De Persgroep is a media company based in Belgium. The company wanted to upgrade its client hardware and run next-generation software, so it took the opportunity to upgrade to the Windows 7 operating system. With a single operating system image, De Persgroep quickly upgraded 200 computers and plans to upgrade 1,400 more by September 2010. As a result, the company is experiencing improved employee productivity and simplified IT management.

Business Needs
With roots in the nineteenth-century newspaper business, Belgium-based media company De Persgroep is a major publisher of newspapers and magazines throughout Belgium and the Netherlands. The company also has expanded into online media, radio, and television.

The client computing infrastructure at De Persgroep was a mix of desktop and portable computers running the Windows XP operating system. Wanting to take advantage of new editing software for the editorial staff at two of its publications, De Persgroep worried that its workstation hardware was not powerful enough to run the cutting-edge software properly. As it began making plans to upgrade its client workstation hardware, De Persgroep decided to take the opportunity to upgrade its operating system as well, to address growing IT issues.

Through years of hardware acquisition at the growing company, the IT group ended up managing almost 30 operating system images, which complicated network administration. “When we had an update for a computer application, we had to modify every one of those images,” says Wim Leyssens, System Engineer at De Persgroep. “Not only was this time intensive, but also just impractical.” Therefore, it was important to the company that it could efficiently deploy a new operating system and software updates without interrupting the workforce with a lengthy transition period or cumbersome migration process.

De Persgroep was also looking for new ways to improve productivity and efficiency for all employees—from office administrators to developers to executives. In addition to general productivity gains, it specifically wanted to improve logon speeds.

Workers love the features in Windows 7. They can quickly navigate and manipulate open windows, see their most recent documents, and find data and files extremely fast. Wim Vanhoof ICT Infrastructure Manager, De Persgroep

Solution
In September 2009, De Persgroep worked with Microsoft Gold Certified Partner HP to deploy the Windows 7 Enterprise operating system to 200 computers, beginning with the editorial staff. “With so many specialists available, HP gave us excellent help, from theoretical knowledge to practical experiences,” says Wim Vanhoof, ICT Infrastructure Manager at De Persgroep.

To address compatibility issues, the IT department implemented Microsoft Application Virtualization, part of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack for Software Assurance, which transforms applications into network-available services that are available on-demand, minimizing application conflicts and enabling users to work from virtually any location.

By using Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007, the teams developed a single image of Windows 7. They also created several profiles designating software applications and configuration settings that match various employee roles. With this approach, De Persgroep can maintain a single image but apply specific profiles for custom installations to workstations. “System Center Configuration Manager let us link installation tasks into a sequence,” says Tom Schrauwen, Technical Consultant at HP. “Now, we just modify a few variables, such as computer name and site code, and we can push out a custom installation.”

The IT department took advantage of the Windows User State Migration Tool to preserve user settings and preferences while deploying the Windows 7 image. The IT department captured account information, desktop and application settings, and user files, and then transferred them to the new operating system. They also implemented Group Policy preferences to manage updates and scripts while users log on to the network.

After successfully deploying Windows 7 to 200 computers, De Persgroep began upgrading the other 1,400 computers in its Belgian offices. By August 2010, De Persgroep will have deployed Windows 7 to 1,600 computers and will expand its efforts to its Netherlands operations.

Benefits
De Persgroep efficiently upgraded to Windows 7 and consolidated its operating system images. As a result, the company is seeing improved employee productivity and simplified IT management.

Improved Employee Productivity
The company’s new editorial software runs smoothly on the new operating system, and users are seeing performance enhancements across the board with Windows 7 on their computers. “Initial testing confirmed the power and stability of the new operating system,” says Vanhoof, “And the immediate response from the editorial staff was very positive.” Notably, Windows 7 has met the company’s criteria for quicker startup, shutdown, and logon times.

Employees have offered enthusiastic praise for the Aero desktop experience. “Workers love the features in Windows 7,” says Vanhoof. “They can quickly navigate and manipulate open windows, see their most recent documents, and find data and files extremely fast.”

Simplified IT Management
By deploying a single image of Windows 7, the IT department at De Persgroep has centralized control and a more predictable IT environment. For instance, the IT department now manages updates and access to the network through Group Policy settings. “We also omitted the normal update mechanism, making every update centrally available,” says Leyssens, “Whenever a user connects to the network, available updates install automatically, without interrupting the user.”

Quick, Straightforward Deployment
“Our users were barely affected by the migration,” says Vanhoof. “The User State Migration Tool allowed us to transfer their settings, Web site favorites, and even their desktop background, in one easy step.” Employees also took part in a short training session with a demonstration, and, thus far, the number of Windows 7–related help-desk calls is zero. “The experience we gained in Belgium will be used for our Netherlands migration of 1,800 workstations,” says Vanhoof, “We anticipate that rollout to be four times faster.”

For more information about Windows 7, go to:
www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7