Windows 7

There are three ways to escape this trap: desktop virtualization, standardization and thin clients. “A Windows 7 migration is an ideal time to seriously consider one or more of these options,” says Horst Reichardt, Senior Vice President Desktop Services and Solutions at T-Systems. “A virtual desktop environment is cheaper, more secure, more reliable and easier to manage than conventional PC infrastructures.” It can even lower the total cost of ownership by more than 40 percent compared to a managed desktop, according to the “PC vs. Thin Client” study performed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology. Plus, thin clients have a much longer service life than their fat counterparts – 60 versus 36 month on average.

Client virtualization is high on the agenda at many enterprises, as shown in a survey conducted by consultants Centracon. Nearly half of all 309 organizations polled believe that virtualization is more efficient and economical than traditional desktop structures. And they are even more interested in virtualization’s promise of greater flexibility and lower administrative overheads. Desktop systems can be managed or expanded in short order.

T-Systems has aggressively streamlined and revamped its desktop services in response to the demand for more virtualization and standardization. Less is more. “One brand-new feature is the clearly defined role structure that underlies Managed Workplace Services. With three roles, we can cover more than 80 percent of all business desktops and laptops,” says Hagen Rickmann, Head of Portfolio and Offering Management at T-Systems. All these off-the-shelf solutions come with Windows 7. The three different versions – Service, Office and Traveller – support three typical work scenarios and contain, in their basic configurations, an operating system, an office suite, antivirus software, Internet Explorer, utilities, and special software packages and services tailored to the business situation. Also included: a service desk, a central data repository and email inboxes. Software and regular updates are distributed automatically over the network.

The role-based desktop and laptop packages are available for a flat monthly fee. “Since the packages cover ongoing services,” says Reichhardt, “customers know exactly how much it will cost to operate their desktops. No more nasty surprises.” T-Systems applies the latest security patches issued by various vendors once a month, and each computer is given a thorough “maintenance overhaul” twice a year. Analysts have calculated that automatic software deployment reduces per-user costs by nearly 90 percent compared to manual deployment and around 70 percent compared to centralized, non-automated IT. More importantly, the role-based system standardizes and automates the desktop environment. The focus is now on the end users, enabling them to work efficiently and effectively. That puts an end to tinkering, and exceptions to exceptions.

“That’s a good idea,” says Stefan Zimmermann. “Looking at desktops purely from the user’s point of view.” A sales representative for a major insurance company in Cologne, he is taking a break at a Starbucks with a brownie, a cup of coffee and an open laptop. His company sends out hundreds of sales reps to visit clients every day. They’d be lost without a laptop. “It brings the headquarters to me. Everything is preconfigured,” says Zimmermann.“But I know that some of my o-workers have tried to tweak their systems. Now, of course, the laptops don’t work right anymore, which wastes a lot of time and energy.” In his job, he says, he really only needs standard office programs plus special insurance software. Most importantly, he needs to be able to access personal information like emails, contacts and appointments. “Not to mention customer data,” says Zimmermann. “I pull that up centrally.”

T-Systems’ Traveller Workplace goes one step further. It lets mobile professionals access their personal workspace from various devices. It remembers where the user was when they shut down their office PC or notebook, and opens the desktop in the exact same place. No need to worry about the data, either. Instead of being on the hard drive, it is stored securely at a data center and encrypted before being transmitted over the network. The Traveller Workplace is a polyglot, too: it can communicate with any PDA or smartphone operating system – from Windows Mobile and RIM to Symbian and the iPhone – and offers WLAN, UMTS and DSL connectivity.

Another niche is occupied by the Service Workplace, a thin-client solution. It, too, obtains all its software and data over the network. That makes it an ideal choice for workstations used by a changing roster of employees or for people who need to access data from different locations. A Service Workplace is perfect for, say, call center agents or sales associates in specialty stores. They don’t need clients with hard drives since all the information they require resides in a central database. They can just sign on at any computer and get right to work. Because thin clients are so easy to install, Service Workplaces can be ordered or ancelled as needed without any hardware.

Finally, there is the classic version: the Office Workplace, which uses a standard fat client. It comes with the basic software suite plus the ability to perform PU-intensive tasks with specialty applications. “With Managed Workplace Services, we are moving closer to offering IT workstations made entirely of service components,” summarizes Rickmann. “Each solution is tailored to a specific user type. Very few special requests are allowed. The only thing left to provide is the hardware.”Perhaps desktop environments are finally taking on the role that was originally written for them: as hard-working assistants who never malfunction or break down.

Rickmann is also thinking about the future of workplaces. The way we work has changed at a breathtaking pace. For example, knowledge workers are now expected to be available outside regular office hours, too. “As such, they need anytime, anyplace access to information. Our My Access Key, for example, lets them pull up their regular desktop environment while at home or on the road with their personal netbook,” says Rickmann. “That’s something only T-Systems can do. We’re the only integrator who can provide information and communications technology in a truly end-toend package.”