Customer Solution Case Study
/ U.K. Manufacturing Firm Increases Security and Productivity with IT Upgrade
“Thanks to Windows Intune, we can get on with our business and concentrate on that rather than worry about IT.”
Neil Adams, Managing Director, LTH Electronics
LTH Electronics, a 19-person manufacturing company, needed to improve the management and security of its PCs. The computers were running a number of antivirus programs and didn’t have the latest Windows software, plus there was no central management system. The firm’s IT partner Form IT Solutions recommended Windows Intune, which includes advanced antivirus protection, an upgrade licence for Windows 7 Enterprise, and a web-based management portal that makes it easy to keep PCs up-to-date. Thanks to Windows Intune, LTH has increased securityand its employees are more productive, spending less time on IT administration.
This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.Document published September 2011
Business Needs
LTH manufactures instrumentation and sensors for water quality and liquid analysis. The firm recently installed Microsoft Office 365 to handle its email and calendar requirements. As its IT partner Form IT Solutions was setting up the new system it noticed that LTH was using a variety of antivirus solutions, with different versions and expiry dates and no central management.
Neil Adams, Managing Director, LTH Electronics, says: “People tended to ignore Windows updates.” This left the company’s computers vulnerable to viruses and spyware. It also made updating and managing the licences complicated and expensive. The firm’s five laptops posed additional challenges—how to ensure they were up-to-date even if they weren’t connected to the company network.
Keeping the firm’s computers secure was time-consuming. With no full-time in-house IT technician, one of the company’s design engineers dealt with routine IT issues. But this took him away from the work he was supposed to be doing and “wasn’t cost-effective,” says Adams.
Solution
Form IT Solutions recommended Windows Intune to address all these challenges. It simplifies the way businesses manage PCs and keeps them secure so users can concentrate on their work rather than on IT issues. It includes advanced antivirus protection and a Windows 7 Enterprise upgrade subscription, as well as advanced cloud-based management tools that make it easy to manage PCs wherever they are. It’s a subscription service so there are no up-front capital costs for hardware or software.
Adams says: “We were a bit nervous about going to the cloud at first. But Form IT Solutions explained everything to us and it made total sense.” Windows Intune works well for third-party IT specialists such as Form IT Solutions because it gives them a single web-based interface through which to manage client PCs.
Benefits
Windows Intune combines a number of security and IT management features and LTH is benefitting from nearly all of them.
- Automatic updates.Windows Intune helps ensure that LTH computers are always up-to-date with security and antivirus software, even if they’re not connected to the company’s network.
- Advanced malware protection.Windows Intune replaces the company’s various antivirus software with advanced Microsoft protection, helping to ensure it stays ahead of new viruses.
- Improved partner support. LTH gave Form IT Solutions access to its Windows Intune control panel so it could monitor PCs and provide technical support remotely. “We wanted to move everything out of our own hands and give it to Form IT Solutions to look after,” says Adams.
- A better Windows experience. Most LTH computers run on Windows XP but Windows Intune includes an upgrade licence to the Windows 7 Enterprise operating system. This means that LTH can get the latest, most secure operating system from Microsoft without buying additional licences for its PCs. “We’ll be looking to upgrade soon,” says Adams.
- Support for laptop users. Because Windows Intune works over the Internet, LTH can manage its laptops just as easily as desktop computers in the office.
- Standardisation.With the combination of Windows Intune, Windows 7, and Office 365, soon everyone in LTH will be running a consistent, modern suite of software on their computers. This reduces the cost of management and increases user productivity.
Windows Intune helps LTH manage its computers more effectively and makes them more secure. In addition, it offers its staff a better Windows experience, using a consistent set of software. It has freed up the company’s employees and made it easier for its IT partner to deliver the right solutions. Ultimately, it means peace of mind. “We can get on with our business and concentrate on that rather than worry about IT,”says Adams.
This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.Document published September 2011