CASE STUDY any device with a browser so they could install Citrix Workspace . Like with any major change programme , there were some challenges for us to work through at the beginning of the transition , however , we are now in a great place . Even with staff relying on home broadband , we are seeing a noticeable difference in speed and login times which are much shorter now compared to when we started the engagement . From a usability perspective , desktop performance has improved massively .
Where staff didn ’ t have a device at home , we sent out low-cost Chromebooks and were able to quickly get them up and running with the same performance they had in the office . The Citrix Consulting team was incredibly helpful and even ensured our virtual desktops were optimised for more specialist demands , such as engineers working on CAD and geographical information system ( GIS ) applications .
Working with Citrix to migrate our desktops from on-premise to the cloud enabled us to provide our colleagues with a consistent , high-performance experience that would keep them engaged . We can also now dig deeper into user experience , even monitoring the user experience of each individual on their desktop . That visibility will enable us to keep offering staff the best possible experience .
How would you describe your current technology posture since the implementation ?
Moving to the cloud and enabling a modern digital workspace with Microsoft Azure and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops has transformed our technology posture in terms of security , scalability and speed of innovation . next , because being in the cloud cuts lead times from months to minutes .
Our technology posture has evolved hugely and all with substantial annual savings . We ’ ve closed down a data centre and removed racks we managed in our colocation facility . Beyond the benefits to our technology posture , there ’ s a definite cost advantage in switching so we only use what we need when we need it .
What do you believe is most important in the vendor-end-user relationship ?
The best vendor-end-user relationships are seamless and involve total trust . There should be no ‘ them ’ and ‘ us ’. We want to work with vendors as if they are an extension of our workforce . We achieved this with Citrix Consulting Services and continue to view Citrix as a core part of the team that keeps Severn Trent up and running .
How do you plan to evolve in the future ?
Severn Trent is moving to a Software-as-a-Service ( SaaS ) first model and we have some big plans . For instance , we are pressing forward with ‘ contact centre as a service ’ and everything that involves , such as moving our telephony platform to the cloud . We ’ re also moving to an SaaS approach for SAP Success Factors , Ariba and others – delivering all of them through the Citrix desktop at the core . Ultimately , we want to keep innovating and creating an even better experience for colleagues .
How confident are you that the solution will allow for scalability as Digital Transformation takes hold ?
As well as deploying the solution , Citrix is providing us with an ongoing managed desktop service . As a result , we know we have a stable , reliable and secure system which will always be on the latest version with security patches applied . With Citrix , we have more stability for our tier zero , critical service than when we managed it ourselves , which is vital for us as a provider of critical national infrastructure . Switching to a managed cloud service with Citrix also removed a lot of the admin tasks we used to do ourselves , enabling the team to dedicate more time to innovating and improving processes .
Additionally , migrating to Citrix on Azure has given us the agility to respond quickly to changing business needs . Deploying more servers into an on-premise estate is a pretty lengthy process , but doing that in Azure with Citrix Cloud services is seamless . We can scale up and down whenever it is needed . We don ’ t have to anticipate what the business might want to do
Citrix Cloud services provides us with the agility and resilience to respond quickly to changing business requirements and customer needs . We ’ ve removed the guesswork and no longer need to estimate when planning for the future . Instead , the platform will dynamically scale at a moment ’ s notice . I ’ m very confident that this will set us up for success as we continue our Digital Transformation initiatives . p
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