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*Please note: a version of this release was previously posted in error, this has been deleted and replaced with this correct version.

Desktop, application and virtualisation specialists, Point to Point, today announced the successful completion of a discovery project which will enable National Air Traffic Service (NATS) to move to a new virtualised desktop environment. NATS enlisted the help of Point to Point for the discovery portion of the project through the deployment of a slimmed down desktop virtualisation system designed to illustrate the tangible benefits of virtualisation to senior management.

NATS is a leader in air traffic management, providing air traffic control services for 15 major airports covering UK and eastern North Atlantic airspace. NATS was looking to improve the IT user experience by introducing greater flexibility and remote working facilities, while also future-proofing the IT environment to support the business’ growth ambitions.

Gavin Walker, Head of Information Solutions for NATS, comments: “We have 6000 employees across the organisation including operational, technical and general office workers, who all have varied user profiles in relation to their use of IT. Operational staff do not have dedicated desks, phones or PCs, but they do need access to IT services for general admin tasks. Technical engineering and development teams work across multiple sites and need remote access. The business also has an ambitious growth strategy, which includes expansion into new international regions, the introduction of new services and partners, and possible M&As. Therefore the ability to scale at a fast pace was also a key requirement.”

After careful consideration of the technologies available, NATS recognised that desktop virtualisation, which allows remote access to the corporate network from anywhere at any time, would be the right solution. Additionally, it was vital that the technology could be delivered through the cloud to enable the company to scale as and when required. The project would also include providing a connection to a role based computing view with integrated Identity Management to help the company deploy services and applications based on user profiling to further improve the user experience.

NATS started working with Point to Point in November 2011 and has now completed the planning and discovery stage of the project. Point to Point conducted a thorough examination of NATS IT environment, which involved testing applications, assessing the company’s long-term business plans and profiling the user-base to ensure the technologies suggested would be compatible with the IT environment.

Walker comments: “Point to Point worked very closely with us making site visits, talking to our staff, and didn’t just rely on empirical evidence to understand how we work. The discovery work was superb. Point to Point made it very clear what was achievable and what wasn’t, and presented us with various options along with supportive information outlining the different paths we could take. There was no pressure to choose one specific vendor or technology, they just gave us the pros and cons for each.”

Point to Point was also able to deliver a scaled down version of the planned desktop virtualisation system with Office 2010 called ‘Springboard’. Springboard was rolled out to 100 people across the organisation including the CEO and most of the executive team. “Getting stakeholder investment can be a challenge as IT is seen to be taking money away from the bottom line. Springboard helped us to demonstrate immediate results and provided an indication of what the system would be able to do once in place – and people have been raving about it! It has got the team enthusiastic about the project again which is fantastic.”

Point to Point getting lots of media attention for our on-going work with National Air Traffic Services…

Check out the links below!

• http://www.computing.co.uk/ctg/news/2163079/national-air-traffic-services-moves-virtualised-desktop-environment

• http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240147367/NATS-delivers-Office-2010-Visio-and-MS-Project-on-virtual-desktops

• http://www.cio.co.uk/news/3346716/nats-pilots-desktop-virtualisation-10-per-cent-of-staff/

• http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/cio-insights/desktop-virtualisation-six-ways-for-cios-to-get-it-right/362

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Any IT managers who are still in doubt about the phenomenon of consumer devices in the workplace should digest the sales figures for smartphones and tablets over the festive period.

An estimated 500,000 smartphones and tablets were unwrapped, and the total number of Apps downloaded to Apple and Android devices surged 125% to 242 million on Christmas day. These devices are no longer the preserve of the gadget loving geek. So what does this new found mass market appetite for gadgetry mean in the working world?

Inevitably personal devices in use at work, for work, are on the increase. The Managing Director now uses a tablet to take notes at meetings, the Marketing Manager monitors the social networks on a smart-phone and the Sales Director prefers to use a sleek Macbook instead of the standard issue corporate paving slab.

With the tablet and smartphone market now massively mainstream and more accessible than ever before, are IT departments clamping down on the use of these devices in the workplace or implementing the software which allows separation of the user’s work environment?

Analysts suggest that IT departments adopting a “lock down” approach are fighting a losing and wholly un-winnable battle.

The number of smartphones and tablets activated in the UK has now passed the eighteen million mark. Only the US and China currently exceed that figure.

With the release of the I-pad 3 and Kindle Fire later this year, eighteen million is a headline figure that will only keep growing.

The data security issues of having such devices in the workplace are well documented. The consumerisation story continues to divide opinion, but its rise undoubtedly makes the Virtualisation argument increasingly relevant.

We have invited RES Software to present their capabilities to our customers at our Citrix Synergy Update event in October, for further details please see our events section or alternatively go to www.ressoftware.com

Under certain conditions, customers may qualify for a fully-funded Proof of Concept and/or Pilot activity, provided by Point to Point and backed by Microsoft and Citrix.  To establish whether your organisation is entitled to funded services, please contact switchboard on 0118 936 9500 stating your interest in discussing v-Alliance with an appropriate account manager.