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Virtualization revolutionizes IT model: slashing costs, promoting global expansion

• Virtualized end-to-end IT service delivery, simplified global expansion
• Estimated 70% reduction in maintenance and support, 50% decrease in datacenter costs
• New IT model delivers virtual desktops for every user

Companhia de Bebidas das Américas (AmBev), a subsidiary of global brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev, is the largest brewery and beverage distributor in South America. In an effort to expedite plans for market expansion in South America and Europe, AmBev initiated a multi-phase, end-to-end virtualization project called IT Simplification. The company revolutionized its IT services delivery model, creating a centralized, flexible infrastructure of hosted VM-based virtual desktops. IT maintenance and support costs were reduced by 70 percent and datacenter costs by 50 percent. The cost savings and IT flexibility achieved provided the blueprint for implementation of the transformative IT solution throughout the organization.

AmBev employs more than 39,000 workers in 14 countries as part of their vast network of bottling facilities and distributorships. AmBev´s guiding principle of growth via cost-efficiency can be seen in everything from its IT strategy to its employee compensation plan—a meritocracy system—linking pay directly to innovation and expense management.

In an effort to unite disparate legacy systems, the company decided to standardize user desktops using Citrix desktop virtualization solutions. AmBev first addressed its distributed PC environment by moving to the delivery of on-demand applications via thin client desktop devices. The project incorporated a 64-bit application platform, Web 2.0 services and high-definition multimedia functionality into virtual desktops for every user. The company also implemented Citrix for its server virtualization solution, reducing physical servers from 200 to 57.

The success of its IT Simplification project not only helped optimize resources and reduce costs, it positioned the IT organization as the strategic leader and key business enabler for the companyВґs global expansion plans. AmBev´s former CIO responsible for the project, now CEO, is driving the expansion of the innovative, on-demand IT model across all global subsidiaries.

AmBev uses the following Citrix virtualization technologies:
XenDesktop, XenServer, XenApp and Branch Repeater.

Virtual IT enables rapid expansion in tough economic times

• Simplified IT with an end-to-end virtual computing model
• Rapid integration of mergers and acquisitions
• Strategic investment in virtualization positions airline for growth

Avianca is the number one airline founded in the Americas and number two worldwide, part of the Synergy Aerospace Group. Avianca directly operates to 21 destinations in Colombia and 22 points in the Americas and Europe. In addition to its air transportation services for passengers, Avianca offers a full portfolio of tourism, mail transportation, cargo, courier and aeronautical assistance services through its Avianca Tours, Deprisa and Avianca Services Business Units. Avianca invested in the future and created a new way to deliver technology services to its employees. Instead of continuing to refresh PCs and prolonging the expense cycle, Avianca implemented an optimized virtual computing model to modernize its IT operations.

In a single bold move, Avianca implemented an end-to-end virtual computing solution giving employees on-demand applications from any device. The airline virtualizes all desktops, applications, servers and storage, and has all headquarters office employees on thin clients. Avianca benefits from increased security management through centralization of more than 140 applications, user information and passwords. The company has also realized significant reductions in maintenance costs through simplified provisioning and management, and in IT support costs with the ability to provide users a self-service help desk offering. The flexibility of the solution increases productivity and control for both IT administration and users, and reduces power costs.

Avianca Airlines made an investment, embracing the long-term benefits virtual computing technology would deliver. The success of the project came from maintaining the idea that a single solution could be leveraged company-wide to provide every user with on-demand applications from any device. Instead of constantly reallocating resources to change out PCs, the company now offers an entirely new way to efficiently deliver IT services.

Avianca Airlines uses the following virtualization and networking technologies:
XenDesktop, XenServer, XenApp and NetScaler

Virtual computing: A simple prescription for cost-efficient, scalable growth

• Virtualization accelerates new market expansion, service delivery
• Centralized management decreases provisioning from hours to just minutes
• Radical reduction in server sprawl, saves $ millions in power, space, support costs

Centene Corporation is a leading U.S. healthcare company that provides programs and services to individuals receiving benefits under government-assisted programs including Medicaid. The company´s recent double-digit growth put pressure on IT to become more agile and cost efficient, to achieve its goal of entering new markets swiftly. By adopting an end-to-end virtual computing environment, the company was able to accelerate entry into new geographic markets and bring up new health plans quickly, taking full advantage of local resources centrally supported.

The company standardized on a desktop and server virtualization solution from Citrix to deliver over 600 applications to its 3,600 employees across ten states. Centene saved $850,000 in PC refresh costs by replacing thousands of older, less energy-efficient PCs with thin clients, providing a greener computing environment.

In the datacenter, Centene reduced server sprawl, while saving more than $100,000 annually in power and cooling costs, rack space and support staff. Server virtualization dramatically cut provisioning time from hours to just minutes, allowing IT staff to be less reactive, and more proactive in its allocation of resources to support the business.

Centene´s core philosophy is that quality healthcare is best delivered locally through a dispersed point-of-care network with centralized support operations. Citrix virtualization technology provides a scalable, stable shared desktop environment for every user; whether task, knowledge or mobile workers from headquarters, home or distributed points-of-care. Having a flexible infrastructure makes Centene more agile, providing a competitive edge in many markets.

Centene Corporation uses the following Citrix virtualization and networking technologies:
XenDesktop, XenServer, XenApp and NetScaler.

Virtual computing allows county to add new services, creating new revenue stream

• Saved millions in operational efficiencies, while adding new services for residents
• Created new revenue stream to benefit other towns and cities
• Leveraged end-to-end virtualization solution to bolster business continuity planning

Fairfax County, Virginia is one of the three largest counties in the United States with over 35,000 employees serving more than one million residents. While county tax revenues took a dramatic downturn due to the economy, Fairfax County was able save millions of dollars in operational expenses and avoid costs by implementing a virtual computing solution to deliver IT services to county employees and residents. Additionally, its virtual computing model allowed Fairfax County to create a new revenue stream by introducing a revolutionary cloud computing solution to host services for cities and townships within the county.

Facing a business-critical SAP rollout, Fairfax County introduced Citrix technologies to create a virtual computing infrastructure and make the rollout simple, however they found the flexibility the solution provided enabled much more. The county has moved away from spending money on operational expenses, such as refreshing PCs at a cost of $2.5million each year. Now, with virtualization they can extend the life of PCs, only replacing them as they fail, and reallocate the savings to fund creation of innovative new services for county residents.

Fairfax County´s virtualization solution delivers virtual desktops, applications and services to all county employees using any device, whether they work from home during inclement weather, in the field or in county buildings and call centers. The virtual IT environment has saved millions of taxpayer dollars by reducing expenses and increasing efficiencies across all County services, including police and emergency services, utilities, libraries, GIS mapping and surveying and all administrative functions.

Fairfax County uses the following virtualization and networking solutions:
XenDesktop, XenServer, XenApp, NetScaler and Branch Repeater

Next-generation desktop computing service drives innovation

• Introduced innovative, new virtual computing service
• Reduced Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of desktops by approximately 30%
• Fully-compliant virtualized desktops secure data, improve productivity and mobility

Genpact is a leader in managing business processes for companies around the world, with service delivery centers in China, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Spain, South Africa and the United States. Genpact created an innovative new desktop service offering—LeanDesk^SM— to enhance information security and improve customer service. The project has simplified desktop management and provided cost reductions in desktop computing by approximately 30 percent.

Genpact launched LeanDesk^SM to create a fully-compliant desktop by centralizing desktop operations, replacing PCs with thin clients and isolating customer information in the datacenter. Using Citrix virtualization technologies, Genpact implemented a single ‘golden image’ for standardization across all desktops. Genpact´s home-grown Housekeeper tool ensures each user stores files in designated directories and works only with authorized files. All virtual desktops are regularly audited for non-compliance, and any unauthorized storage is quarantined. The use of highly-reliable thin clients and the centralization of resources improved employee mobility and application availability to nearly 100 percent.

Following LeanDesk^SM, Genpact created MobileDesk, which enables employees to access hosted virtual desktops using diskless laptops using any connection, including broadband. MobileDesk improved effective utilization of seats by 10 percent, and serves as a reliable Business Continuity Planning (BCP) solution at half the cost of its traditional BCP solution.

Leveraging the benefits of virtualization, Genpact introduced DynamicDesk, which allowed a single user to access multiple customer Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) simultaneously or multiple users to share a single seat and access different VLANs separately, without compromising customers´ data security.

Genpact uses the following Citrix virtualization solutions:
XenDesktop, XenApp, XenServer

Virtual IT dramatically increases new business, earns green certification

• Improved user experience attracts new agents to sell products
• Reduced support calls 90%, server hardware costs 60%
• Leveraged flexible new architecture for cloud services

The fourth largest insurance company in Quebec, Canada, Groupe Promutuel, employs 1,750 people in 450 regional offices, and works with hundreds of brokerage firms to supply casualty, life and health insurance to its customers. As the company grew and expanded its insurance product offerings, customer service and broker transactions became more complex and the number of brokers selling its products began to decrease. Groupe Promutuel quickly realized it needed to rethink the way it delivers business services to brokers and employees, making them simpler to use, easier to manage and broadly available to a variety of users.

With the help of Bell Canada, their Citrix Solution Advisor, Groupe Promutuel implemented a virtual computing solution that resulted in dramatic improvements in system availability and overall user experience: support desk calls dropped by 90 percent and the number of brokers selling its services increased by 55 percent, significantly boosting the company´s revenue stream and return on investment (ROI). Virtualization of existing servers reduced hardware costs 60 percent, and the accompanying decrease in overall power usage helped Groupe Promutuel win a Gold LEED certification for being environmentally friendly.

Using Citrix solutions for desktop virtualization and network optimization, employees can now work from anywhere on any computing device, including smart phones. Virtualized desktops enable centralized management of the IT environment for headquarters employees, mobile workers and external consultants and brokers. The company´s new virtualized infrastructure allows it the flexibility to introduce new services including Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) solutions such as Nortel/Avaya. Looking ahead, Groupe Promutuel continues to seek additional ways to leverage its virtual computing platform, moving its datacenter into a hosted facility to position itself as a provider for private cloud IT services.

Groupe Promutuel Insurance uses the following Citrix virtualization and networking solutions:
XenDesktop, XenServer, XenApp, NetScaler, Branch Repeater, Citrix Receiver

Virtual computing improves quality of education, enhances teacher productivity

• Virtualization helps provide equality of education services to rural and urban students
• Rapid integration of new schools fuels business expansion, using IT-as-a-service and cloud computing
• Virtualization reduced travel expense 40%, bandwidth utilization 50% and telecom costs 60%

Grupo Bom Jesus, a collection of Catholic schools and universities in southern Brazil, set out to create a completely virtual infrastructure to provide education services to both rural and urban students. Starting out with just two schools, Grupo Bom Jesus has grown to include more than 52 schools and universities, extending high-quality education to more Brazilians, allowing them to play a larger part in the world economy.

Many of the schools merged with Grupo Bom Jesus were struggling financially with little or no IT resources. By implementing a centralized, virtual computing model, Grupo Bom Jesus was able to provision application, infrastructure and server capabilities as needed, for a more predictable and consistent IT services delivery model. Students can attend virtual classes and labs using any device, on campus or from their homes.

Grupo Bom Jesus realized savings from its virtual computing environment in reduced travel and support costs, bandwidth utilization and telecom costs by using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), videoconferencing solutions and collaborative tools. The Group is now working on plans to further leverage its end-to-end virtual infrastructure by providing cloud computing services to neighboring community schools. Grupo Bom Jesus now has the flexibility to improve the delivery of education resources to its students, control costs and increase the productivity of its faculty and staff.

Bom Jesus uses the following virtualization, networking and cloud computing technologies:
XenDesktop, XenServer, XenApp, NetScaler VPX, Branch Repeater, GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar, and GoToAssist

Virtualization speeds acquisition integration, drives mobile workforce

• Remotely virtualized hundreds of servers for increased datacenter capacity
• Centralized datacenter and desktop management, enabling mobile workforce
• $1 million in hardware savings with server virtualization

Ingersoll Rand/Trane, a $13 billion multi-national manufacturer employing approximately 57,000, chose to implement a virtual computing solution to speed integration of acquisitions and mobilize its diverse workforce. As part of the post-merger integration with Trane, Ingersoll Rand faced a week of downtime to ship server hardware for a consolidation project to a new hosted datacenter. Instead, the company chose to virtualize its servers and cut over to the new datacenter remotely, saving thousands in shipping costs and avoiding any interruption to its business. Ingersoll Rand also virtualized desktops for its call center workers, which enabled the company to expand hiring into additional geographic areas.

The company was able to use the budget allocated for the replacement of its leased physical servers to purchase 16 host servers, and increase its datacenter capacity through virtualization to the equivalent of 350 servers. The server virtualization project realized over $100,000 in savings the first year and is expected to deliver additional savings of $500,000 per year. The time required to bring servers online has been reduced from two weeks to one day, and application delivery time was reduced from two weeks to only twenty minutes.

Ingersoll Rand expanded its virtual computing platform to deliver on-demand applications to more than 9,000 users in branch offices, call centers, point-of-sale service centers, traveling salespeople and executives, service techs and office workers, enabling a truly mobile workforce.

Ingersoll Rand/Trane uses the following Citrix virtualization solutions:
XenDesktop, XenServer, XenApp

Virtual apps drive business expansion, new service delivery model

• Expanded core satellite business, saved € 70,000 annually in support costs
• Completely replaced competitor´s desktop and server virtualization solutions
• Developed innovative solution to deliver applications, cloud computing services via satellite with almost zero latency

ND SatCom is a leading system integrator of satellite communication networks and products for media, telecom, government and commercial customers with operations in more than 130 countries. The companys´ systems deliver enterprise applications via satellite connections. Faced with the challenge of upgrading its critical ERP, CRM and CAD offerings over the existing distributed infrastructure with limited staff resources, budget and outdated hardware, ND SatCom seized the opportunity to dramatically change its own services delivery model and created new solution for the IT industry.

The company implemented Citrix virtualization solutions with two primary goals in mind: leverage the existing infrastructure to support new revenue and streamline delivery of on-demand applications to enable more rapid business expansion.

ND SatCom introduced hosted virtual desktops for centralized management and delivery of its applications to customers and branch office employees, and hosted Blade PC desktops for its CAD engineers, providing the superior performance of HDX technology for graphics-intensive applications. The company estimates the comprehensive desktop solution will save EUR €70,000 annually. Additionally, ND SatCom completely replaced the existing VMware server virtualization environment with Citrix.

The success of the project completely transformed the company´s go-to-market approach, opening the door to new business opportunities. ND SatCom had the technology to deliver applications via satellite, though latency was an issue. They developed XWARP™, a solution using Citrix technology, to separate the user interface from the application on the server, enabling satellite Internet connections to run at LAN speed with the lowest satellite bandwidth consumption, even in the most remote areas. With XWARP™ companies can provide virtualized applications from to users anywhere and anytime, and minimize latency in satellite-based IT networks to almost zero.

ND SatCom uses the following Citrix virtualization technologies:
XenDesktop, XenServer, XenApp and Access Gateway.

Virtualization improves security and productivity, fuels new market opportunities

• Enhanced data security, improved call center productivity
• Built robust platform for pandemic/business continuity planning
• Cloud service based on leveraged desktop virtualized infrastructure

Osaka Gas Information System Research Institute Co., Ltd. (OGIS-RI), is a subsidiary of Osaka Gas Co., Ltd., an oil and gas utility serving more than six million customers in Japan. OGIS-RI’s core business is the outsourcing of IT systems for Osaka Gas Group companies. As a utility, the company´s first priority is to keep the gas flowing to its customers, uninterrupted, everyday and during emergencies.

OGIS-RI chose Citrix desktop virtualization to address security concerns across its many independent systems and provide a robust foundation for business continuity planning. The benefits of strengthening data security, without compromising user productivity, have now fueled plans for expansion of IT services to external markets.

Due to the diversity of IT systems across the various lines of business, OGIS-RI needed a more effective way to secure and centrally manage customer data in its call center environment without impacting productivity. In addition, they wanted to streamline disaster recovery planning with a simple solution for providing on-demand applications in emergency situations such as a pandemic.

OGIS-RI uses Citrix solutions to securely deliver applications for more than 550 service shops of Osaka Gas Group. It also deploys Citrix with thin client terminals in its call center to support 20,000 users at 600 base locations. The call center operators can access applications via a virtual desktop where no data is ever retained on the support terminals. To improve operating efficiency, OGIS-RI consolidated an array of heterogeneous IT systems into the datacenter to create an internal cloud environment from which call center staff can access outside web sites.

The dramatic security and productivity improvements achieved with virtualization led to the development of a Software as a Service (SaaS) offering, ’Office WARP‘, which provides on-demand delivery for line of business applications in times of rapidly changing demand, such as a pandemic. OGIS-RI plans to launch the service to external customers in 2010.

Osaka Gas uses the following Citrix virtualization and networking technologies:
XenDesktop, XenApp and NetScaler.

Virtual desktops and apps on iPhone merge business and personal computing, maximize productivity

• Full-fidelity, mobile desktop and apps increases productivity, client responsiveness
• Virtualized infrastructure speeds integration of new office acquisitions
• Traveling users have one mobile device for corporate use and mobile use - get your work done then unwind with a movie

With more than 1800 users in 13 offices in the U.S. and Europe, Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP (Sonnenschein) serves the legal needs of many of the world´s best-known businesses, non-profit corporations and individuals. Known for its unsurpassed client service, Sonnenschein continues to aggressively expand its business and empower its lawyers to practice in new and different ways. To provide a work anytime, anywhere environment for maximum productivity, Sonnenschein created "Follow Me PC" using Citrix technology to virtualize desktops and applications in the datacenter and make the interface available from any device with any network connection.

The flexibility of virtualized desktops, apps and servers also enables Sonnenschein to integrate acquisitions in record time, swiftly delivering corporate desktops to new employees, without interruptions to client service. With "Follow Me PC", the firm´s full-fidelity virtualized corporate desktop is delivered on-demand to a mobile device over any connection—3G on the road or WiFi in a hotspot—and soon on Apple iPad. The ability to view email, documents, spreadsheets and web pages with formatting and edits as they appear on an office desktop, allow users to respond instantly to client requests and changes without having to wait to get in front of a PC. Using Citrix, workers get a Sonnenschein corporate desktop on-demand on the iPhone, Mac or PC. Sonnenschein is now expanding its IT services to provide on-demand virtual desktops and applications, with high-definition user experiences for all corporate users.

Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal uses the following virtualization technologies:
XenDesktop, XenServer, XenApp, Citrix Receiver for iPhone and Blackberry