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O= verview Country or Region: Germany Industry: Trade and distribution Customer Profile Based in Wiesloch, Germany, Heidel= berger Druckmaschinen AG is the world’s leading solution provider for the print media industry. It posted sales of 3.6 billion Euro (U.S.$5.1 billion) in= the past fiscal year Business Situation Heidelberger Druckmaschinen was fa= ced with replacing approximately 14,000 client computers when a lease contract expired. Solution The IT department decided that all= future critical applications should run using Windows Vista®. By using Windows V= ista, the company could integrate many applications and features that previously had to be purchased separately. = Benefits n n n |
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“By combining our hardware exchan= ge with an early upgrade to Windows Vista, we saved about 750,000 Euro.” <= /p> Michael
Neff, CIO, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG |
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Six years ago Heidel= berger Druckmaschinen AG, a global leader in print solutions, embarked on an innovative IT strategy, which included replacing the company’s nearly 14,= 000 client computers with new models every three years. In early 2007, the co= mpany faced the decision whether to continue using Windows® XP Professional and Microsoft® Office 2003 on new computers, or to upgrade to Windows Vist= a® and th= e 2007 Microsoft Office system. After a comprehensive financial analysis, the company realized that upgrading to Windows Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office system simultaneously will save about 750,000 Euro (U.S.$1.1 milli= on). The company currently has 6,000 computers running Windows Vista and is on track to deploy an additional 5,000 by December 2007. Heidelberger expect= s to complete the upgrade across the company by April 2008. |
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In more than 150 years, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG has evolved from a simple machine manufacturer to the wor= ld’s largest solution provider for the print media industry. Its strong financial health can be attributed in part to its innovative IT infrastructure strate= gy: Every three years, it exchanges its client computers for the most current generation. Howard Hutchings, Director of Global IT Infrastructure, explain= s, “After a three-year period, we were seeing higher system failure rates. We = were also having to purchase additional service protection plans, since warranti= es had expired. Add to that the fact that newer applications were pushing syst= ems up against the upper limits of their processing power, and it was clear they could no longer meet these increased demands.”
Change to a New Operating Sys= tem?
2007 was a year where an exchange wa=
s to
take place, but it was also the year for a new release of the Windows® operatin=
g system.
Together with his co-workers, Global Client Director Axel Junghans consider=
ed
whether it made sense to update the computers to the Windows Vista
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen obtains = all its computers through a global purchase agreement with Dell. It leases most of = the computers under a three-year lease agreement. Heidelberger Druckmaschinen h= as about 14,000 workstations worldwide, with approximately half in Germany. The rest are scattered over 85 locations overseas. The computers run more than = just the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office applications. Altogether, more than 500 applications need to be installed on the computers.
Effective Installation Process Already in Place
To set up applications in the most time-saving and cost-effective way, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen uses imagin= g, which creates a perfect image of a base installation of Windows Vista. Using this image, the company can provide precisely defined computer configuratio= ns worldwide using external service providers. The company calls this model installation the “Heidelberg Client.” Heidelberger Druckmaschinen has used = it for over six years, contracting its creation to Inosoft AG, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner in Marburg, Germany.
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG c=
overs
the entire value chain for the most common sheetfed, offset, and
Flexographic printing format classes.
Solution
In making its decision whether to mo= ve to Windows Vista in 2007, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen considered the ways it c= ould solve issues using the new operating system. Heidelberger Druckmaschinen decided to proceed with an early adoption of Windows Vista: “We saw the add= ed value that changing to Windows Vista would bring our company,” says Axel Junghans. He explains, “It began with software that was integrated into the operating system, software that we didn’t have to buy and install separatel= y, like Windows BitLocker drive encryption. We also gained new user features, = like the search function.”
Using Windows BitLocker™ technolo= gy to completely encrypt a hard drive, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen is able to add another level of security to company data on mobile devices. By taking advantage of the close integration with the Active Directory® service = in the Windows Server®<= span lang=3DEN-US> operating system, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen can quickly res= tore data centrally, even if the end user loses the key.
For Heidelberger Druckmaschinen, add= itional features tipped the scales for adopting Windows Vista as its standard opera= ting system. The Driver Store provides a central repository for device drivers t= hat Heidelberger Druckmaschinen users can access as needed. They can store driv= ers locally or on the network. Users only need default user permissions to inst= all drivers, which greatly reduces their administrative burden. In addition, the company can provide its employees with up-to-date information using Windows Vista gadgets that receive RSS feeds to the clients. Users no longer need to visit an intranet site.
During the test phase, Inosoft and Heidelberger Druckmaschinen did have to deal with some problems. In the beginning, not all applications worked perfectly under Windows Vista. The company also still has some software in use that will never run under Windo= ws Vista because of its architecture. It makes this software available in a virtuali= zed operating system using Microsoft Virtual PC.
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen wanted t= o take advantage of the expanded security features in the new Windows Vista operat= ing system, especially the Windows BitLocker drive encryption, and User Access Control, which insures that every user can run applications with only limit= ed permissions by default. The combination of new operating system features su= ch as the search function, the Driver Store, and gadgets were compelling enoug= h to Heidelberger Druckmaschinen to move to Windows Vista early.
Benefits
By doing the hardware exchange and s= oftware update at the same time, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen saved on costs that it would have incurred had it waited until later to change the operating syste= m. Also it was able to take advantage of the rich feature set of the new Windo= ws Vista operating system.
Reduced Costs
A study by Heidelberger Druckmaschin= en revealed that combining the hardware exchange with the upgrade to Windows V= ista would save approximately 750,000 Euro (U.S.$1.1 million). “By combining our hardware exchange with an early upgrade to Windows Vista, we saved about 750,000 Euro,” says Michael Neff, CIO, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen.<= /p>
“The numbers showed that it didn’t m= ake sense for us to do the hardware exchange and then update the operating syst= em in a couple of years—and then upgrade hardware again a year later when the = PC lease expired. We saved ourselves a complete rollout of an operating system installation,” notes Junghans.
Increased Employee Productivi= ty
Another compelling argument for Jung= hans was the richer feature set in Windows Vista, as compared to Windows XP. He focu= sed on the Windows BitLocker encryption technology and the new Mobile Center, features that are integrated in Windows Vista. By using these features, distributing other third-party applications is no longer necessary and the company is able to increase employee productivity and save money.
Higher Level of Functionality=
To minimize the need for changes to = the Heidelberg Client, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen limited itself to creating a single, global base image. The additional software components needed are ma= de available on demand using SoftGrid™ Application Virtualization. By implement= ing SoftGrid, the company looks forward to even more long-term cost savings. Si= nce the applications provided are shielded from each other by the SoftGrid virtualization layer, the need for testing programs in parallel operation w= as nearly eliminated when updating the operating system.
But it was user enhancements that co= nvinced Junghans: “The new search function is a real advantage for all knowledge workers. Every day, they spend a lot of time looking for documents. Now, th= ey simply enter a search term, and the file that contains it is displayed immediately—it’s awesome. In my opinion, it’s an immense improvement.”
“With Windows Vista, we avoid the co= st of additional applications and still end up with a higher level of functionali= ty,” concludes Junghans.
Software and Service=
s n
Products − 2007 Microsoft Office suites − Microsoft Office 2003 Professional Edition − Windows Vista − Windows XP Professional Hardware n
Dell Partner n
Inosoft AG
This
case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO
WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Document
published October 2007 For More Information For more information about Micro=
soft
products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (=
800)
426-9400. In For more information about Inoso=
ft AG
products and services, visit the Web site at: www.inosoft.de For more information about Heide=
lberger
Druckmaschinen AG products and services, visit the Web site at:
www.heidelberg.com
Windows Vista can help your organiza= tion use information technology to gain a competitive advantage in today’s new world= of work. Your people will be able to find and use information more effectively. You will be able to support your mobile work force with better access to sh= ared data and collaboration tools. And your IT staff will have better tools and technologies to enhance corporate IT security, data protection, and more efficient deployment and management.
For more information about Windows V= ista, go to:
www.microsoft.com/windowsvis= ta