2 page Case Study - Posted 6/10/2008
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Shared-Services Company Standardizes IT Systems on New Desktop Software
Gestível Serviços is a shared services company that provides financial, administrative, quality-control and IT services to its parent company, E.T.E. Group. To enhance employee productivity, Gestível deployed a standard desktop image to 384 computers based on the Windows Vista® operating system and the 2007 Microsoft® Office system. Since the upgrade, help-desk calls have declined while employee productivity has increased.
Business Needs
The E.T.E. Group is a maritime-transport organization that was founded in Portugal more than 70 years ago. With a fleet of 9 vessels, it is the leading company in the transportation of container cargo between the Portuguese mainland and the Autonomous Regions of the Azores and Madeira. The Group has all the resources needed to perform door-to-door maritime transport services.
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With the deployment of Windows Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office system…we have seen improved efficiency, since workstation downtime has become negligible. |
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Rui Ferraz
Director of Information Systems, Gestível Serviços |
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E.T.E. Group is vertically integrated, with subsidiaries providing services in every phase of the maritime-transport process. Several years ago, after a period of sustained growth, the Group realized a need for centralized administrative support to serve all of its subsidiary companies. In 2001, Gestível Serviços was created to provide various support services (finance, legal, quality-control, IT, and other administrative functions), combining redundant resources within the Group’s subsidiaries.
Rui Ferraz, Director of Information Systems for Gestível, recalls that when the company was created, “The average computer was around six years old. In addition, we had great disparity in hardware and software configurations, with most computers being ‘white boxes’ with highly dissimilar features.”
When Gestível was created, there were 320 computers distributed throughout the Group’s various companies in Lisbon, Porto, the Azores and Madeira. The physical dispersion of offices further complicated management and maintenance of IT systems. Says Ferraz, “The demands on the help desk were considerable, since we had a veritable IT museum that included computers still based on 300 MHz Pentium II processors. We were also running, and a wide range of Windows® operating-system versions, including every version from Windows 95 to Windows XP.” The fragmented infrastructure was contributing to low employee productivity, and was hindering the deployment of standardized IT solutions throughout the company.
Solution
To solve the problem, Gestível began by negotiating a volume licensing program with Microsoft in order to reduce disparities between the operating system versions. Simultaneously, a small revolution began in the Group’s outlook on IT investment.
“We simply proposed to stop buying computers due to their quick depreciation and technology obsolescence,” explains Ferraz. “Instead, the Group chose to lease equipment with a three-year life cycle and a final employee purchase option.” Almost immediately, the Group became up-to-date in terms of desktop infrastructure, and could allow employees to benefit from having efficient equipment at home.
The first rollout, featuring computers equipped with Windows XP and Microsoft® Office 2003, was completed in 2005. Now the second wave of deployments is underway, with a standardized desktop software configuration comprised of the Windows Vista® operating system and 2007 Microsoft® Office system. The standard desktop hardware includes an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2 GB RAM, and a 17-inch LCD monitor (compared to the previous 15-inch models). Despite the substantial improvements in technology, the leasing cost of these new machines is lower than that of the preceding generation.
Alongside the Windows Vista and 2007 Office system rollout, Gestível also deployed Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2006 to isolate the network from outside attacks, and plans an upcoming implementation of Microsoft Forefront™ Client Security to help safeguard computers against malicious software.
Benefits
Gestível’s desktop upgrade and standardization strategy has yielded quick results. Says Ferraz, “With the deployment of Windows Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office system, help-desk use has decreased significantly, as problems related to obsolete equipment and software have all but disappeared. We have also seen improved efficiency, since workstation downtime has become negligible.”
The company facilitated equipment installation with its Microsoft Enterprise Agreement, a volume licensing program allowing Gestível to create an image of Windows Vista pre-configured with the 2007 Office system, and deliver that image to the equipment supplier. With this process in place, all computers are ready to use on the day they are delivered. A total of 384 workstations have been deployed on the standardized image through the end of March 2008.
The introduction of Windows Vista has brought positive changes to IT security policies and routines. “We are taking advantage of Windows Vista’s improved security features to introduce strong passwords with a monthly change policy,” explains Ferraz, who also highlights the incorporation of Windows Vista’s security improvements in the network’s shared folders.
The E.T.E. Group’s staff has also reacted well to the 2007 Office system. “Advanced users are delighted with the PivotTable and integrated analysis features in Office Excel 2007,” says Ferraz, who also calls Microsoft Office InfoPath® 2007 “an extremely powerful tool which, when combined with Microsoft Office SharePoint® Server 2007, is vital to sharing information and generating forms.” Gestível has created in-house applications (such as purchase requisitions) using Office InfoPath, and is benefiting from the fact that it “is highly developed compared to the 2003 version, and can now create richer applications.”
“Office Outlook 2007 is the great productivity tool used by everyone in the group”, affirms Ferraz, who points to the “major changes that this application has witnessed over time.”
Ferraz also underscores the minimal need to train employees in the use of Windows Vista and 2007 Microsoft Office system. "It was a smooth transition. When people received their new computers, they were able to begin using the new tools to improve their productivity immediately.”
For More Information
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