Hertford Regional College reduces risk with Microsoft Windows 7 upgrade

Customer challenge

As a leader in vocational education, Hertford Regional College (HRC) needs to provide its students with access to the same technologies that they will use in the workplace. When it decided to upgrade its 650 student desktop computers to Windows 7, it needed an experienced partner to ensure the project was completed by the beginning of the new term.

Computacenter solution

HRC partnered with Computacenter to prepare for the platform migration, which involved ensuring its 150 applications were compatible with the new operating system. The joint project team then used Microsoft Systems Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) to centrally deploy Windows 7 across the college's two campuses in just four weeks.

Results

Following the successful migration to Windows 7, HRC now has a more stable, future-proofed and environmentally friendly desktop environment that supports increased collaboration. By providing students with an enhanced computing experience, HRC can minimise the risk of data loss and disruption to online tests and maximise their chances of career success.

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Customer profile

Providing excellence in vocational education
Hertford Regional College (HRC) is a centre of excellence in vocational education. The college has nearly 4,000 full-time students and around 700 members of staff across two campuses in Hertfordshire at Broxbourne and Ware.

HRC offers a comprehensive range of full and part-time courses in subject areas as diverse as beauty therapy, plumbing, computer-aided design and business. It also offers foundation degrees in partnership with the University of Hertfordshire in fields such as engineering, fine art and graphic design.

HRC's courses are designed to allow students to focus on learning the skills they need to progress their careers in their chosen industry, with hands-on practical experience supplementing classroom-based learning.

Business challenge

Offering the latest technologies
From hospitality and catering to performing arts and accounting, the majority of HRC's courses rely on technology to some extent. For example, cookery demonstrations and drama performances are digitally recorded and displayed on interactive whiteboards and many courses include online testing. All students are required to take online assessments in English and maths following enrolment.
In total, the college has around 650 desktop computers for student use, the majority of which are used for classroom teaching with the remainder located in open access study areas.

As a further education provider, HRC needs to ensure students are fully prepared for the real world. Russell Barley, Network Services Manager at HRC, comments: "We need to provide students with access to the same technologies they will use in the workplace, this means we must offer the latest software."

The college took the decision to upgrade its desktop estate to Windows 7 to meet this requirement, and take advantage of the operating system's improved performance, greater stability and enhanced features and functionality.

However, HRC's internal IT team did not have sufficient expertise or resources to execute the migration in a tight timescale. As Russell explains: "We needed an experienced and trusted partner that could reduce the risks associated with the project and ensure our deadline was met - the upgrade had to be completed during the summer holidays.

Computacenter solution

Upgrading the desktop estate to Windows 7
To ensure the Windows 7 migration was a success, HRC turned to IT services and solutions provider Computacenter. "We have worked with Computacenter since 2005 on transformational IT projects, such as implementing Microsoft Systems Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) and reconfiguring our Active Directory platform to enhance IT efficiency," comments Russell.

Computacenter worked closely with the college's IT team to prepare the infrastructure for the operating system migration. This involved upgrading some servers to Windows 2008 R2 and helping test the college's 150 applications to ensure they would run on the new Windows 7 platform.

"Although preparing some of our education-specific applications for the migration was a time-consuming task, it enabled us to ensure they were fully up to date and they will now offer greater performance and stability." comments Russell.
The joint project team used Microsoft SCCM to automate and centrally manage the desktop migration across the two campus sites. Russell comments: "During previous projects we had worked with Computacenter to develop a centralised configuration management database outlining the required build for each desktop, which meant the Windows 7 upgrade could be completed quickly and with minimal manual intervention," explains Russell.

All 650 student desktops in more than 25 classrooms were migrated to the new operating system over a four-week period during the summer of 2010. To simplify ongoing management of the desktop estate, Computacenter extended the capabilities of the Microsoft SCCM solution to enable the automated delivery of software updates for Windows 7 and Microsoft Office.

Now all student computing facilities have been upgraded, HRC is using the same technique to migrate staff computers to the same platform.

Results

Improved IT facilities for greater learning success
By migrating from Windows XP to Windows 7, HRC has been able to provide students and college staff with a stable, future-proofed and environmentally friendly desktop environment that supports increased collaboration.

"Windows 7 is more intuitive and easier to use, particularly for students that are not particularly IT savvy," comments Russell. "Moving to Windows 7 will also ensure compatibility with new educational software the college may need to deploy in the future, such as collaboration tools."

The platform will also support the college's future IT plans, such as virtualised applications and power management. Russell explains: "Using a combination of Microsoft SCCM and Windows 7, we will have much greater control of power management settings. We will be able to reduce the power consumption of devices that are not in use and automatically turn them off at night to minimise carbon emissions and contribute to the college's environmental goals."

Thanks to the Windows 7 implementation, which was completed on time and to budget, HRC can:

Provide students and staff with an enhanced computing experience: Windows 7 offers greater stability and faster performance than Windows XP. Teaching staff have provided positive feedback and noted that there are fewer system crashes.

Reduce risk: A more stable platform minimises the risk of data loss and disruption to online tests, while the ability to distribute software upgrades and patches centrally significantly enhances the security and availability of desktop devices for staff and students.

Better prepare students for real world: Students now have access to the same software they will use in the workplace after they graduate. As a further education college with a focus on vocational courses, this is particularly important for HRC.

Russell comments: "Computacenter helped ensure our Windows 7 migration was executed without any major problems. We can now offer our students reliable and high-performing computing facilities to ensure they have the maximum chance of success in their chosen career."