2 page Case Study - Posted 11/14/2008

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Medtronic Inc.

Medical Technology Provider Unifies Global IT Environment with Latest Operating System

Medtronic, a worldwide medical technology provider, had disparate IT environments that were costly to manage and made collaboration difficult for the company’s 43,000 desktop and laptop users. Medtronic mapped out a plan to create a common IT infrastructure across the enterprise using the Windows Vista® operating system as a foundation to increase collaboration, lower IT costs, and gain a more secure IT environment.

Business Needs

Medtronic, Inc. is the brainchild of two founders who began the business back in 1949, working in a garage to repair delicate medical lab equipment. Although its roots were humble, the company became a pioneer with the 1958 development of the first wearable, battery-powered pacemaker. That pioneering spirit is still evident today, as Medtronic continues to develop and sell medical device therapies designed to treat chronic health conditions and prolong life.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the company has reached global proportions and now does business in more than 120 countries. As the company grew and took on acquisitions through the years, its IT environment became a mixed landscape with more than 50,000 different software applications. The inconsistency created compatibility issues that hindered communication between its 38,000-plus employees. Desktop management was also time-intensive and costly.

We needed to create one architecture across the company. A less complex environment takes fewer resources to manage, reduces IT costs, and ultimately provides a better … user experience.  Vandy Johnson Vice President of Global IT Infrastructure Medtronic

The IT department was tasked with helping the company operate more efficiently, decrease operating costs, and maintain its high standard of service. For Johnson, the answer was obvious. “We needed to create one architecture across the company,” he says. “A less complex environment takes fewer resources to manage, reduces IT costs, and ultimately provides a better, more effective user experience.”

Solution

Medtronic determined that the first step in standardizing its global operations was to upgrade from the Windows® XP Professional operating system to the Windows Vista® Enterprise operating system. “We felt that Windows Vista was the perfect next-generation operating system for us. It can help us reduce costs; create a simple, more secure environment; and provide a rich user experience,” Johnson says.

Features such as the Windows Imaging Format, a file-based disk imaging format, and Multilingual User Interface make it possible to create, deploy, and maintain a single configuration image in multiple languages. The new operating system also provides powerful search functionality, file sharing, and remote connectivity capabilities in addition to advanced layers of security and Windows BitLocker™ Drive Encryption.

Medtronic began consolidation efforts in May 2007 with the help of Microsoft Consulting Services and Dell. The first phase involved a pilot deployment of Windows Vista to a test group within IT. Medtronic then began conducting application compatibility testing using the Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit. “We have to ensure our applications work well in the new environment for business efficiency and to meet U.S. Food and Drug Administration quality standards,” says Johnson. The company is focusing on reducing its software applications to 2,500 updated business-critical programs that can be used across the enterprise.

Once application culling and testing is completed, Medtronic will begin a company-wide rollout of Windows Vista using the Microsoft Solution Accelerator for Business Desktop Deployment 2007. Medtronic expects to complete the full-company implementation by June 2009.

Medtronic will finalize its standardization efforts with the deployment of Microsoft® Office Enterprise 2007, Microsoft Office SharePoint® Server 2007, Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007, Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Enterprise Edition, and Windows Mobile® software. “One of the most important things we have to do is enhance collaboration,” Johnson says. “We firmly believe that using Windows Vista as the foundation for a common set of collaborative technologies will help us get there.”

Benefits

Medtronic has minimized compatibility issues and set the stage for a uniform worldwide IT infrastructure designed to improve collaboration, reduce costs, and increase security.

• Improved Collaboration. By upgrading to Windows Vista, Medtronic will be able to give its employees greater flexibility in accessing information and communicating, using a single logon protocol—no matter where they are. Features such as Windows Meeting Space offer network file sharing between users. Remote Desktop Connection makes it easy for employees to access their PCs remotely. Sync Center lets users synchronize information between PCs and mobile devices. “With Windows Vista and a standardized collaborative environment, our employees will be able to stay connected and access our applications anywhere, anytime,” says Johnson.  
• Reduced Costs. As part of Medtronic’s overall operating leverage initiative, the company is committed to saving U.S.$92 million in IT costs by 2012. Medtronic sees Windows Vista as a key driver in this effort because it provides a common foundation for application standardization and simplifies application development and deployment. “What increases costs is the complexity of interfaces—it requires more desktop management time,” says Johnson. “Creating a single architecture reduces complexity, management, and product expenditure, and that drives down costs. Additionally, with Windows Vista, we can use a common desktop image around the world, with different languages. This lets us create products we know will work anywhere, anytime. That’s a huge cost advantage for us.” The system’s ability to conserve energy through a “sleep mode” also drives cost savings, which Medtronic conservatively estimates at U.S.$750,000 per year across its global operations. 
• Increased Security. For a company like Medtronic, IT security is vital, and the company feels confident with Windows Vista. “We’re excited about the security measures that Microsoft has put in place.” says Johnson. “Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption is a good example of a great technology for volume encryption.” The feature provides data-level encryption and visibility into users’ logon history, and is easier to manage from remote locations.

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Document published October 2008