University of Aberdeen - Microsoft System Center 2012 Configuration Manager

Microsoft System Center Customer Solution Case Study University Saves £20,000 with Desktop Management and Protection Solution “With System Center 2012 Configuration Manager,Customer: The University of AberdeenWebsite: www.abdn.ac.uk we’ve avoided spending £20,000 on a third-partyCountry or Region: United KingdomIndustry: Education—Universities solution and got a better one at no extra cost. We’vePartner: Capito already re-invested the savings into an urgent project.”Customer Profile Ian Rowley, Desktop Manager, The University of AberdeenDating back to the late 1400s, TheUniversity of Aberdeen is a research-ledinstitution located in north-east Scotland. The University of Aberdeen needed to replace its third-party antivirus software with a more cost-effective solution. It choseSoftware and Services Microsoft Server Product Portfolio Microsoft System Center 2012 Configuration Manager, which − Microsoft System Center 2012 includes System Center 2012 Endpoint Protection, for managing Configuration Manager device protection. The university not only saves £20,000—the antivirus software is included in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager—but the IT team has also gained efficient tools for the desktop environment. Business Needs desktop management team supports more Located in north-east Scotland, The than 6,000 student and staff devices and University of Aberdeen is one of the oldest the entire campus has access to wireless universities in the United Kingdom. broadband. Given that research income Renowned for its research excellence— has trebled in the last decade, it makes among its alumni are five Nobel Prize sense for the university to support winners and numerous high-profile academics with the best possible technical academics—its buildings include the research tools. remains of the original King’s College built in 1495, and unique historical collections It’s exactly this approach to modernisation and archives. that prompted the university to look for new desktop management tools. IanFor more information about other Although the university has a rich Rowley, Desktop Manager, The UniversityMicrosoft customer successes, please visit: academic and cultural history, its approach of Aberdeen, says: “The university allocateswww.microsoft.com/casestudies to technology is far from antiquated. The a significant part of its infrastructure

budget on IT every year, so when our result, Rowley avoided increasing the protection. “With System Center 2012Sophos antivirus software came up for university’s IT expenditure. Configuration Manager, we’ve avoidedlicence renewal, I saw an opportunity to spending £20,000 on a third-partyincrease cost-efficiency and gain more Microsoft Partner Capito was engaged to solution and got a better one at nocontrol over our desktops. We were looking help the university deploy the solution extra cost. We’ve already re-invested thefor high-performance, convenience, and within a tight timeframe. “We had just savings into an urgent project,” sayscost-effectiveness.” eight weeks before our Sophos licence ran Rowley. out and Capito was the key to meeting this Proactive desktop monitoringThe third-party antivirus and antimalware deadline. The team came up with a project reduces downtime. Rowley’s team cansolution cost the university around £20,000 timeline and deployment plan, and was handle desktop issues faster and moreover three years. Although it was effective, onsite to assist with knowledge transfer. I effectively than before. “Recently, weRowley wanted a solution that offered more can’t speak highly enough about Capito— had a particularly virulent piece ofthan just protection. “My team needed the entire team was excellent throughout desktop malware going around, butbetter tools for managing routine tasks such the process,” says Rowley. System Center 2012 Endpoint Protectionas updates, maintenance, and reporting. For reports showed us where the virus wasexample, if someone had asked us how Capito worked in phases, starting by and how we could contain it. The factmany PCs we had on campus, we wouldn’t rolling out System Center 2012 that we could identify which computersknow the answer. It was a challenge to Configuration Manager to 6,000 devices. were affected and the malware’sorganise resources,” he says. With the management solution deployed, pathway was a major benefit,” says Rowley’s team could see which devices Rowley.Solution were still running the previous antivirus Reporting tools give IT team goodRowley’s research led him to Microsoft solution, and once this was removed, view of resourcing. Rowley’s teamSystem Center. “All the people I spoke to System Center 2012 Endpoint Protection members are impressed with thesaid Microsoft System Center 2012 was installed. Rowley says: “I didn’t realise reporting tools in the new solution,Configuration Manager was the one how simple the process would be. As a which provide them with the metricssolution that ticked all our boxes. And it’s university, our network has several they need for planning staff andtrue. It provides us with the tools we want quirks—third-party software, access rules, technical resources. Rowley says:for managing inventory and application and so on—but we quickly learnt how to “Before, if we were going to deploy ordeployments, and it incorporates Microsoft work around them.” update new software, we’d have to takeSystem Center 2012 Endpoint Protection for a guess at how many devices we neededprotection against malware and rootkits,” he Benefits to target and how long it would take.says. The University of Aberdeen has saved The reporting metrics we get from £20,000 by deploying Microsoft System System Center 2012 ConfigurationThe solution surveys devices connected to Center 2012 Configuration Manager, and Manager help us to plan projectthe network through the Active Directory will make further savings through accurate resources accurately.”service. It then creates an inventory inventory reporting. The solution supports Insight helps university plan IT spend.database with records on each asset’s the IT team to manage malware effectively, With insight into desktop applicationsinstalled software and hardware reducing the time and impact of issues on the network, The University ofspecifications, and uses this data to target through increased visibility and control of Aberdeen purchases only the software itapplication updates to devices. System the desktop environment. needs. “From a single console, we canCenter 2012 Configuration Manager is see what software is already installedincluded as part of the university’s Microsoft Savings reinvested into crucial and either uninstall it and deploy itEnrolment for Education Solutions (EES) projects. The university no longer has to elsewhere, or update it with the mostEnterprise Client Access Licence Suite. As a purchase and maintain separate recent versions. We don’t over or under solutions for management and virus budget for licensing,” says Rowley.This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THISSUMMARY.Document published July 2012

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University of Aberdeen - Microsoft System Center 2012 Configuration Manager

by Microsoft Education UK on Aug 01, 2012

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