Sogeti Group

Systems Integrator Simplifies IT Management, Improves System Performance with Upgrade

Sogeti is a global IT services provider with locations in 14 countries and 2,000 mobile employees in the United States. In order to prepare for customer deployments, the company wanted to perform a pilot upgrade to the Windows® 7 operating system. It started its upgrade with 100 computers and already benefits from improved system performance, user experience, and IT management, plus the ability to use its existing 64-bit IT infrastructure.

 

Business Needs

A subsidiary of Capgemini based in Paris, France, Sogeti is a globally managed systems integrator specializing in application development, infrastructure management, and high-tech engineering and testing. The Microsoft® Gold Certified Partner has 20,000 employees in 14 countries. In the United States, the company has 26 branch offices and 2,000 mobile employees.

The company’s U.S.–based consultants are often on the road travelling to customer locations. To support this highly mobile workforce, Sogeti uses portable computers running a mix of the Windows® XP and Windows Vista® operating systems and Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2007. It has 200 servers running the Windows Server® 2003 operating system, and is planning an upgrade to Windows Server 2008 R2 when it upgrades to the Windows 7 operating system companywide.

Sogeti participates as a service provider for the Application Compatibility Factory—a collaboration between service partners and Microsoft to help customers overcome application compatibility challenges. As a participant in the Application Compatibility Factory, Sogeti uses Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit to help customers with Windows Vista and Windows 7 deployments. “With the public release of the beta version of Windows 7, we’ve seen a huge shift in discussion with our customers—they want to upgrade to the new operating system, and we need to be ready internally for those deployments,” says Darren Baker, National Director of Microsoft Infrastructure Solutions at Sogeti.

In order to gain hands-on knowledge of Windows 7 and demonstrate expertise to its customers who are looking to upgrade, Sogeti wanted to upgrade to Windows 7 internally. “Windows 7 is going to deliver us a lot of business. As a valued partner with extensive expertise in this area, we are striving to help our clients take the step into the new era of desktop operating systems,” says Martin Van Den Berg, Geographic Vice President at Sogeti.

Solution

In February 2009, Sogeti started upgrading to Windows 7 Beta through an internal, volunteer pilot deployment. “Because we work in the technology industry, our consultants are excited about new technology and want to start using it as soon as possible,” explains Baker. By June 2009, 100 employees, including consultants, account managers, and executive-level management, had upgraded their portable computers to Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC).

We’ve seen a 30 percent increase in operating system performance with Windows 7. Darren Baker National Director of Microsoft Infrastructure Solutions, Sogeti

Sogeti has various methods for implementing the new operating system. For instance, while most of its consultants downloaded the operating system for a clean installation, others used the Windows User State Migration Tool 4.0 to transfer user settings and data to the new operating system. For its companywide rollout, Sogeti will build a standard image using the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit to be distributed to its various business units.

As a services provider that participates in the Application Compatibility Factory to help prepare customer environments for the upgrade, Sogeti is well-versed in compatibility issues. Though it does not anticipate any issues with its internal deployment, the company is testing its environment using the same process it does with customers, including using Application Compatibility Toolkit.  Because Sogeti had already upgraded most of its hardware in preparation for its previous upgrade to Windows Vista, the company will not have to upgrade any of its desktop hardware for its upgrade to Windows 7.

Sogeti is also using Microsoft Application Virtualization, part of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack, to deliver applications to the desktop for its Windows 7 deployment.
 
As part of its internal upgrade, Sogeti is evaluating DirectAccess, a Windows 7 feature that, when used with Windows Server 2008 R2, allows users to connect to the company’s network with any Internet connection and enables IT administrators to install updates on portable computers. It is also evaluating the BitLocker To Go™ feature to deliver encryption to removable storage devices.

The company plans to upgrade 200 computers total by July 2009. All of its 2,000 consultants in the United States will be using Windows 7 within one year of the operating system’s RTM release.

Benefits

With just 60 computers upgraded to Windows 7, Sogeti is already benefiting from improved system performance and user experience, simplified IT management for its remote employees, and an improved ability to fully utilize its 64-bit IT infrastructure.

• Improved system performance. Sogeti has seen an increase in system performance with Windows 7. “Employees have reported faster boot-up sequence, faster resume times from sleep mode, and faster file transfer speeds,” says Baker. “In all, we’ve seen a 30 percent increase in operating system performance with Windows 7.”
  
  
• Improved user experience. Employees who have installed the operating system have also offered high praise for the easy-to-use, intuitive user interface. Specifically, the Windows Taskbar allows users to pin frequently used programs where they need them and represents open windows with larger, graphic thumbnails for quick access. “Users can concentrate on the task at hand,” explains Baker. “What used to take users six clicks can now be accomplished with two simple clicks.”
  
  
• Easier IT management. With DirectAccess, IT administrators at Sogeti can manage portable computers while employees are away from the office—helping to streamline PC management for its mobile workforce. When a remote employee connects to the corporate network, IT administrators update Group Policy settings, distribute software, and install updates.
  
  
• Improved ability to use existing IT infrastructure. Sogeti has a 64-bit IT infrastructure, but its virtual private network (VPN) solution does not have 64-bit capabilities. By using DirectAccess, employees will be able to connect to corporate resources and still take advantage of 64-bit functionality. “We give demonstrations that use virtual machines and a lot of memory when we’re at customer sites, and this will give us the ability to do that while still utilizing our existing 64-bit infrastructure,” says Baker.