Leading european shipbuilder simplifies IT management with the N-series

In 1998 Factorias Vulcano began a project to consolidate the management of its IT applications. The company deployed Citrix Metaframe Servers to host corporate applications on central servers and allow remote access for users of the corporate network. The introduction of Citrix Metaframe enabled more than 75 users to get connected to a single OS and share ICT resources, resulting in significant cost efficiencies for the company.

However, as Factorias Vulcano’s IT infrastructure was expanding, the company needed to refresh its current thin clients and further centralise device management to boost productivity and lower maintenance costs. Another key objective was reducing energy use, while delivering high quality multimedia user experience.

To achieve these goals, Factorias Vulcano needed a thin client solution that integrates with the existing Citrix IT infrastructure and provides enhanced management features that simplify deployment and support.

On the road to IT transformation

To find a solution that meets their business needs Factorias Vulcano worked with their Iberian partner Ozona, a leading IT solutions integrator and reseller in Spain. As a key Citrix partner in Spain, Ozona had the expertise and IT skills required to advise Factorias Vulcano on the best course of action on this project.

After a careful consideration of the existing ICT assets and areas that required improvement, Ozona suggested deploying NComputing’s N400 thin clients.

“We considered a number of solutions and NComputing’s N-Series clients stood out as the only solution that was perfectly suited to our needs for replacing our client computers”, said Fernando Vázquez, Head of Information Technology Systems at Factorias Vulcano.

“Optimised for Citrix HDX environments, NComputing’s N-Series thin clients offered a low-cost, high-performance solution that could be easily integrated with existing Citrix applications and IT infrastructure to deliver excellent user experience and accelerate the adoption of virtualisation technology across the enterprise”.

The implementation

Factorias Vulcano needed a solution that could easily integrate with the existing Citrix XenApp 6.5 platform. Designed to deliver on-demand applications, Citrix XenApp 6.5 required compatible thin clients that could not only deliver superior multimedia experience, but could also provide the needed cost and energy efficiency and simplify device management.

The implementation process was very straightforward and the equipment installation was very simple. It took just 15 minutes for the NComputing N400 thin clients to be installed, configured and become fully operational, enabling employees to perform their job functions without any disruption.

The implementation process will take place in different stages with a goal to roll out the service to all 150 employees in the Vigo premises of the company, including the engineers. The first phase of the project started with deploying 50 units of the N400 thin clients which are currently being used by the administration and finance departments to access ERP and other core business applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Microsoft Outlook, Internet Explorer, Acrobat, etc.

The solution

The N400 thin client is fully optimised for Citrix environments and delivers 100% rich HDX experience at approximately one third of the cost of typical HDX-capable PCs and traditional thin client devices.

The solution leverages NComputing’s powerful third generation Numo 3 System-on-Chip (SoC) technology that delivers an unmatched level of performance and device capability, enabling organisations to further accelerate desktop virtualisation into enterprises.

The SoC technology enables the N-series thin clients to support and simplify XenDesktop, XenApp, and VDI-in-a-Box virtualisation deployments with full HD video while using less than 5 watts of power.

Moreover, the N400 thin clients embed critical functionalities that enable customers to remotely manage firmware and software updates from a central operations centre. This helps reduce IT maintenance costs and simplify the management of the thin client devices.

“NComputing’s N400 has the best quality/price ratio on the market. In addition, the ease of integration immediately into our existing systems with zero downtime has delivered immediate ROI. End user acceptance has been unanimous.” said Fernando Vázquez, Head of Information Technology Systems at Factorias Vulcano.

The results

The deployment of the NComputing N-series thin clients helped Factorias Vulcano resolve all challenges that were initially addressed in the objectives of the project.

The high HDX performance and the ease of access to the XenApp environment have resulted in improved user experience. Furthermore, following the installation of the N400 clients, Factorias Vulcano has managed to reduce IT energy consumption by 70%.

Another great benefit for the company was achieving dramatic operational efficiencies and cost reductions for IT maintenance and hardware replacement.

The transitioning to more reliable and higher performance virtualisation technologies has enabled Factorias Vulcano to cut down incidents related to PC hardware maintenance and replacement by 80%, while speeding up time to resolution of such issues by 90%.

This astonishing improvement in IT management has resulted in reducing overall time for maintaining and supporting IT systems by 480 hours, thus delivering further financial and operational efficiencies.

“NComputing products are the ideal solution for any company that needs a centralised management of its virtual thin clients,” said Fernando Vázquez, Head of Information Technology Systems at Factorias Vulcano.

“We are really delighted with the results. The cost savings and operational improvements that we have achieved are impressive and what is equally important for us is the significant boost to work efficiency and user experience that we have experienced. This validates our strong commitment to improving our work environment and partnering with the best technology vendors to foster innovation in our business.”

About Factorias Vulcano

With over 90 years of history Factorias Vulcano is one of the leading shipbuilding companies in Spain. The company specialises in cargo, passenger and special purpose ships as well as in Offshore Construction Vessels including seismic vessels, chemical tankers and accommodation vessels.

Throughout its long history Factorias Vulcano has continuously adapted to its surrounding circumstances and managed to maintain a competitive edge. One of the key advantages of Factorias Vulcano was leveraging advanced technology to build strong specialisation in the high value-added vessels segment.