Customer Solution Case Study
/ Maritime Engineering Firm Sets Course for Productivity with Operating System Upgrade
“Our executive teams and field salespeople love the ability to work for extended periods while traveling without interrupting tasks to recharge their laptops.”
Per Sig Juelsgaard, IT Manager, Semco Maritime
Semco Maritime wanted to improve performance of its personal computers while strengthening IT security. To remedy slow system startup times and inefficient power management, the company recently deployed Windows 7. Through faster, more reliable PC performance, Semco employees are able to stay more productive throughout the day. In addition, with Windows 7 the IT team benefits from simplified PC management and tighter asset control.
This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.Document published May 2010
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Business Needs
Semco Maritime, which has a total of 1,500 employees, is one of Denmark’s oldest and largest designers and manufacturers of maritime engineering systems. The company maintains facilities in Europe, Asia, and Central America, and supports sales and service representatives located in other parts of the world.
For several years, Semco relied on the 32-bit version of the Windows XP operating system for its entire PC fleet. But that version had a limit of 4 gigabytes of random access memory and did not adequately support the memory requirements of the computer-aided design (CAD) applications that Semco engineers use each day. The insufficient memory capacity occasionally caused these large CAD applications to bog down or stop responding, which hampered the productivity of engineers and slowed the production process.
In addition, Semco employees who used Windows XP reported that it often took several minutes to start their computers and complete the logon process. And many employees, particularly those who traveled frequently as part of their job, noted the short battery life of their mobile computers. The company attributed the shorter battery life in part to the operating system design, which did not fully take advantage of the power management capabilities of the hardware. “We’ve been using Windows XP for many years, but we’ve had major problems with long logon times and poor battery life with our notebooks,” says Per Sig Juelsgaard, IT Manager at Semco Maritime.
To help improve workforce productivity, better equip its mobile workforce, and take advantage of usability and management enhancements in the latest version of the Windows operating system, Semco executives considered replacing Windows XP across the company’s entire desktop infrastructure.
Solution
In May 2009, the Semco IT team began testing the Windows 7 operating system, examining a range of features, including new administrative tools and more efficient power management capabilities. The team also evaluated its interoperability with large CAD applications.
Based on highly favorable test results, the Semco IT team, in collaboration with Microsoft Gold Certified Partner ATEA, initiated the rollout of Windows 7 to a pilot user group of approximately 100 people beginning in January 2010. “We were impressed in a number of areas. First and foremost, the system is remarkably stable; we conducted rigorous testing, including running some demanding CAD applications on the system, and the performance was superb,” says Juelsgaard. Semco plans to complete deployment of Windows 7 to 650 employees by June of 2010.
Despite the impressive performance of Windows 7 during testing and its new interface design—including the enhanced Windows Taskbar for easier access to applications and documents—executives were aware of the risk of low adoption rates associated with such a transition. “When you start implementing a new operating system, there’s always a certain degree of reluctance within the organization,” says Juelsgaard. “But with Windows 7, it’s been quite the opposite. People across the company have been very excited about making the switch.”
The company attributes the rapid, widespread adoption of the solution to such improvements as faster startup and shutdown times, longer battery life, and intuitive tools for organizing and finding information. “Our mobile employees are particularly excited about the ability to work for longer periods while traveling without needing to search for a power socket,” says Juelsgaard.
The company’s IT team also appreciates enhanced administrator tools, which simplify the process of setting, applying, and managing various permission levels for different user groups throughout the organization. In addition, the company relies on BitLocker drive encryption technology to help prevent unauthorized access to data stored on its computers.
Benefits
Semco has capitalized on faster, more stable computer performance and improved power management capabilities in Windows 7 to drive increased productivity across its workforce.
The company’s IT team also benefits from simplified PC management through the use of administrative tools that make it easier to configure user permission settings. The IT team uses these tools together with BitLocker drive encryption technology in Windows 7 to better secure its desktop and mobile computers.
Increased Productivity Through Faster,
More Reliable PC Performance
By taking advantage of faster startup and shutdown times, an easier-to-use interface, and increased physical memory for better support of CAD applications, Semco employees can stay more productive throughout the day. “Since we deployed Windows 7, we have seen faster overall performance, even on our older machines,” says Juelsgaard. “Our executive teams and field salespeople love the ability to work for extended periods while traveling without interrupting tasks to recharge their laptops.”
Tighter Access Control and Simplified Management of IT Assets
Through BitLocker encryption technology in Windows 7, Semco is better equipped to control access to data stored on its computers, which helps the company more confidently support the mobility needs of its sales force and other remote staff.
And, by using additional Group Policy settings in Windows 7, the IT team at Semco can more quickly and easily configure PCs across different user groups based on a wider variety of access rights designations. Says Juelsgaard, “With Windows 7, it’s easier for us to tweak the levels of administrative rights so that users can do what they need to, and we can still control what kinds of applications are installed and where.”
This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.Document published May 2010
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