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Siemens

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Microsoft

®

Desktop Optimization Pack for Software Assurance

Case Study: Siemens

Leading BPO targets savings of $1,400 per agent per year through application virtualization.

The Challenge:

Siemens Information Processing Services wanted to manage its PC fleet, along with the two main problems that the company had been facing—underutilization of desktops and high maintenance costs.
The SoluTion:

Company overview:

SIPS implemented Microsoft® SoftGrid® Application Virtualization, a solution that delivers applications to desktops without installing the application.
The ReSulTS:

• • • • •

$1,400 per agent per year in savings Hot desking facility Increased desktop utilization Improved security Business continuity and agility

Challenges
Siemens Information Processing Services (SIPS) was facing challenges in terms of underutilization of desktops and high maintenance costs. 1. Inefficient usage of desktop was resulting in high cost of operations. Desktops were not shared across processes because resources were already predefined to the processes. In case of high demand, desktops which otherwise are kept idle in that particular shift of operation cannot be used because the applications are not installed. This results in inefficiency of operation, inability to cope with sudden rise in demand and hence loss of money. 2. High level of attrition of the BPO Agents was increasing security risks due to manual/physical requirement of deleting applications and removing user access from end node applications. 3. Application updates and change control was forming a sizable portion of the desktops management cost in the company. The cost of maintaining these variable changes across multiple processes were very high and difficult to manage. SIPS needed a solution to address all of these core challenges, enable them to vastly simplify and accelerate application deployment and upgrades, and establish a much more flexible, cost-effective way to manage their IT infrastructure.

Siemens, headquartered in Munich, Germany, is one of the world’s largest electrical engineering and electronics companies. Founded in 1847, Siemens operates in more than 190 countries. The company provides customers with technology solutions in six business segments: information MICROSOFT DESKTOP and communications, automa- OPTIMIZATION PACK 0000000065 > 46934 tion and control, power, transportation, medical, and lighting. Siemens markets a range of products, including computers, digital medical equipment, light rail transportation components, light bulbs, household appliances, and more. Siemens Information Processing Services (SIPS) the BPO arm of Siemens in India is the leading provider of BPO services, with operations in Bangalore and Chennai. Currently it has 2,400 desktops, which are expected to grow up to 5,000 desktops by next year.

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Case Study → Siemens

The Microsoft SoftGrid Application Virtualization Solution
To keep the cost of operations low, increase output, and improve the utilization and efficiency of its desktop environment, SIPS decided to opt for a virtualized desktop environment in March 2007. SIPS found what they needed in Microsoft SoftGrid Application Virtualization, the only solution that could enable any application to co-exist with any other, while providing the centralized management and accelerated deployment they required. Microsoft SoftGrid Application Virtualization transforms applications into virtualized, networkavailable services, resulting in dynamic delivery of software that is never installed, never conflicts, and minimizes costly application compatibility testing. Users and their application environments are no longer machine-specific, and the machines themselves are no longer user-specific, enabling IT to be flexible and responsive to business needs, and significantly reducing the cost of PC management. Whether deployed on desktops or terminal servers, SoftGrid changes application management from a series of tedious, manual tasks into an automated, streamlined process that accelerates the pace and reduces the cost of business. “Using Microsoft SoftGrid Application Virtualization has helped us to reduce the complexities inherent in enterprise application management,” says Syed Rizwan,DGM IT, SIPS. Specific applications are assigned to specific agents as per their respective shifts on virtualized desktops. The centralized host releases applications as per the requirement for that particular shift. “We started off with a pilot project that lasted for two weeks as we tested some of our business processes by hosting applications on a centralized server,” says Rizwan. The company believes that the implementation of desktop virtualization has reduced the spending on facility and infrastructure by 20 percent. As per reports, the spending on infrastructure facilities costs around $7,000 per agent per year. With 20 percent savings this translates into $1,400 retained by the company. “In another 6–8 months we should be able to realize the ROI on this technology,” says Rizwan. Presently, SIPS is carrying out implementation on 400 hundred desktops—200 each in the cities of Bangalore and Chennai. SoftGrid is a component of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack for Software Assurance, a dynamic desktop solution available to Software Assurance customers, which reduces application deployment costs, enables delivery of applications as services and allows for better management and control of enterprise desktop environments.

“The SoftGrid solution has helped us make our Business Continuity Plans more vigorous. We can now deliver the services from secondary site in case of any disaster in primary site and vice versa as this provides us the flexibility of delivering services from multiple locations, adding value to our operational risk management strategy.” “SIPS believes the implementation of desktop virtualization will reduce the expenditure on facility and infrastructure by 20 percent, saving us $1,400 per agent per year.”
Syed Rizwan dgM iT, SiPS

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Case Study → Siemens

The Results
Upon deploying SoftGrid, SIPS has realized transformational benefits in terms of the way it manages applications, and the time and costs required to do so. 1. Hot Desking Facility SoftGrid enables SIPS to provide users the flexibility to access any application from any location and from any device. “SoftGrid is the desired solution as it enables true Hot Desking—an agent can work from any PC in any office,” says Rizwan. SoftGrid Virtualized Applications can follow users from one desktop to another and desktops also can be shared securely amongst agents. Users are now able to roam freely to any PC without worrying about whether they can access required applications. 2. Increased Desktop Utilization SoftGrid has helped the company to maximize desktop investments and improve flexibility. “SoftGrid allows us to use the same desktops across multiple shifts, agents and processes, in a secure manner,” says Rizwan. 3. Improved Security All application rights and user permissions to the applications are maintained centrally using SoftGrid. This improves the overall security of application access by users. As a result of policy-based intelligent management, users can only access applications that they have been given permission to use. Moreover, if a user leaves the company, his permissions and applications can be immediately removed from end-user nodes. 4. Business Continuity and Agility With Microsoft SoftGrid, applications follow users rather than users following the applications. In the event of an outage or catastrophe, users can more quickly resume business. Microsoft SoftGrid gives SIPS the flexibility to shift processes and agents across desktops, offices and cities at short notice. SoftGrid virtualizes applications, turning them into data files that can be treated—and replicated—just like data, making them much easier to manage.

$1400 in savings
Siemens expects to realize $1,400 in savings—per agent, per year through SoftGrid.

See For Yourself
To learn how Microsoft SoftGrid Application Virtualization and the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack for Software Assurance can help you, please visit: www.windowsvista.com/optimizeddesktop.

Part No. 000-000000

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