Client management from a single source
schauinsland-reisen discovers new horizons in computer management
Mobility is the core business of schauinsland-reisen, the fourth-largest travel provider in Germany. Now run by the third generation of the Kassner family, the travel provider sells its products through around 10,000 travel agencies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Mobility was also required when mobile workstations had to be set up for almost all 450 employees at the company's Duisburg headquarters in 2020. The client management system from aagon proved invaluable to the IT team.
Back in 2009, schauinsland-reisen decided to introduce a client management system and chose the acmp suite from aagon for this purpose. With the company's growth, the demands on the in-house IT department had previously continued to increase, pushing the five specialists to the limits of what was feasible. There was hardly any time left to automate the administration of the PC workstations.
This was not an option when new employees joined the company month after month. It took around four hours per workstation to equip each workstation with applications by hand - and possibly (if not already done by the manufacturer) to install Windows beforehand - recalls the project coordinator at the time, Michael Mrugowski: "When you realize that I'm just reacting instead of identifying problems in advance: I'm just reacting instead of identifying problems in advance and thus avoiding them - then it's time to fundamentally optimize the administration processes."
Fully integrated approach
Software for inventorying the hardware and software of the PC workstations was already in use at this time in order to be able to report the status of the IT assets to the accounting department for the annual financial statements. Should this now be supplemented with third-party products for automatic software distribution, automated operating system rollout, helpdesk and license management? The IT team opted for a fully integrated approach, with all these functions coming from a single source in the client management system. "A construct of separate products always causes interface problems, you have to internalize different user interfaces and operating concepts, and when problems occur, the manufacturers blame each other," says Michael Mrugowski.
"The first step in setting up a client management system - as was the case at schauinsland-reisen - is always to install its agents on all workstations in the company. acmp largely automates the process; this part was completed in less than two days. From this point on, the agents regularly provide inventory data on the hardware and software of the workstations to the central management console of the client management system. "
Computer setup in 45 minutes instead of four hours
The IT team also began to package the software programs used in the company for automatic distribution. In total, around 50 different applications are in use - from Microsoft Office and statistics software to the ERP system for the travel industry. Even though not all applications have been packaged yet, the time saved when rolling out a new computer is already clearly noticeable: "The provision of a new workstation only takes a maximum of 45 minutes instead of four hours!" praises Armin Frick, who has been responsible for acmp at schauinsland-reisen since 2017.
Many programs, such as the Bistro Portal quotation comparison system, are already available as a Microsoft Installer (MSI) package, which makes the roll-out even easier. Armin Frick: "MSI is always very grateful, because it's the fastest way to work in acmp. The client management handles the setups very well."
For operating system updates, schauinsland-reisen no longer uses Windows Server Update Services, which Armin Frick found very cumbersome, but the aagon tool CAWUM. At the same time, acmp Managed Software and the Asset Management module were introduced. Managed software means that the IT department no longer has to package small programs such as Chrome and can carry out such updates using pre-packaged software bundles for various third-party programs. This saves a lot of time.
Process all client management tasks in one console
schauinsland-reisen has made extensive use of the aagon software's ability to create instructions for installation routines: The IT team has developed almost 300 client commands itself over the years. There are commands for automatically mounting printers when someone changes offices, for BIOS updates and for various programs that cannot be distributed via managed software, such as the telephone software or some SharePoint tools.
All client management tasks at schauinsland-reisen are now covered by the console - impressive proof of the holistic nature of the solution. In the meantime, schauinsland-reisen has acquired 710 licenses. This enabled the IT team to switch to mobile workstations very quickly in spring 2020. "Two of our colleagues first had to procure hardware at lightning speed. We were then able to quickly put together a collection of software and the operating system in the system and thus get the remote computers up and running very quickly. Within two weeks, we were able to get 200 workstations up and running. We would never have been able to do this the traditional way," recalls Frick.
Restructuring of IT equipment
At the beginning of 2022, the IT department began replacing all previous PCs with standardized notebooks with docking stations, which should allow more flexibility when choosing where to work. Armin Frick: "We rolled out 100 of the new notebooks within two weeks - an impossible feat without client management."
The IT department particularly appreciates aagon's openness towards customer wishes and requirements. For example, those from schauinsland-reisen to make the helpdesk tool multi-client capable so that other departments can also use the helpdesk tool in the future. The manufacturer aagon is currently working on making this possible. Armin Frick: "If the different tickets get mixed up with each other, this only leads to confusion. aagon takes care of such requests and listens to the customer. The client management software grows with the market, which we like."
Briefly noted:
The travel provider schauinsland-reisen has continued to expand its client management solution from aagon over the past few years. All client management tasks are now handled by the IT department. The rapid changeover to mobile workstations for almost all employees would not have gone so smoothly without the platform.
Workstations to be connected:
710 Windows Clients
Products used: acmp Core, acmp Desktop Automation, acmp OS Deployment, acmp Helpdesk, acmp License Management, acmp Managed Software, acmp Asset Management incl. acmp Contacts Adapter, acmp CAWUM, acmp Container Adapter
Project start:
2009
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