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Citrix XenApp Case Study - Higher Education
Imperial College London
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Centralis simplifies application delivery for AIDS vaccine
development charity
"Centralising
application and data delivery has helped to reduce the cost of
management and support, increased data security and resulted in
fast, reliable performance for users.”
Tony
Tarragona-Fiol, Program Manager, Imperial College London
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Features: Citrix XenApp, Secure Remote Access,
Flexible Working, Centralis Consultancy |
Summary
International AIDS Vaccine Initiatives (IAVI) is a global
not-for-profit, public-private partnership based at Imperial College
London. IAVI approached Centralis to identify and build a platform
capable of delivering the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS)
software.
About the
Customer
Established in 1907, Imperial College London has
11,500 students spread across nine campuses in London, Kent and
Berkshire. The college is made up of three academic faculties –
Engineering, Natural Sciences and Medicine. One of Europe’s largest
medical institutions, the faculty of Medicine was formed in 1997,
bringing together all the major West London medical schools into one
world-class institution. Current staff includes the physician of both
the Queen and the Prime Minister.
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“ We now
have the flexibility to troubleshoot issues from our central
location in the UK. This means we don’t have to deploy manpower
at all locations, which has helped to keep the costs of
administration down and the overall IT environment. "
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Tarragona-Fiol, program manager
at the Imperial College London
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IAVI
is a global not-for-profit, public-private partnership working to
accelerate the development of a vaccine to prevent HIV infection and
AIDS. Its mission is to ensure the development of safe, effective,
accessible and preventive HIV vaccines for use around the world.
As one of the world’s only organisations focused solely on the
development of an AIDS vaccine, IAVI also works to ensure a future
vaccine will be accessible to all who need it. A major part of the
charity’s research, policy, and advocacy programmes take place in
developing countries, where 95 per cent of new HIV infections are
occurring.
More than 700 faculty members are active in research,
with an annual budget of over £140 million dedicated to their work. The
International AIDS Vaccine Initiatives (IAVI) Human Immunology
Laboratory was set up in 2001. Based at Imperial College London, its
role is to act as a central point of research and development. It links
HIV vaccine facilities worldwide, providing comprehensive training and
support to field laboratory and clinical staff involved in
IAVI-sponsored trials.
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" Extending the reach of information systems to remote locations
might be considered business as usual for Centralis, but delivering to
such diverse locations and supporting such a vital project has made this
a particularly satisfying project. "
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Ewen Anderson, Managing Director, Centralis
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The
Challenge
Founded in 1996, IAVI researches and develops vaccine
candidates, conducts policy analyses, serving as an advocate in the
field with offices in Africa, India, and Europe. It propels a
comprehensive approach to HIV and AIDS by supporting the expansion and
strengthening of existing HIV prevention and treatment programs, with
targeted investments in new AIDS prevention technologies. HIV vaccine
trials are conducted in collaboration with a global network of local
scientists. The majority are located primarily in Africa and India,
where different subtypes of the virus are circulating. IAVI tasked
Imperial College London with finding the most effective means of
deploying a specialist software package, which would allow IAVI to
centrally track the status of samples in real-time.
The Centralis
Solution
With no in-house expertise, Imperial College London
turned to independent consultancy Centralis to identify and build a
platform capable of delivering the Laboratory Information Management
System (LIMS) software. Following a thorough review by Centralis, a
proof-of-concept based on the Citrix XenApp was proposed and built. The
proof-of-concept, which delivered two web servers built on Citrix XenApp
architecture, was implemented following a process of rigorous testing
and analysis. Both Citrix farms run side-by-side, with one acting as a
fail-safe in the event the other should go down. This was to ensure
secure and uninterrupted access to essential applications.
The Citrix solution from Centralis has built a
platform where applications including LIMS, can be made available to any
user within
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“ One of the
main drivers for implementing the Citrix solution was its
ability to deliver data, even when the bandwidth available was
very weak. Using the Citrix platform proposed by Centralis
has enabled Imperial College London to provide fast and
high-quality remote support to IAVI users around the world. "
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Tarragona-Fiol, program manager
at the Imperial College London
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IAVI. Users can access the system provided they
have either access to the network or an Internet connection and a web
browser. Loading Excel spreadsheets and data heavy documents had proved
problematic in the past. Previously, staff could sit in front of their
computers for up to two hours or more, overseeing transfer of data. Now,
they simply log on to the LIMS software via Citrix and transfer
information. The data is uploaded, safely and securely, in just one
click. “One of the main drivers for implementing the Citrix solution was
its ability to deliver data, even when the bandwidth available was very
weak,” said Tony Tarragona-Fiol, program manager at the Imperial College
London. “This was critical. Many of the regions IAVI carries out field
work in, including many African countries, operate with only a
thousandth of the bandwidth we have available here in the UK.”
The
Benefits to the Customer
“The goal for Imperial College London was to
support IAVI in its efforts to standardise procedures. This was to
ensure that clinical and laboratory staff could access critical
applications from wherever they were in the world,” said Tarragona-Fiol.
“Centralising application and data delivery has helped to reduce the
cost of management and support, increased data security and resulted in
fast, reliable performance for users.”
Ewen Anderson, managing director of Centralis
comments “Extending the reach of information systems to remote locations
might be considered business as usual for Centralis, but delivering to
such diverse locations and supporting such a vital project has made this
a particularly satisfying project”.
Tarragona-Fiol concludes: “Using the Citrix platform
proposed by Centralis has enabled Imperial College London to provide
fast and high-quality remote support to IAVI users around the world. In
addition, we now have the flexibility to troubleshoot issues from our
central location in the UK. This means we don’t have to deploy manpower
at all locations, which has helped to keep the costs of administration
down and the overall IT environment.”
Related Links:
IAVI webpage:
http://www.iavi.org/Pages/home.aspx
Imperial College London Faculty of Medicine website:
http://www1.imperial.ac.uk/medicine/
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