Reference story - Cluttons

Mark Clemence, IT Director, was brought on board to tackle the situation and transform Cluttons’ IT system. He decided to move to a centralised system based on Citrix, which provided all branch offices access to the main network and applications. This also allowed users to access a standard desktop anywhere a VPN connection could be established over the Internet, providing a secure connection to the Cluttons infrastructure. The team were also able to start with a clean standard build for the entire network, providing much improved stability and consistency.

Mark explains, “One of our big issues was always going to be maintaining control of the desktops on an ongoing basis. PTLGateway recommended we use RES PowerFuse™ to gain total control of the Windows environment. Cluttons Private Finance also uses RES PowerFuse which had enabled them to maintain complete control of all desktops.”

Desktop management is key

Most organisations use a patchwork of tools to deal with desktop management issues. RES PowerFuse however provides a complete management solution for Windows, providing desktop lockdown, eliminating scripting, optimising RAM and CPU usage, centralising licensing and delivering reports on demand.

With RES PowerFuse, Cluttons administrators are able to manage the environment with simple point and click administration through an easy-to-use management interface. It simplifies the configuration of new applications and eases the addition/removal of new users, eliminating the need for scripting. Importantly, it also provides users with a unified desktop, masking change from the user so that every time they log on, they have the same experience, no matter where they are logging on from.

Using RES PowerFuse, Cluttons are able to roll out changes to the entire network quickly and easily, minimising downtime. The team are able to centrally change and assign access to applications, system drives and security profiles, saving considerable amounts of time and resources. The administrators can base these assignments by individual, group, geography or by Active Directory Organisational Unit. RES PowerFuse automatically logs details of who made the changes to the system and when, making it easy for system administrators to audit application changes or upgrades.

RES PowerFuse has enabled Cluttons to operate a safer environment because they are using it as an application firewall to prevent unauthorised code from running on the system and stopping users from installing software onto the systems without permission. As user access is controlled, the Windows environment can be completely locked down to eliminate network threats. RES PowerFuse is also used to protect certain applications from being used remotely. So for example, when a user logs on from home, they can be prevented from accessing financial files thus avoiding sensitive information from being put at risk.

RES PowerFuse can detect where a mobile user has logged on from, and automatically maps home drives, configures e-mail and printing, thus lengthy logon scripts, and change that user’s profile to suit different locations. This is particularly important to Cluttons as Mark explains, “Many of our employees spend up to 50% of their time on client sites.  They need to be able to access data at any time, whether from the client site or from the nearest Cluttons office. RES PowerFuse make people more efficient, allowing employees to dedicate more of their time to revenue generating activities.”

Cluttons are also able to use RES PowerFuse to track usage of software so it can ensure that it is optimising its purchase of licenses. It provides Cluttons with information on the number of licenses it has, how many are being used and by which users, enabling the company to reduce its application usage by approx 20%.  Mark continues, “We will also be moving our offices in the Middle East to Citrix delivery because the quality of network provision in the region is poor. As we increase our presence in other territories, these will come online to the main UK system. RES PowerFuse will give our IT system the agility to take new territories in our stride.”

RES PowerFuse will lower the time it takes Cluttons to manage its Windows environment by 50%. With a stable, controlled environment, it is possible to reduce the number of calls to the helpdesk, freeing the IT team up to concentrate on other more strategic projects. With the usage and application reporting features, the administrators can instantly create reports to see at a glance a particular facet of the IT system such as the entire software portfolio or application by user.

Mark concludes, “Once the new infrastructure has been fully implemented and we can manage it easily and quickly, we will be able to concentrate on other project work. I just want the infrastructure to work so that it doesn’t detract from what the business wants to achieve and RES PowerFuse plays a big part in ensuring that happens.”

Projected savings

• Reduction of up to 20% in licensing costs
• Reduction of up to 50% of the costs of managing a Windows environment
• Reduction in the number of calls to the helpdesk
• Increase in user satisfaction as problems are sorted quickly and easily
  

• RESOURCES
• SOFTWARE DOWNLOADS
• WHITE PAPERS
• REFERENCE CASES
• TECHNOLOGY PAPERS
• PRODUCT INFO
• ANALYST REPORTS
• MEDIA CENTER
• TRAINING
• KNOWLEDGE BASE
• COMMUNITY
• EVENTS
• CUSTOMERS