2 page Case Study - Posted 7/10/2009
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IT Firm Ups Worker Productivity, Streamlines IT Management with New Software
Atos Origin is a global IT services company with 50,000 professionals in 40 countries. To give mobile employees a best-in-class computing environment, Atos Origin is deploying the Windows® 7 operating system to 50,000 client computers, which can improve productivity by increasing the speed of information access. The move to Windows 7 can also help enhance data and network security, streamline IT management work, and reduce costs.
Business Needs
Atos Origin is an international information technology services company based in Paris, France. With 50,000 professionals in 40 countries, Atos Origin provides integrated design, build, and operating solutions to multinational clients in targeted industries.
Seventy percent of Atos Origin employees are mobile, some working permanently from customer sites. It is a challenge to provide employees with a best-in-class work environment and equip them with the same functionality on their portable computers that they have in the office. Most of the firm’s 50,000 desktop and portable computers ran the Windows® XP operating system, which often performed poorly on older hardware. Also, while useful in extending battery life, the Windows XP hibernate function resulted in inconsistent and lengthy start-up and shut-down times that impeded productivity. Searching for information across multiple data locations also impacted productivity.
Users needed to connect to the corporate intranet, but after working in customer environments, data security was a concern. The IT staff had to install third-party security software, which consumed computer memory and further slowed performance.
Since Atos Origin operates globally, the IT staff maintained multiple operating-system images in various languages, which complicated computer management and consumed time. The instability of older computers consumed a great deal of support time.
Solution
In early 2009, Atos Origin became an early adopter of the Windows 7 operating system, deploying it to 150 computers for a pilot, with plans to extend the deployment to all 50,000 computers as hardware is refreshed. “By adopting Windows 7 ourselves, Atos Origin positions itself as an innovative service provider with a strong internal success story to share with customers that are considering the same move,” says Tarek Moustafa, Chief Information Officer for Atos Origin.
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By providing a stable, feature-rich client-computer environment, we enable employees to focus on their jobs, not on technology. The ease of searching for [information] in Windows 7 is simply excellent. |
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Tarek Moustafa
Chief Information Officer,
Atos Origin |
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Atos Origin is taking advantage of its Microsoft® Enterprise Client Access License Suite to cost effectively roll out the new software. Atos Origin also used the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 to speed deployment using a single operating-system image. “The single image in Windows 7 has support for multiple languages and hardware brands,” says Arnaud Bourgeois, Technical Architect of Global IT for Atos Origin. “This dramatically simplifies our image management work.”
Moustafa adds, “Windows 7 has far exceeded expectations in almost every area. The performance of the operating system, its responsiveness, and its reliability have been exceptional for a beta product.”
Windows 7 features, such as VPN Reconnect and DirectAccess, help mobile workers connect to the corporate network faster and more easily. Consistent and simplified network access enables mobile workers to connect from anywhere, reducing the number of support calls and improving productivity. The enhanced search capability in Windows 7 is also a significant benefit for employees.
Atos Origin also makes use of the improved data encryption features in Windows 7, represented in the BitLocker™ and BitLocker To Go™ features. “For security to be effective, it must be invisible to users, and tests show that employees are often unaware of the Windows 7 security measures,” says James McMahon, Product Manager for Adaptive Workplace, a key solution from Atos Origin. The improved User Account Control feature in Windows 7 and the AppLocker™ feature help keep computers more secure by blocking unauthorized application downloads. Since many Atos Origin corporate applications are Web-based, the security improvements in the Windows Internet Explorer® 8 Web browser can also enhance security.
Windows 7 Group Policy options enable more granular control of settings, particularly important in a company with a high number of technically savvy employees. The IT staff can more easily manage and deploy software to remote computers using DirectAccess. Atos Origin is also evaluating the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Toolkit, which includes application virtualization and management technologies.
Benefits
By deploying Windows 7, Atos Origin expects to increase employee productivity and enhance network and data security.
Increased User Productivity
“By providing a stable, feature-rich client-computer environment, we enable employees to focus on their jobs, not on technology,” Moustafa says. “The ease of searching for applications, files, settings, and other information from anywhere in Windows 7 is simply excellent.”
Bourgeois adds, “We expect to see a reduction in downtime across the workplace, because Windows 7 is so stable and fast. It’s also easier to find, use, and share information. With Windows 7, employees communicate better and find the information they need, when they need it.”
Enhanced Security
Windows 7 security features better protect the Atos Origin network and the data traveling over that network. “Windows 7 also integrates with third-party security products that we use to fulfill specific customer obligations, and features such as AppLocker can also help keep our network more secure,” McMahon says.
Streamlined Computer Management
As a global organization, Atos Origin is trying to centralize support and create a standardized environment that can be managed more simply. “By upgrading to Windows 7, we’ll move from a multi-image to a single-image environment, which will help us be more proactive in managing client computers,” McMahon says. “Over time, we’ll drastically reduce the number of Windows images and application deployment time.”
All these advances will help lower IT costs. “The great stability of Windows 7 could eliminate many of our support calls and free up more time to spend helping employees be more productive,” Bourgeois says. “We can manage our desktops centrally and proactively, which can also improve user productivity. Our customers with enterprise agreements are keen to maximize that investment by adopting Windows 7 as soon as possible.”
