2 page Case Study - Posted 7/9/2007
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Weather Company Enhances Security and Management with Operating System Upgrade
AWS Convergence Technologies provides weather information for use by consumers, schools, government agencies, and corporations. The company, an innovator in consumer and enterprise applications, recently began to upgrade its client computers to the Windows Vista® operating system, which is improving the company’s security and manageability in addition to helping employees be more efficient.
Business Needs
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With Windows Vista, we will have greater control over the desktop and network that each user has access to, and we’ll be better able to manage … other security-related elements of the network.  |
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Michael Black
Senior Network Engineer
AWS Convergence Technologies |
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Founded in 1993, AWS maintains the largest weather network in the world with 8,000 WeatherBug Tracking Stations and more than 1,000 cameras primarily based at neighborhood schools and public safety facilities across the United States. The live, local weather conditions are delivered to consumers, more than 100 state and local government agencies including the National Weather Service, and broadcast television stations, schools, and businesses.
In 2000, AWS introduced the WeatherBug desktop application to provide live, neighborhood weather conditions and personal forecasts to millions of consumers. The WeatherBug Web site and desktop application display the current temperature from any chosen WeatherBug Tracking Station and provide instant access to detailed weather conditions, local forecasts, webcams, storm alerts, pollen counts, and more.
It takes approximately 800 server computers and more than 230 employees to support the company’s 3 billion requests per second for severe weather alerts and live data. Protecting the data on those computers is critical, and AWS takes special care to ensure that its infrastructure remains as stable and secure as possible.
In addition to making security-related improvements, AWS seeks to boost employee productivity by giving its users advanced programs to help them do their jobs more efficiently. The company also tries to equip its IT developers with the latest technology tools to help them identify new opportunities for the consumption and use of weather-related information.
“We tend to be pretty aggressive about adopting new technology because our business truly benefits from being on the cutting edge,” says Chris Sloop, Chief Technology Officer for AWS Convergence Technologies. “When our developers have the latest technology, they have more ideas about where to go with it and can help our end users better understand how everything works.”
Solution
In July 2006, AWS decided to upgrade its client computer environment, which consists of 150 desktop computers and 100 portable computers, the majority of which are used in the company’s Germantown, Maryland, headquarters. The company’s client computers had been running the Windows® XP operating system, but, as soon as a prerelease version became available, AWS opted to move to the Windows Vista® Business operating system.
AWS began by identifying a few specific computers to upgrade to the new operating system so the IT group could gain an understanding of how best to handle the project. The computers represented a cross-section of the company and included those used by employees in the IT, quality assurance, and engineering departments. Upon the production release of Windows Vista, the group upgraded additional computers for a total of 40 as of June 2007. AWS used the Microsoft® Application Compatibility Toolkit and Microsoft Solution Accelerator for Business Desktop Deployment 2007, combined with manual processes, for the deployment.
Computers at AWS will continue to be upgraded to Windows Vista as part of the company’s hardware refresh cycle and when reinstallations are required—and whenever job functions require the new operating system. “AWS plans to continue to increase its number of computers running the new operating system,” says Michael Black, Senior Network Engineer for AWS Convergence Technologies. “Within the year, it’s feasible that we could have close to 50 percent of our total number of computers running Windows Vista.”
In addition, AWS has developed a Windows Vista–ready version of its WeatherBug application, which takes advantage of Windows Presentation Foundation—part of Microsoft .NET Framework version 3.0—and Windows Vista features such as Windows Sidebar and Windows SideShow™, a new technology that supports a secondary screen on a mobile PC. With this additional display, a user can view important information whether a laptop is on, off, or in sleep mode.
“Windows SideShow is one of my favorite Windows Vista features,” says Sloop. “I really like the efficiency it brings to my computer, and I wanted WeatherBug users to be able to use it in conjunction with the WeatherBug application.”
Benefits
With the operating system upgrade, AWS Convergence Technologies gains improved security and management capabilities and better user productivity.
Enhanced Security and Manageability
AWS is finding that the ability to protect its computers from viruses and other malicious software is aided by the enhanced security features in Windows Vista.
The company also is taking advantage of greater management capabilities, such as limiting the use of USB devices through the more granular controls available with Group Policy. “With Windows Vista, we will have greater control over the desktop and network that each user has access to, and we’ll be better able to manage removable storage, firewall policies, and a host of other security-related elements of the network,” says Black.
The improvements in security and management are having a positive impact on the company’s help desk. AWS estimates that the number of help-desk calls related to Windows Vista is about half the number of calls related to the previous operating system.
Increased User Productivity and Satisfaction
AWS IT staff members aren’t the only ones who benefit from the operating system upgrade. The company’s end users find that the Windows Aero™ user experience helps them see their open applications more clearly and that the new Instant Search feature saves time and eases frustration.
“I love that all of the search results are integrated—including e-mail messages,” says Sloop. “And the Live Icons feature helps me find the exact document that I’m looking for without opening up a bunch of incorrect files first.”
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Document published July 2007
