Challenges

The cost to provide in-home agents with hardware and software to ensure a consistent, seamless service experience, with company branding, was prohibitive. The time to set up an in-home agent was days. IT would have to manage software updates and upgrades at the individual agent site which was difficult and time-consuming. In-home agents and customers experience would be negatively impacted, resulting in numerous agent support calls and increased customer support calls. They also faced the need to migrate to Windows 10; over 70% of their endpoint hardware was not compliant with Windows 10. They needed to find a cost effective alternative.

Approach

IGEL analyzed companies’ data center current hardware and software structures and business needs for operating and cost optimization. Both companies run on Citrix environments. As a strong endpoint Citrix partner, IGEL could easily assess the current Citrix environment for optimization. Third Octet, an IGEL and Citrix professional services partner, was also consulted.

Solutions

IGEL recommended both companies migrate their call centers to Windows 10 and adopt IGEL operating systems (OS) for a cost effective and secure alternative to deliver the applications and data to their agents. IGEL operating systems (OS) units, VOIP phones and routers were provided to at-home users. IGEL software driven end points reduced hardware replacement or new hardware costs by approximately $1,200 per user, resulting in a considerably more inexpensive way to provide at-home users with their VDI connection. In-house users requiring hardware upgrades were provided IGEL units on an as needed basis. To achieve uniform branding and security across all users, the IGEL unit is configured with the embedded VPN client and Citrix Receiver. Managing Windows 10 in the data center enables the IT team to perform upgrades once and apply to all in-house and at-home users at one time. After the initial configuration, only minimal updates are required on the edge, approximately every quarter. End point management costs are significantly decreased.

Benefits

These customers have experienced the substantial savings of using low cost software driven end points from IGEL on existing hardware rather than replacing all new hardware at the edge of the network. Industry statistics predict 70% of hardware will need to be replaced to support Windows 10. IGEL enables you to reuse the same hardware and connect to Windows 10 in the data center/cloud for considerably less cost than hardware replacement. The endpoint complexity and cost of management of Windows 10 at the edge of the network is also substantially reduced with the use of IGEL software driven endpoints. Simple, Safe, Secure! The IGEL solution delivers value far above its cost.