Get documents about "Information About Latest Computer Technology
W
Description
Information About Latest Computer Technology document sample
Document Sample
Windows 7
Customer Solution Case Study
Upgrade to Latest Operating System Yields
Multiple Benefits for Small College
Overview “Windows 7 is definitely making a difference at Thomas
Country or Region: United States
Industry: Education—Higher education
College, both for end users and for our IT staff.”
Christopher Rhoda, Vice President for Information Services and Chief Information Officer,
Customer P rofile Thomas College
Thomas College is a small liberal arts
school in Waterville, Maine. The college
has approximately 1,100 undergraduate
and graduate students and 150 staff and Thomas College, which bills itself as the only college in the
faculty.
United States to offer guaranteed job placement upon grad-
Business Situation uation, prides itself on providing students with access to the
To help facilitate its Guaranteed Job
Placement program, Thomas College
most current computer software. As such, the college was one of
must provide students with access to the the first to upgrade all of its PCs to the Windows 7 operating
most current computer technology.
system. Coupled with independent adoption of Windows 7 by
Solution students on their own systems, the college’s rapid rollout of
To prepare students for today’s work-
place, Thomas College upgraded all
Windows 7 has delivered improvements in usability, PC startup
campus PCs to Windows 7 within months and shutdown speeds, system responsiveness, battery life, reli-
of its release.
ability, and security. Meanwhile, the college’s small IT team is
Benefits benefiting from increased troubleshooting capabilities and 10
Improved usability, speed, responsive-
ness, and battery life
percent fewer support incidents, leaving more time to focus on
Increased security and reliability new projects.
Improved troubleshooting and
reimaging in half the time
Increased cost savings and IT efficiency
Works the way you want
“My PC immediately Situation With only three full-time staffers, the
Thomas College, located in Waterville, college’s small IT team is always looking for
became more responsive Maine, is a liberal arts college with new ways to do more with less. “Increased
approximately 1,100 undergraduate and IT productivity is another big reason why
after installing Windows graduate students. The college’s IT infra- we work to stay current on n ew technol-
7, including faster structure is supported by a full-time staff of ogy,” says Rhoda. “A big part of our daily
3 people, who are assisted by some 20 workload is supporting end-user desktops,
startup and shutdown student workers. Of the college’s 250 so anything we can do to improve security,
desktop systems, approximately half are reduce support calls, and minimize the
times…. I immediately desktop and portable PCs running the number of systems to be reimaged leaves
saw many ways that Windows operating system. The other half us with more time to work on new
are thin client devices that connect to projects.”
Windows 7 would make server computers running Windows Server
Remote Desktop Services. The school’s IT Solution
me more productive.” team also helps support an additional Consistent with its focus on adopting the
Christopher Rhoda, Vice President for thousand or so PCs belonging to students. latest information technology, Thomas
Information Services and Chief College planned to upgrade to the
Information Officer, Thomas College Billing itself as the only college in the Windows 7 Enterprise operating system as
United States to offer guaranteed job soon as it became commercially available.
placement upon graduation, Thomas “While we were happy with Windows Vista,
College works hard to prepare students for we really liked what we were hearing about
today’s workplace—for instance, by provid- Windows 7,” says Rhoda. “All of the positive
ing access to the latest computer technol- press really captured our interest so, upon
ogy. As such, in 2008, the college upgraded release of the beta version, we decided the
all of its PCs from the Windows XP operat- time had come to evaluate it ourselves.
ing system to the Windows Vista operating Given its ease of deployment and many
system. The upgrade delivered significant new and enhanced features, our decision to
increases in productivity and security for upgrade the entire campus after a short
end users, and reduced the number of evaluation period was an easy one.”
system images to be maintained from eight
to one. Evaluation Pro cess
To evaluate Windows 7, Rhoda installed the
“When it comes to desktop software, our beta version on his own PC, which took half
students are the primary drivers,” says as long as the installation of Win dows Vista.
Christopher Rhoda, Vice President for “My PC immediately became more respon -
Information Services and Chief Information sive after installing Windows 7, including
Officer, who has worked at the institution faster startup and shutdown times,” recalls
for 22 years. “Many students buy new Rhoda. “I also liked how the new Jump Lists
laptops in the summer after high school and Windows Taskbar made navigation
graduation, which means they’ll be running more intuitive. I immediately saw many
the latest version of Windows when they ways that Windows 7 would make me more
start college in the fall. We need to teach productive.”
them using the same technologies that
they’ll be using on their own PCs for the In July 2009, when Windows 7 was released
next four years—as well as the ones they’ll to manufacturing, Rhoda decided to have
encounter in the workplace upon the rest of his IT department evaluate it, as
graduation.” well as a small group of school staffers.
Works the way you want
“Features such as “We chose a half-dozen or so users in 2009—a few weeks ahead of the schedule,
different offices and either reimaged their which called for the upgrade to be com-
Windows Defender in systems or installed Windows 7 as an pleted by the end of winter break when a
upgrade,” he says. “Virtually all of the new semester begins. “I don’t know an IT
Windows 7 and the new feedback aligned with my initial percep- person in education who doesn’t hold their
SmartScreen Filter in tions, in that everyone found Windows 7 to breath on the first day of the semester,”
be more responsive and easier to use.” says Rhoda. “By the end of that first day, we
Internet Explorer 8 help knew that our deployment of Windows 7
Rhoda’s team also used the informal pilot had been successful.”
keep students’ PCs more phase to check application compatibility—
secure. Not only is this again with positive results. “We deployed a Meanwhile, students are rapidly adopting
mix of 32-bit and 64-bit systems in differ- Windows 7 on their own systems, as Rhoda
beneficial to students, ent areas, such as in our computer labs,” can tell from the log files provided by
says Rhoda. “We found a few applications Windows Server Update Services. “We push
but also it reduces the that didn’t run in a 64-bit environment and out software updates to all computers on
burden placed on our simply reimaged those systems using the our network—both college-owned and
32-bit version of Windows 7. We didn’t student laptops,” says Rhoda. “Log files
support staff.” have any compatibility issues at all with the show that about 25 percent of all 1,100
32-bit version, which isn’t surprising con - students are already running Windows 7.”
Christopher Rhoda, Vice President for
Information Services and Chief sidering that Windows 7 is built on the
Information Officer, Thomas College same foundation as Windows Vista.” Server So ftware Upg rades
Thomas College also is upgrading some of
The pilot period also showed that hardware its server computers from the Windows
compatibility wasn’t an issue. “We had Server 2008 operating system to Windows
absolutely no issues with our current Server 2008 R2 Standard or Windows
hardware,” says Rhoda. “In fact, Windows 7 Server 2008 R2 Enterprise, including the
ran better on our current hardware than servers that support its 125 or so thin client
Windows Vista, even with some of those devices. “Windows Server 2008 provided a
systems being up to four years old.” user interface similar to Windows Vista,
whereas Windows Server 2008 R2 has the
Campuswide Deploymen t Windows 7 look and feel,” explains Rhoda.
Full deployment of Windows 7 began in the “By upgrading our terminal servers to
fall of 2009, during which IT staffers and Windows Server 2008 R2, we’re able to
student workers used a combination of deliver many of the user experience
reimaging and in-place upgrades, both enhancements provided by Windows 7
done manually, as time allowed. “Our to the users of our thin client devices.”
budget didn’t allow for a Microsoft partner
to assist with the upgrade, so we did it all The college upgraded its virtualized server
by ourselves,” says Rhoda. “Fortunately, environment to Windows Server 2008 R2
Microsoft provides a wealth of knowledge Standard with Hyper-V technology, as well.
and tools to guide and assist with these Managed using Microsoft System Center
kinds of tasks. The resources on Microsoft Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2, the
TechNet keep getting better and better, environment consists of some 24 virtual
and we rely on them heavily.” machines running on 8 server blades.
“Microsoft System Center products such
Deployment of Windows 7 to all 125 PCs as Virtual Machine Manager and Config-
was finished by the last week in December uration Manager are integral to our IT
Works the way you want
“We can reimage PCs management strategy,” says Rhoda. Imp roved Usabi lity, Speed,
“Virtualization makes our server infra- Responsiveness, and Battery Life
with Windows 7 in 30 structure much easier to manage and The college’s upgrade to Windows 7 has
support, while tools like Configuration increased usability by making everyday
minutes, which is half the Manager enable us to deploy new desktop tasks such as navigation faster and easier.
time it took with software with just a few mouse clicks.” “The enhanced Windows Taskbar is a
personal favorite because it puts what I
Windows Vista. The For instance, after the Windows 7 deploy- want to do right at my fingertips,” says
ment, Thomas College used System Center Rhoda. “I can pin programs to the Windows
drivers included with Configuration Manager to automatically Taskbar for faster access, and can use the
Windows 7 are better, push out additional software programs that live taskbar thumbnails to quickly find the
were not included in the base image, as window I want when I have several open.
too, which means fewer well as any application updates that were The new Jump Lists on the Windows
released after the image was created. Taskbar and Start menu are great, too, in
issues to troubleshoot that they make it easy to quickly access
after the image is “We use System Center Configuration recently used files.”
Manager to inventory hardware and
applied.” software for PCs and servers, and to Users also like the desktop enhancements
advertise and automatically install many in Windows 7, such as Peek, which makes
Christopher Rhoda, Vice President for
Information Services and Chief applications and updates—including all open windows transparent when the
Information Officer, Thomas College updates to non-Microsoft software such as user moves the pointer over the far end of
Adobe Reader,” says Rhoda. “This provides the taskbar. “The desktop enhancements
users with the latest versions within a few make it easier to work with several windows
hours after an update is released. It also at once,” says Rhoda. “For example, Shake
helps us keep track of which computers minimizes all other windows on my screen
have which applications, which is especially when I grab one window and shake it. The
helpful when only a certain number of Snap feature is great, too, making it easy to
licenses have been purchased. We also maximize a window or compare the
strongly recommend that students install contents of two windows side by side.
the Configuration Manager agent, which When you use your computer as much as I
many of them do.” do, little enhancements like these are really
useful.”
Benefits
Through its early adoption of the latest Users also are benefiting from improved
operating system, Thomas College is speed and responsiveness compared with
retaining its position as a college that the earlier operating system. “We’ve seen
provides students and staff with the significant improvements in the speed with
software that they need to succeed. Since which PCs start, shut down, and resume
rolling out Windows 7, the college has from sleep state,” says Rhoda. “This is
experienced improvements in usability, PC probably most appreciated by students,
startup and shutdown speeds, system many of whom carry their laptops around
responsiveness, battery life, reliability, and all day. We’ve also noticed that Win dows 7
security. Meanwhile, the college’s small IT uses memory much more effectively, ena-
team is benefiting from increased trouble- bling users to run more concurrent pro-
shooting capabilities and fewer support grams or work with larger files before
incidents, leaving more time to focus on performance is affected.”
new projects.
Works the way you want
“Time is money, and the Because most students have portable add-on causes a tab to stop responding,
computers, the way that Windows 7 helps only that tab is affected. The browser itself
way that Windows 7 has extend battery life is also a plus. “The remains stable and other tabs remain unaf-
optimizations in Windows 7 designed to fected. With tab recovery, if one or more
reduced support calls by reduce power use are a huge benefit,” says tabs close unexpectedly, the tabs are
at least 10 percent gives Rhoda. “For example, Windows 7 reduces automatically reloaded.
background activities and supports the
us more time to focus on trigger-starting of system services, so the Rhoda points to the improvements in User
PC can be idle more often —and when PCs Account Control as another benefit. “We
new projects.” are idle, they use less power. The way that keep school-owned PCs fairly locked down,
Christopher Rhoda, Vice President for Windows 7 automatically reduces display and the introduction of User Account
Information Services and Chief brightness when users are inactive also Control in Windows Vista gave IT staff a
Information Officer, Thomas College helps conserve power. People may not be good way to work with this,” says Rhoda.
aware of all the power-saving enhance- “In Windows 7, users don’t see as many
ments in Windows 7, but they’re definitely User Account Control messages because
benefiting from them by being able to use fewer operating system programs and tasks
their laptops in more classes before having require approval to run.”
to recharge.”
The college also plans on taking advantage
Increased Security and Reliab ility of BitLocker To Go, a new feature in
Thomas College is benefiting from built-in Windows 7 Enterprise that extends
security features in Windows 7 and the BitLocker drive encryption to USB flash
Windows Internet Explorer 8 Internet drives and external hard disk drives.
browser (included in Windows 7) that help “People on school PCs aren’t supposed to
safeguard users’ PCs—especially students’ store sensitive data locally,” explains Rhoda.
own PCs, which are not always protected by “If they do, we use BitLocker to protect the
the mechanisms that help secure the data. BitLocker To Go will enable us to
campus’s network. “When students are extend that encryption to removable stor-
behind our firewall, they’re fairly well age devices, giving us some protection if
protected,” says Rhoda. “However, when those devices are lost, stolen, or misused.”
they go home for break, they come back
with all kinds of PC infections. Features Imp roved Troubleshooting and Faster
such as Windows Defender in Windows 7 Reimaging
and the new SmartScreen Filter in Internet With Windows 7, the college is better able
Explorer 8 help keep students’ PCs more to troubleshoot PCs—and, if necessary, to
secure. Not only is this beneficial to quickly reimage them. “We can reimage
students, but also it reduces the burden PCs with Windows 7 in 30 minutes, which is
placed on our support staff.” half the time it took with Windows Vista,”
says Rhoda. “The drivers in cluded with
Deployment of Internet Explorer 8 also is Windows 7 are better, too, which means
delivering a more reliable Web browsing fewer issues to troubleshoot after the
experience. “Tabbed browsing was a great image is applied.”
enhancement in Internet Explorer 7, and
the new tab isolation and automatic tab Rhoda points to the new Problem Steps
recovery features in Internet Explorer 8 Recorder in Windows 7 as another useful
further enhance the experience,” says troubleshooting tool. “End users aren’t
Rhoda. With tab isolation, if a Web site or known for great detail or accuracy in
Works the way you want
describing the problems they encounter,”
says Rhoda. “The Problem Steps Recorder
has been a great help in this area. We show
people how to use it, and that gives us the
information we need to more quickly and
efficiently solve the problem.”
Increased Cost Savings and IT Efficien cy
By taking advantage of cost-saving features
such as those designed to decrease power
usage, the college is minimizing costs. “We
are always looking for ways to reduce
energy costs, and are making aggressive
use of the Windows 7 Group Policy settings
in this area,” Rhoda says.
Rhoda also cites the possibility of extend-
ing useful hardware life as a potential cost-
savings benefit. “We’re always looking for
ways to reduce costs, and a delayed PC
replacement cycle is one way to achieve
that goal …. I’ve heard from some peers in
primary and secondary education that
Windows 7 has enabled them to breathe
new life into PCs that weren’t capable of
running Windows Vista.”
To Rhoda, however, the biggest savings is
the time savings that the upgrade to
Windows 7 has provided for his small IT
team. “Ti me is money, and the way that
Windows 7 has reduced support calls by at
least 10 percent gives us more time to
focus on new projects,” says Rhoda. “I can’t
quantify the time savings in dollars, but I
can say with certainty that, since the move
to Windows 7, other IT projects are getting
done at a faster rate. Windows 7 is defi-
nitely making a difference at Thomas
College, both for end users and for our IT
staff.”
Works the way you want
For More Information Windows 7
For more information about Microsoft Works the way you want: Windows 7 will
products and services, call the Microsoft help your organization use information
Sales Information Center at (800) 426- technology to gain a competitive
9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft advantage in today’s new world of work.
Canada Information Centre at (877) 568- Your people will be able to be more
2495. Customers in the United States and productive anywhere. You will be able to
Canada who are deaf or hard-of-hearing support your mobile work force with better
can reach Microsoft text telephone access to shared data and collaboration
(TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234. tools. And your IT staff will have better
Outside the 50 United States and tools and technologies to enhance
Canada, please contact your local corporate IT security, data protection,
Microsoft subsidiary. To access and more efficient deployment and
information using the World Wide Web, management.
go to:
www.microsoft.com For more information about Windows 7, go
to:
For more information about Thomas www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7
College, visit the Web site at:
www.thomas.edu
Software and Services Technologies
Windows 7 Enterprise − Windows Internet Explorer 8
Microsoft Server Product Portfolio
− Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise
− Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard
− Microsoft System Center
Configuration Manager 2007
− Microsoft System Center Virtual
Machine Manager 2008 R2
This case study is for informational purposes only.
MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EX PRESS OR
IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMAR Y.
Document published April 2010
Works the way you want
