Phoenix and City University
Client
International university in central London; 21,000 students and an enviable reputation for education, research and enterprise; among the top five percent of universities in the world.
Challenge
Rollout an annual new build across 200+ applications within very tight deadlines; speed up deployment, improve efficiency and overall performance, enhance governance and control across the application estate.
Solution
Application virtualisation and packaging using VMware ThinApp technology; Phoenix’s wider relationship with City includes server supply, software licensing, storage, infrastructure management and break/fix maintenance.
Benefits
Improved efficiency and productivity for the university’s IT function, with easier, faster and standardised installation; improving user services and helping enhance the student experience; more effectively management and control of software investments; reduced support costs
Located in central London and serving 21,000 students from over 160 countries, City University is a leading international university. Focused on business and the professions, City is the fifth largest HE establishment in central London, one of the top five percent of universities in the world (Times Higher Education) and ranks 10th in the UK for graduate employability (The Times University Guide). As you would expect, technology plays a key role in achieving excellence at this level – with Phoenix a strategic IT partner to the university, supporting both hardware and software while providing a range of managed IT services.
A recent project – packaging 200-plus applications using VMware ThinApp technology – has delivered major benefits including reduced support costs, greater flexibility and improved efficiency for in-house IT, standardised installations and, in general, has eased management of the application estate, smoothing the way for future activity including Windows 7 migration and providing new opportunities for virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI).
Application virtualisation made easy
“We have open access labs with around 1,600 PCs for students to drop-in any time that suits them,” says Eric McIntosh, technical architect, City University London. “Previously, we used Microsoft App-V for applications deployment but weren’t happy with the performance, and we were having a really hard time with some applications. We asked Phoenix if it could sort this out – and they said it could get the job done in one month.” Time was a major issue, as McIntosh explains: “Traditionally, we use the summer break to deliver essential IT projects after planning the new build through the year.”
However, internal resource issues, particularly relating to staff moves and changes in the in-house Microsoft team, meant work was running several months behind schedule. “So we gave responsibility for application virtualisation to Phoenix. Phoenix brought clarity, and I had confidence it would deliver. We had to get a number of different quotations but Phoenix far outstripped the other suppliers in terms of the value it could deliver. And in any case, no-one else could have completed this work in the time scales.” He says City, like many organisations, soon realised how little it actually knew about its applications environment. “For instance, knowledge about installing and maintaining certain applications could be in one individual’s head and not documented. Phoenix brought all this into the open and quickly ensured we were on the right track, making rapid improvements in terms of governance and control.”
