Low-cost computing for municipalities

With the significant contribution of NComputing’s L300 virtual desktop device, Esenler Municipality, based in Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, now has its first digital library. Deployed by Ertugrul Gunay, Minister of Culture and Tourism, the library includes over 7,500 digital books, of which 2,500 are audio books designed for people who are visually impaired.

To be successful, the library needed to provide users with access to their extensive selection of digital books while also keeping the library network secure. Initially, Esenler considered deploying traditional PCs but were very discouraged at the high cost and complexity. The level of control over users was critical since users accessing the digital library database are constantly changing. To adequately secure the library network, Esenler Municipality realized that they would need to upgrade their existing computer architecture, adding to the expense of the new library. Yet, like most governmental agencies, IT budgets and support resources were limited, requiring expensive outsourcing. An interview with Esenler Municipality reveals, “Whenever we encountered a problem with the installation or maintenance of our computers, we had to take on professional service from an IT reseller which affected our budget tremendously as we owed large payments for the service.” It became increasingly clear to Esenler Municipality that they couldn’t settle on the old way of delivering computing to the library if they were to meet their budget and design goals of the new digital library. They needed a new way of doing computing that would be secure, cost effective, low maintenance, and efficient allowing users to easily access library data.

The Search for a Secure Desktop Virtualization Solution

Esenler Municipality assessed traditional thin clients and arranged demos by different manufacturers but found that these solutions were complex and required third-party hardware components, adding to the overall cost. After conducting extensive testing of NComputing’s L300 access devices Esenler was satisfied that they had found the answer to the problem. The NComputing systems were cost effective and secure so they would be able to provide more access stations to users, a goal of the new digital library. In addition, the NComputing systems were compatible with existing applications, reliable, and easy to manage. Expensive third party IT services would not be required to keep them running which had been the case for the library’s PCs. For their initial deployment, Esenler turned to Dojop Technologies, a leading NComputing reseller in Turkey, to purchase 3 PCs and 30 L300 access devices.

NComputing Raises the Bar

Since the deployment of the NComputing desktop virtualization solution, Esenler has realized many benefits. First Esenler has saved significant physical space as virtual desktops are small, rugged and can be mounted to monitors to consolidate the computing to just a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Second, electricity costs have been reduced by 75% as NComputing’s access devices are environmentally friendly and consume only 5 watts of electricity. Third, reducing the amount of electricity that is consumed by the PCs and monitors considerably reduces the heat and noise, keeping the room cool without the need for additional air conditioning. Finally, users have benefited from the reliability and convenience the NComputing solution offers as they now have access to a state of the art digital library.

A Path to a Better Tomorrow

At this juncture The Department of Culture and Tourism has plans to double the number of books stored in the Digital Library database by year-end. A representative from Esenler Municipality explains, “With the low cost of entry, easy set up, and high performance, NComputing’s technology will revolutionize the desktop virtualization market. We now have the budget to purchase additional technical devices such as monitors, printers, and software that can facilitate a better learning environment.”