Windows 7 Customer Solution Case Study

Higher Education Staff, Students, and IT Pros All Benefit from Latest Operating System
Windows 7 is more stable than our old system, so we have seen a reduction in help-desk calls, which means we can more effectively deploy our IT staff elsewhere.
Pek-Tan Lian Kuan, Senior Manager, Computer Centre, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

Customer: Ngee Ann Polytechnic Website: www.np.edu.sg Customer Size: 1,600 employees Country or Region: Singapore Industry: EducationHigher education institution Customer Profile Ngee Ann Polytechnic is located in Singapore and offers degree programs in academic areas that include business, engineering, life and health sciences, media and design, and humanities. Software and Services Windows 7 Enterprise Technologies Aero Windows Easy Transfer Windows Internet Explorer 8

Ngee Ann Polytechnic in Singapore provides students with higher education through the holistic Ngee Ann Learning Model. The institution has 2,000 computers that were running older versions of the Windows operating system. As worn-out computers are retired, Ngee Ann is replacing them with new ones running Windows 7 Enterprise. Help-desk calls have dropped due to the stability of Windows 7, while users appreciate its speed and user experience. Business Needs
Ngee Ann Polytechnic in Singapore offers 16,000 students the choice of 49 full-time degree programs within its eight academic schools, plus a range of part-time programs. The polytechnic was founded in 1963 and has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Singapore Quality Class Award, and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001:2000 certification for its quality management system. Ngee Ann has 1,600 employees, including almost 1,000 faculty members. The polytechnic has several computer labs and approximately 2,000 computers. Ninety percent of students own computers when they enter the institution, and students and staff can use their own tablet PCs, smartphones, and PDA devices to access the Ngee Ann network. The institution has been running the Windows XP and Windows Vista operating systems, with the Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2003 operating systems in the data center. Students and staff use Microsoft Office 2007 and Office 2010 extensively, and student email accounts are hosted through Microsoft Live@edu and can be accessed through students personal computers or Windowsenabled mobile devices. The polytechnics web portal is built on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, and students use

For more information about Windows 7, go to: www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7

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the Blackboard Learning System. Ngee Ann does not perform operating system upgrades on all of its computers at the same time. Instead, as worn-out computers are removed from service, they are replaced with new machines running the latest version of the Windows operating system. Because students typically begin school with new computers running the most current version of Windows, faculty members may request upgrades to meet their teaching needs.

In order to install Windows 7 on existing computers, Ngee Ann created a basic system image for deployment over the institutions network. IT staff needed to ensure that important user data would be preserved. Our faculty and staff typically have a lot of data on their old machines, says Chong. We used Windows Easy Transfer to make sure that all of the information was preserved. That was a very important tool. Ngee Ann has volume licensing for Windows 7 through the Microsoft Campus Agreement, including Software Assurance benefits such as deployment planning, phone and web support, and end-user training. In addition, the institution is part of the MSDN Academic Alliance, a flexible and cost-effective way for academic departments to make the latest Microsoft software available in labs and classrooms and on student PCs. In order to educate faculty and staff on Windows 7, the polytechnic worked with Microsoft to provide customized mass training sessions, which users found helpful. As of May 2011, Ngee Ann has migrated 1,000 of its computers to Windows 7 Enterprise. Users and IT staff have been happy with the performance and featuresparticularly User Account Control to control changes made to computersand faculty and staff are pleased with the Aero desktop experience in Windows 7.

stability of Windows 7 Enterprise, which reduces support demand. Specific benefits include:

Solution
In mid-2009, Ngee Ann made Windows 7 Enterprise the default operating system for its new computers. In preparation for the Windows 7 deployment, the institution began testing its key applications for compatibility with the operating system. IT staff installed each application on a computer running Windows 7 and checked that the program could run smoothly. Faculty members then were brought in to determine whether all functionality worked properly. In many cases, the programs ran fine under Windows 7, says Chong Geok Thine, Customer Service Manager at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. For some specialized applications, such as those for the marine shipping industry, we worked with vendors to upgrade to newer versions. Ngee Ann runs three crucial web-based applications that needed to be tested for compatibility with the Windows Internet Explorer 8 browser that the polytechnic is installing with Windows 7. The enterprise resource planning system, the email platform, and the Blackboard e-learning system all ran smoothly.

Reduced IT support demands. Based on the results of its partial deployment, Ngee Ann expects that the improved performance of Windows 7 will ease support demands, allowing IT staff to better serve the institution. Windows 7 is more stable than our old system, so we have seen a reduction in help-desk calls, which means we can more effectively deploy our IT staff elsewhere, says Pek-Tan Lian Kuan, Senior Manager, Computer Centre at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. And tools like Windows Easy Transfer simplify the upgrade. Increased user satisfaction. Ngee Ann users have been happy with both the performance and the user experience of Windows 7. We have found that Windows 7 starts much faster than the earlier operating systems, explains Chong. And users appreciate features like Snap, which they use to view and compare windows side by side. Leading-edge technology. As part of its quality management policy, Ngee Ann strives for continuous innovation and improvement to its systems, processes, and services. By upgrading to Windows 7, the polytechnic ensures that its students are gaining up-to-date computer skills that will better prepare them for jobs after graduation.

Benefits
With its move to the latest operating system, Ngee Ann Polytechnic has provided staff and students with improved performance and a superior user experience. IT staffers benefit from the

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Document published July 2011

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