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Centralis Case Study
British Gas / Centrica plc
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Mobile workers get improved reliability from a centrally managed
desktop build
"Centralis has
delivered a managed desktop for Centrica's mobile workers which
locks down a standard build - reducing the return to base rate
for laptop PCs by two thirds.”
Peter Christie, Head of Mobile Technology – Centrica plc
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Features: Desktop Builds, Secure Remote Access,
Flexible Working, Software Development, Centralis Consultancy |
Summary
Centrica prides itself on providing high availability, high quality
support to all its users, however, the organisation was finding that the
service and support it could offer to its mobile workers were falling
short of its standards. Centrica reviewed and evaluated their remote
working solutions, in order to identify the problem areas and implement a
new solution.
About the
Customer
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“ This
approach supports thousands of our engineers in the field by
providing them with a user interface designed specifically for
their job, and supports Centrica by reducing our support costs
for this vital group of users. "
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Peter Christie, Head of Mobile Technology, Centrica plc
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Centrica was formed in February 1997 following a
demerger from British Gas plc. Centrica's main operations are in
the UK, North America and Europe, securing and supplying gas and
electricity for millions of homes and businesses and offering a
distinctive range of home energy solutions and low-carbon products and
services.
The
Challenge
Remote users operated from a variety of desktop
builds and application versions that were proving difficult to keep
track of and expensive to support and fix. Some of the remote equipment would require substantial modification
to run standard applications, users were experiencing hardware, software and connectivity problems.
In addition upgrades to software to resolve problems were being used on a
reactive rather than pro-active basis, increasing support costs and time
to fix.
Centrica’s centralised desktop solution offered a simple, standard
method of issuing applications to users and diagnosing problems via
the helpdesk, but this option was not available to remote workers.
The customer’s Project Manager commented, "The
technology we were
using was prone to failure. We approached Centralis and asked them to find
a different way of delivering our desktop to remote workers. They looked
into the alternatives and put together a comprehensive proposal."
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" Centralis have delivered a managed desktop for Centrica's mobile
workers which has reduced the return to base rate for laptop PCs by two
thirds. "
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Peter Christie, Head of Mobile Technology, Centrica plc
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The Centralis
Solution
Centralis investigated technologies which could simplify the build,
support and desktop interface of the remote desktops. However, in most
cases, these would have required extensive changes to the existing central
management of users and applications.
Centralis began by carrying out a consultancy
exercise - interviewing technical support staff, help desk staff,
management and users to identify the key business drivers, user
requirements, current problems and planned future directions.
Centralis therefore proposed a preferred alternative which involved
designing a locked down desktop build to access
application delivery from the centralised Citrix farm.
The managed desktop build replaced Windows on
the client laptop PC with a secure, centrally managed interface, delivering
Citrix sessions and providing the user with a
simple interface whilst protecting the PC client by preventing the user
from accessing unauthorised applications or settings.
The users would get improved performance and reliability, while the
company would have a remote working solution that was as effectively
managed as its LAN solution. Centralis based their solution on their
networking philosophy: Simplify, Standardise, Centralise™: simplify the
client to become a commodity device, standardise the installation of
software and centralise the management, update and support.
The
Benefits to the Customer
"Centralis has delivered a managed desktop
for Centrica's mobile workers which has reduced the return to
base rate for laptop PCs by two thirds. The Centralis build
locks down a standard PC build and delivers a customised user
interface, known as a "shell". This approach supports thousands
of our engineers in the field by providing them with a user
interface designed specifically for their job, and supports
Centrica by reducing our support costs for this vital group of
users." Peter Christie, Head of Mobile Technology, Centrica plc.
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