Customer Solution Case Study
/ Schools Improve Information Access and Enhance Security with Operating System Upgrade
“[With Windows 7] teachers can easily work from home—or anywhere else—via any Internet connection and without sacrificing security. That’s a big win for us.”
Albert Strijker, Managing Director, Dunamare Onderwijs Groep
Dunamare Onderwijs Groep manages 22 secondary schools in Holland. To offer its 12,500 students up-to-date technology, and to provide students and teachers with network connectivity while maintaining strict security standards, Dunamare is upgrading to the Windows 7 operating system. As a result, the school board is experiencing a smooth deployment, easing information access, enhancing IT security, and delivering an improved user experience.
This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.Document published January 2010
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Business Needs
Dunamare Onderwijs Groep is a school board that oversees 22 secondary schools in Holland. It has 1,650 employees and serves 12,500 students between the ages of 12 and 18. Each school is regulated and managed by Dunamare, but each has its own curricula to meet the needs of its particular student population. Dunamare has seven local IT administrators.
In 2005, Dunamare implemented a centralized IT infrastructure managed by Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Wortell. Since then, the server infrastructure has been running the Windows Server 2003 operating system, and the 4,000 client computers have run the Windows XP operating system.
To keep technology current and provide the best educational experience, Dunamare wanted to upgrade the schools’ client operating system, but several attempts were unsuccessful because of compatibility issues between newer operating systems and the 1,600 applications the schools use. With the release of the Windows 7 operating system, Dunamare hoped to finally upgrade its operating system without significant, or costly, application compatibility issues.
In addition, Dunamare needed an updated operating system for enhanced security. Specifically, it wanted to allow students and teachers to connect to the school network—even from personal laptops—without sacrificing security standards. Dunamare also wanted to give students and staff an easy but secure method for connecting to the network from home, rather than requiring a virtual private network (VPN) connection. “We had a VPN for the staff to use to connect from home and stay productive,” explains Albert Strijker, Managing Director at Dunamare, “but it not only took considerable time for users to make a connection, but also was costly and time-consuming to manage.”
Solution
In August 2009, Dunamare started a pilot deployment of Windows 7 Enterprise with the help of Wortell. By November 2009, Dunamare upgraded its administrative office and three schools to Windows 7, representing 400 computers. It plans to upgrade all 4,000 client computers at its 36 school buildings by March 2010.
Dunamare is also upgrading its desktops to Microsoft Office Professional 2007, and its server operating system to Windows Server 2008 R2. It is also implementing Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 for content management and search capabilities.
Wortell used the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit to help prepare for the deployment. “The toolkit was great,” says Danny Burlage, Director at Wortell. “It gave us comprehensive information about our hardware and software environments and helped speed deployment.” Based on the assessment, Dunamare refreshed only 10 percent of its hardware—hardware that was four years old and already scheduled for replacement. Dunamare also found that most of its 1,600 software applications were compatible with Windows 7, and any issues were quickly remedied. The school board is implementing Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V), part of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack for Software Assurance, to deliver the virtualized applications to the desktops.
Dunamare is using Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 for a zero-touch deployment, and is taking advantage of Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R2 to help automate the deployment and management of computers. To address security concerns, the school board is using Network Access Protection, which makes it possible for IT administrators to define granular levels of access to its network. Dunamare also plans on implementing Windows BitLocker drive encryption, and BitLocker To Go to protect data on its removable storage devices.
Dunamare is using DirectAccess to alleviate issues with its unreliable VPN solution. With DirectAccess, a feature in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, users can connect to the network at Dunamare with any Internet connection.
Benefits
As a result of upgrading to Windows 7, Dunamare simplified operating system deployment, and is providing improved information access, enhanced IT security, and a more compelling user experience.
Reduced Deployment Time
Almost all of the 1,600 software applications used in the schools were compatible with Windows 7, helping to reduce deployment times compared to previous upgrades. Using Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 to deploy the operating system also helped reduce deployment time. “The last time we upgraded our operating system, it took almost one week for each school; with Windows 7, we were able to complete one school in less than a day,” Strijker says.
Improved Information Access
Dunamare can now provide teachers with access to SharePoint sites and other network resources without requiring a VPN connection. “Teachers can easily work from anywhere via any Internet connection and without sacrificing security. That’s a big win for us,” says Strijker.
Enhanced IT Security
With NAP, Dunamare can control access to network resources based on the identity of a client computer user and compliance with set security policies—allowing students and teachers to use personal computers to access information. In addition, by using BitLocker, Dunamare can implement full-volume drive encryption, helping to safeguard critical data in the event of misplaced computers. It can also extend data security to removable devices, such as USB thumb drives, with BitLocker To Go.
Improved User Experience
Both students and teachers have seen an improvement in system performance—from the boot-up sequence to connecting to the network to application response time. They have also offered positive feedback about the user interface, ease-of-navigation, and improved search results. “These simple improvements in Windows 7 all contribute to an amazing user experience,” explains Strijker. “What’s even more compelling is that our students are excited about the new technology and even prouder of their school.”
This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.Document published January 2010
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