used. Today, we can charge business units specifically for the applications that they consume. And now that cost center managers see a charge for every application, people are less likely to request programs that they don’t need.”

Strong Integration with Rest of Infrastructure

HSBC credits some of the success of its Common Windows Desktop initiative to the company’s decision to deploy System Center solutions as an integral part of that environment—and to the way that System Center solutions integrate with it.

By eliminating the need to move PCs as users change desks, we’ll save $750,000 for our head office building alone. Phil Clark Regional Head of Distributed Systems—Europe, HSBC Global IT Operations

“The Common Windows Desktop initiative is about more than just a standard desktop image—it’s about fundamentally changing the way that technology is delivered and supported,” says O’Neill. “A key reason that we’ve been successful is that we deployed System Center solutions as integral components of our new desktop environment. They integrate seamlessly with the rest of the environment, providing the scalability and reliability needed to manage and support such a global infrastructure.”
 
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