Barker Implement

Latest Operating Systems Help Farm Equipment Dealer Grow Yet Keep IT Costs Low

Barker Implement sells John Deere farm equipment from its stores located throughout Iowa. The company wanted to expand its business, improve employee productivity and customer service, and strengthen IT security, without adding IT staff. To address those goals, Barker standardized on Windows Vista® Business for all new client computers and began deploying Windows Server® 2008 on its servers. Thanks to the remote assistance, operating-system deployment, and flexible security capabilities of the operating systems, two IT staff are able to support six geographically widespread stores with fewer in-person visits. Rapid file searching and easy connectivity features in Windows Vista also help sales staff access critical information faster, in the office and in the field, to serve customers better. Barker expects these efficiencies to result in long-term cost savings as the company grows.

Situation

Founded in 1936, Barker Implement sells and services a wide range of John Deere agricultural machinery throughout Iowa. The company started with a single store and has grown over the years to include six facilities with more than 140 employees.

We opened a sixth store, complete with new computers, and we didn’t have to add any IT staff to support it. That proves to us that our Windows Vista–based IT strategy is working very well.  Brian Campbell Technology Manager Barker Implement

Barker takes pride in providing superior customer service and has for many years relied on computer technology to give the company a competitive advantage. However, in 2005, as business expanded, Barker sought to provide comprehensive IT support to the company’s geographically dispersed locations without hiring additional technicians or requiring IT staff to spend hours driving to distant stores when problems occur.

Additionally, Barker salespeople needed to provide customers with a variety of data, including quotes, marketing communications, spreadsheet analyses, and pictures of equipment. Employees worked with dozens of files while talking to customers on the phone, but sometimes these files were difficult to locate. Too often, customers had to wait as the salespeople tried to find the information.

Similarly, traveling sales and management staff needed to access company data from remote locations using portable computers, but the process was often cumbersome, and the security of the computers and of the remote connections was a concern.

Barker sought an IT infrastructure solution that would speed information access, improve employee productivity and customer service, and scale cost-effectively while being easy to manage.

Solution

In December 2005, Barker Implement began deploying the Windows Vista® Business operating system in a pilot project that included 12 client computers. At that time, Windows Vista was in early beta release. In early 2006, Barker also began a more limited testing project to evaluate a beta version of the Windows Server® 2008 operating system.

Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 were recommended to Barker by its longtime IT consultant, Heartland Technology Solutions. Based in Harlan, Iowa, Heartland Technology Solutions is a Microsoft® Gold Certified Partner with wide-ranging expertise, including business networking services, document management, and IP telephony and surveillance.

“There are always risks when deploying beta software,” says Brian Campbell, Technology Manager at Barker Implement. “But earlier pilot projects with prerelease Microsoft technologies were very successful, and the features we saw in the operating systems had the potential to directly address our company’s needs.”

In early 2006, Barker focused its testing efforts on Windows Vista to make sure the company’s applications would function on the operating system. Specifically, Barker visited the Microsoft Enterprise Engineering Center in Redmond and discussed its application migration needs with Microsoft support engineers. The company also used the Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit to evaluate and mitigate application compatibility issues. In April, satisfied with the success of its tests, Barker began a limited deployment of the beta release of Windows Vista to noncritical systems in the company’s production environment.

When the operating system was officially released in 2007, Barker standardized on Windows Vista Business for all new computers and upgraded many existing models that met the necessary specifications—a total of about 100 computers.
Similarly, for its 11 server computers, the company will temporarily maintain a mixed environment of the Windows Server 2003 operating system along with Windows Server 2008.

Compared with Windows XP, I’ve been getting about 25 percent fewer technical support calls for Windows Vista, and that number continues to improve.  Brian Campbell Technology Manager Barker Implement

In addition, to support higher productivity and more effective communication among employees, Barker upgraded to Microsoft Office Professional 2007 and deployed Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 and the Office Communicator 2007 client. Office Communicator 2007 integrates with the programs in the 2007 Microsoft Office system to provide Barker with real-time instant messaging, voice, and video communications.

Benefits

By deploying Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, Barker Implement is able to offer high-quality support to its six stores, using fewer IT resources. Improved search and wireless connectivity features increase employee productivity, resulting in better customer service. And new security features help protect the company’s physical and data assets. Based on the benefits that Barker has seen so far, the company expects its IT model to lead to long-term savings.

High-Quality IT Support Provided by Few Resources

Even with its continued growth, Barker still has only one full-time and one part-time IT resource to manage its entire IT network for six stores, a benefit that the company credits to its Windows® operating system strategy.

For example, with the improved remote assistance and operating system deployment capabilities of Windows Vista, Barker can better manage its geographically dispersed network. Campbell says, “With Windows Vista, I’m able to set up PCs and troubleshoot our employees’ computer issues right from my desk. It takes two hours to drive to our farthest store, so we’ll be saving a lot of travel time.”

Also, Barker employees currently connect remotely to the company’s network through Microsoft Office Outlook® Web Access as well as through virtual private network (VPN) clients. The company has long used VPN technology and Terminal Services in Windows Server 2003 as a way to give employees access to programs and data on the company’s terminal servers. However, the integration of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 will make it much easier for Barker to manage these Terminal Services connections.

For instance, with Terminal Services Gateway (TS Gateway), employees can connect to internal network resources over the Internet, using an encrypted connection, but without the company having to manage complicated VPN configurations. Additionally, with Terminal Services Easy Print, employees can print directly to their local printer from a terminal server desktop session.

“Not having to use VPN clients anymore will make my job a lot simpler,” says Campbell. “By deploying Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, we’ll be able to give employees a better user experience with Terminal Services, especially with printing. All these features are going to help make technical support simpler and take a lot less time.”

In the past, providing such a high level of protection for so many computers would have required two or three dedicated IT people, but thanks to Windows Vista, now it’s one person’s part-time task.  Arlin Sorensen Chief Executive Officer and President Heartland Technology Solutions

“With Windows Vista, we have flexible control over the client computer configurations, so we’re able to prevent a lot of problems before they happen,” adds Arlin Sorensen, Chief Executive Officer and President of Heartland Technology Solutions. “Also, using Terminal Services helps with software deployment as well as maintenance because it’s all done at the server level.”

Increased Employee Efficiency, Superior Customer Service

For the salespeople who have upgraded to Windows Vista, the software’s superior search features are helping them to more easily find the documents they need, which speeds service during customer calls. “Windows Vista file searches are significantly more efficient, compared with Windows XP,” Campbell says, estimating the savings at two to three minutes per sales call. With up to 30 sales calls per day, this savings translates to five to seven more hours of selling time per week and significant revenue growth potential. “We’re able to give our customers answers at once, instead of having to search for them,” he adds. Thus, Barker can support its competitive strategy of better customer service through better information.

These search features are also helping managers. “We’ve migrated all our senior management to Windows Vista, and it’s helping them find documents and reports much faster,” Campbell adds.

Additionally, Windows Vista includes improvements for connecting to wireless networks, which is especially helpful for traveling employees who visit customers and vendors that use wireless networks in their business operations. “Many of the larger farms we serve have wireless local area networks,” says Campbell. “Easy wireless connectivity is definitely an enhancement we’ve noticed in Windows Vista, and this feature is pretty handy when you want to access account, product, or other information in the field.”

Employees are also finding Windows Vista easy to use, which means they spend less time asking for help and more time doing their jobs. “Compared with Windows XP, I’ve been getting about 25 percent fewer technical support calls for Windows Vista, and that number continues to improve,” Campbell adds. “We recently deployed 20 new computers running Windows Vista, but we saw no increase in our usual number of technical support calls.”

Stronger Security

After deploying Windows Vista, Barker was extremely impressed with how thoroughly Windows Vista authenticates remote users and evaluates their authority to take certain actions or access particular systems. “Windows Vista provides us with stronger security than we’ve ever had before,” says Campbell. “We’ve actually decided to turn off some security features because we don’t need them, but it’s reassuring to know they’re available if our needs change.”

In addition, the company helps employees buy portable computers that they also can use for their own purposes—a nice employee benefit, but one that requires careful consideration of network security. For this reason, Barker takes advantage of enhanced Network Access Protection that’s built into Windows Sever 2008 and Windows Vista. This functionality helps control access to the company’s network resources based on the client computer’s identity and the computer’s compliance with security policies.

Sorensen says, “With the combination of Windows Vista security features and user access control in Terminal Services, we’re able to lock down employees’ computers to the level we need. Windows Vista includes added Group Policy Objects that also help us control appropriate content and settings. In the past, providing such a high level of protection for so many computers would have required two or three dedicated IT people, but thanks to Windows Vista, now it’s one person’s part-time task.”

Cost-Effective IT Model for the Long Term

Although deployment of the new solution is not complete, and Barker has not yet done a full return-on-investment analysis, the company is pleased with the IT savings and benefits that it has seen so far. And Barker believes this savings will continue over time. Campbell says, “After we completely deploy Windows Server 2008, take advantage of its tight integration with Windows Vista, and fully utilize its remote access and assistance features, our cost model will be even more efficient. That was our main driver for pursuing this project.”

Campbell concludes, “We opened a sixth store, complete with new computers, and we didn’t have to add any IT staff to support it. That proves to us that our Windows Vista–based IT strategy is working very well.”

For More Information

For more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (877) 568-2495. Customers who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234 in the United States or (905) 568-9641 in Canada. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to:
www.microsoft.com

For more information about Heartland Technology Solutions products and services, call (712) 744-3619 or visit the Web site at:
www.heartlandtechnologies.com

For more information about Barker Implement products and services, call (641) 782-7032 or visit the Web site at:
www.ebarkers.com

Windows Vista

Windows Vista can help your organization use information technology to gain a competitive advantage in today’s new world of work. Your people will be able to find and use information more effectively. You will be able to support your mobile work force with better access to shared data and collaboration tools. And your IT staff will have better tools and technologies to enhance corporate IT security, data protection, and more efficient deployment and management.

For more information about Windows Vista, go to:
www.microsoft.com/windowsvista

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Document published June 2008