Starting point.
DAS were looking to set up a new IT infrastructure in order to provide a VDI solution that enables more flexibility in the organisation of daily tasks.
Project objectives.
This project threw up two challenges: Home office and mobility. DAS had already been promoting working from home for several years, meaning that some users needed to be able to securely access the company network from outside of the office. In addition, the employees who are often on the road needed to be able to access their data via a simple internet connection without putting it at risk.
Challenge.
DAS had a traditional IT infrastructure with classic workstations. Only a limited number of employees had remote access, but there was no guarantee that data integrity could be ensured. The aim of the project was, therefore, to replace the existing remote connection with a completely virtual desktop that would give employees the option to work from home offices. The plan was to implement the solution internally and then to replace the majority of the IT infrastructure in the medium term.
This is not the first project we’ve worked on with Bechtle. We know the team very well and have a very positive impression of them, particularly due to the expertise of our contact, who was very service oriented and a friendly ear and this most recent project has only reinforced our opinion as the collaboration was second to none.
Sebastian Vierk, System and Network Administrator, DAS Legal Protection Insurance
Solution.
Bechtle’s IT team proceeded according to our best practices and supported our clients from the very beginning. We followed the Bechtle method of “Plan - Build - Run” with the first step being to carry out an internal audit of the DAS employees to compile a list of their needs in their daily business. This was followed by an assessment where several options were suggested that could meet the requirements of both the IT team and general management. A VDI-POC (Proof of Concept) was also proposed that was implemented with VMware Horizon View Advanced for a representative user group. “Bechtle is there to provide its customers with objective and independent advice and support. We really like this approach because we know that we can rely on Bechtle and that the most suitable solution for us would be found”, adds Sebastian Vierk. After these preparations and validating VDI-POC, our engineers determined the design and sizing of the new infrastructure. In the short term, the infrastructure should support the complete virtualisation of the workstations with Cisco B series (blade) servers, HPE 3PAR Full-Flash storage and VMware Horizon View Advanced . Our teams then installed and configured this infrastructure and provided detailed documentation for the DAS IT team. We then completed the solution by deploying Veeam Backup & Replication, which was already being used by DAS, to the entire infrastructure.
After follow-up testing and commissioning, user feedback was collected. “Our VDI solution is currently only available for home office and field workers, but not yet for desktop PCs. We have, however, already been able to establish that this solution is a lot faster than the previous one and our users are impressed. Thanks to Bechtle’s methodical project management, we didn’t lose any time—the teams were very well organised, the assessment methods were excellent and we are extremely satisfied with the way this project was implemented”, explains Sebastian Vierk.
Business benefits.
“The biggest benefit of introducing this VDI solution is, first and foremost, the simplification of IT maintenance for our IT team, and also the preparation and renewal of our infrastructure. Our users are very happy, illustrated by their high performance levels”, says Sebastian Vierk.
“The advantages we are currently enjoying with the solution are primarily the migration to a more modern environment, giving our mobile employees easy access to the company network which is both fast and stable. For the future, we are putting our hopes into a general virtualisation of our workplace environment and are planning a fast migration of approx. 150 employee PCs to virtual workstations”, explains CEO, Alain Freiburghaus.
Partners.
