aagon Client Management in use at WISI Communications
Keeping a heterogeneous computer landscape technically up-to-date requires thick soles on the sneakers of IT admins. At WISI Communications, a system provider of reception and distribution technology, mobile communication and high-frequency connectors, the sneakers should last a little longer in future: With the acmp Suite from aagon, the IT team now manages most tasks from a central location.
The 30 or so design engineers at WISI use powerful and computationally intensive CAD programs to design the communication systems for which the company is known. They are set up and maintained by the design department itself or with the support of external consultants. The central IT department therefore has very little to do with this.
That's a good thing, because even apart from that, numerous small computer problems occur every day that IT administrator Nicolai Schwende and his colleagues have to deal with. They affect the standard programs that are installed on all 380 Windows PCs and notebooks belonging to the network at the company headquarters in Niefern and the external sites in Nuremberg, Breisach, Wettolsheim (France) and Stanislav (Poland): Acrobat Reader, Flash Player, Photoshop, Firefox, Chrome etc. In the past, they were available in a wide variety of versions. This is because WISI never strategically ordered large quantities of identical computers, but rather procured what was needed at the time. As a result, almost all brands can be found in the company, and virtually every colleague has their own individual client.
Fixing even simple errors was time-consuming
Nicolai Schwende: "Until now, this has made rectifying simple errors a time-consuming search for a needle in a haystack. If a colleague reported that he could no longer create a PDF, we regularly had to inspect the computer on site. We checked the Acrobat version and only then could we start diagnosing and troubleshooting - usually a software update had to be installed. That was sneaker administration, as every IT specialist knows it."
To enable the four-person IT department to focus on more urgent tasks, the decision was made in spring 2016 to introduce a client management system for automatic software distribution and license management. "After a comprehensive market analysis, acmp Suite was the product of choice for us," says Nicolai Schwende. "We liked the structure best, the way updates are distributed via a tidy interface and how the error analysis works. You quickly understand how it works. And at a convincing price."
Initial inventory
"First, we installed acmp Inventory - to check exactly how many clients we have," reports IT administrator Ralf Nowak. Some of the notebooks stowed away in the cupboard had not even been recorded in the system until then. A client management project therefore always begins with a proper inventory. This quickly reveals where the oldest programs are installed and where the clean-up must begin. As a rule, users do not take care of software maintenance on their computers. Sooner or later, it is inevitable that things will get stuck.
After the inventory, WISI introduced the acmp Desktop Automation client management system step by step, initially on the computers at the head office with two to three packages per week, then it was the turn of the field locations. "The aagon technicians gave us some tips and set up the database, but basically you can install and operate the client management system on your own," says Ralf Nowak. "We've been in contact with support two or three times so far and received feedback within a few hours."
Thanks to automatic software distribution, identical release versions are now installed on all company computers. "They all have the same version, and we can find the causes of problems much more quickly," explains Nicolai Schwende. "When we buy a new computer today and connect it to acmp Desktop Automation, it is loaded with all the standard software it needs in two minutes. This initial process used to take us a whole hour!"
No OS deployment
aagon's OS Deployment is not yet used at WISI. The reason for this is the high degree of client variation, on which different drivers would have to be installed for Windows to load automatically. From the IT team's point of view, automation is only worthwhile with at least 50 identical computers. Consequently, WISI still uses sneaker administration and installs new Windows 7 clients manually, while patches and updates are distributed via the WSUS server.
Manage licenses and detect vulnerabilities
WISI currently still manages the software licenses using a database developed in-house. However, this is to be discontinued as it is outdated and can no longer be developed further. In future, license management will be handled by the new Software Asset Management from aagon.As in the old database, it will be possible to assign licenses to specific users. It is also planned to use the new acmp vulnerability management from aagon.
Conclusion
The IT team wants to use the VUM module to identify client vulnerabilities and prevent viruses and Trojans from entering via unintentionally open ports.
The acmp solution therefore goes even further than the virus protection software already in use.
Briefly noted:
Hardly any computer within the WISI Group is of the same type or manufacturer. Over the years, this has resulted in a wide range of variations in the standard software used. Troubleshooting even the simplest problems therefore represented a disproportionate effort for the IT department. With the acmp Suite, the company has succeeded in ensuring uniformity here. WISI wants to use vulnerability management to identify previously undetected vulnerabilities and thus further increase protection against viruses and Trojans.
Workstations to be connected:
380
Products used:
acmp Inventory, acmp Asset Management, acmp Desktop Automation, acmp Vulnerability Management, acmp Software Detective, acmp Package Cloud
Project start:
March 2016
Time saving for IT administrators:
Two minutes instead of one hour to refuel a computer
About WISI Communications
Converging media, new multimedia offerings and broadband services require intelligent transport routes for their distribution. WISI Communications GmbH & Co KG is a global system provider specializing in CATV technology, reception and distribution technology, mobile communications and high-frequency connectors. The company has been a global pioneer in reception and distribution technology for more than eight decades. Its headquarters are in Niefern.
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