We have seen tremendous time savings utilizing Vector solutions. Basil Blume Chief Technology Officer, Centennial Bank of the West (read more)

It does exactly what we require... It is simple to use and roll-out. Colin Hayward System Manager, The Advertising Standards Authority (read more)

The On-Demand Concurrent Master licensing offered by Vector is appropriate for our highly efficient support team. Jos Schulte Gemeente Hengelo Head of IT (read more)

It saves us travelling to our remote campuses. It saves two, three, even four hours of travelling. Robert Halonen Network Analyst, NAIT (read more)

The support from Vector was outstanding. Our end-users are delighted. Khayam Khan IT Manager (read more)

It is an excellent and powerful solution. God help anyone who tries to take it off me Lyndale Foods Group (read more)

Customer: Centennial Bank of the West (Guaranty Bank and Trust Company), USA Solution: Vector IT Asset Management Solution The Centennial Bank of the West has locations in seven Northern Colorado cities with more than 200 employees and total assets of almost $600 million. The bank network’s IT infrastructure includes 225 workstations and 25 servers disbursed between 13 branch offices. Centennial Bank of the West's CTO chose Vector IT Asset Management Solution for its robust software inventory and software distribution functionality. The bank also licensed Vector PC-Duo Remote Control. The main goal of implementing the solution was to increase efficiency and response time to the bank’s staff while reducing overall costs by eliminating hours of travel time.

We have seen tremendous time savings utilizing Vector solutions. Basil Blume Chief Technology Officer, Centennial Bank of the West

The bank now performs automatic software rollouts and upgrades in one-fifth of the time it took prior to using Vector IT Asset Management solutions. Vector solutions are highly scaleable and can allow customers grow. Customers achieve even greater cost-saving benefits as numbers of workstations are increased. "We chose Vector Networks' software based on its value to the bank in terms of features, functionality, and price. Vector solutions have far reaching capabilities for remote desktop management and inventory functions, plus a number of features to manage end-users and their workstations. "The application is very solid and works extremely well in our internal LAN/WAN environment. All this was provided for a very reasonable price. We have seen tremendous time savings utilizing Vector solutions. We save the equivalent of one half-time person per year!" - Basil Blume, Chief Technology Officer, Centennial Bank of the West

Customer: The Advertising Standards Authority, UK Solution: Vector Asset and IT Service Management Solutions The Advertising Standards Authority uses Vector IT Service Management Solution for helpdesk and remote support. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the independent, self-regulatory body for non-broadcast advertising in the UK. They administer the British Code of advertising, sales promotion and direct marketing to ensure that ads are legal, decent, honest and truthful.

It does exactly what we require... It is simple to use and roll-out.

Colin Hayward System Manager, The Advertising Standards Authority

The London-headquartered ASA has implemented Vector PC-Duo Remote Control for helpdesk and remote support more than three years ago. The solution has continued to save time and money during this time. Recently, ASA has also implemented additional modules from both the Vector Asset and IT Service Management Solutions including Vector HelpDesk, Vector Inventory, and Vector Distribution. "A major advantage for the team is being able to deal with problems from a remote location. I sometimes work from home in East Sussex and if there are difficulties at the office I just remote in with Vector PC-Duo Remote Control to see what the problem is and most of the time fix-it then and there. "It does exactly what we require from a remote control product. It is simple to use and roll-out. The manuals were very easy to read and follow, which is very important. We only wish we had discovered its advanced capabilities, related to full asset management, earlier." - Colin Hayward, System Manager, The Advertising Standards Authority

Customer: Hengelo Local Government Authority, Netherlands Solution: PC-Duo® On-Demand Hengelo is a thriving town in eastern Netherlands, close to the border with Germany and with excellent transport links. It has preserved a sense of its history and is culturally very active. At the same time, it has created a climate which is attractive to modern industry and is proud to host such internationally renowned companies such as Akzo Nobel, Delaval, Eaton, Siemens, Stork Plastic Machinery and Thales. Hengelo is promoting expansion of its industrial and commercial activities with the development of the 190 hectares Westermaat Industrial Park, attracting organizations such as RTV Oost, Eaton and IKEA and with an international grade hotel and conference centre being built by Van der Valk.

The On-Demand Concurrent Master licensing offered by Vector is appropriate for our highly efficient support team. Jos Schulte Gemeente Hengelo Head of IT

It is no surprise then that the Local Government for Gemeente Hengelo is just as forward looking in its IT infrastructure. In the first half of 2013, a major refresh of the PC network is being completed. An important element of this is the introduction of virtualized Windows 7 desktops (with Windows 8 a future possibility), using VMware®, for approximately 700 of its PC users. Hengelo projects significant savings in operational costs, with all the benefits of only having to maintain standard images, without the need to distribute updates to hundreds of desktop systems. Virtualization delivers great savings in platform maintenance, but that still leaves a requirement for efficient and effective user support from the servicedesk. That has always been achieved using remote control techniques, plus excellent skills and experience in the support team, so Hengelo now needed a PC remote control solution compatible with VMware. At the same time, Hengelo would be retaining about 150 conventional Windows 'thick client' systems which would also need both user support and remote management and configuration support, and approximately 150 Windows servers would also need remote management and configuration support. Jos Schulte, head of the IT department, has overall responsibility for the total IT environment at Gemeente Hengelo delivering top quality service and support. Jos and his team of specialists decided they wanted a full­ featured Windows remote control product to work across Hengelo's servers, its conventional desktops and its new VMware hosted virtual desktops. Options were limited, but his team identified Vector Network's PC­-Duo® as providing consistent functionality across all their platforms. As Jos remarked - "One standard PC­-Duo Master UI provides access to any system, with all PC­-Duo's proven functionality such as shared connection for team working, file transfer, multi­monitor support, session recording and replay. The On-Demand Concurrent Master licensing offered by Vector is appropriate for our highly efficient support team. The ratio of support staff to supported users is a good match with the pricing for the Concurrent Master licensing, enabling us to take advantage of the Unlimited Hosts that is a feature of the Concurrent Master licensing model." PC­-Duo was rolled out in a few hours to the conventional desktops and the servers using Active Directory Group Policies, and embedded within the VMware baseline images.

Customer: The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology Solution: Vector IT Service Management Overview Robert Halonen, network analyst for Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), was faced with the formidable task of handling information system (IS) support for 2,000 employees. To make the situation even more challenging, staff were dispersed throughout six separate campuses within Edmonton. The Situation Robert and his staff needed to work fast and work smart in order to keep the desktops running smoothly and efficiently. Robert’s small staff had become tired of running to get from location-to-location in order to effectively support desktop users. Responding in a timely manner to the consistent calls for help to answer routine questions, managing desktop trouble tickets, performing software installations and upgrades, and keeping a current asset management database, were critical to the Organization’s efficiency. However, these goals were not being met. With numerous PCs dispersed in remote locations, it was taking days for an IS specialist to reach the problem PC and rectify a situation - no matter how simple or complex. Users were frustrated, efficiency was bottoming out, and the IS team was overwhelmed.

It saves us travelling to our remote campuses. It saves two, three, even four hours of travelling. Robert Halonen Network Analyst, NAIT

The Solution Mr. Halonen found a solution to his dilemma with Vector PC-Duo Remote Control. Empowered with Vector PC-Duo’s full featured remote capabilities, the IS team could provide hands-on remote access to the PCs used by NAIT’s administrative staff with ease -- all from their own desktops. The Benefits Vector PC-Duo Remote Control, along with other robust functionality from the Vector IT Service Management Solution, allowed Robert and his staff the ability to access detailed inventory of any user’s hardware configuration. They could now review virtually anything, from CPU type, speed, memory, and operating system to service pack information, printers, screen type and display driver, drive size and free space, network domain, network card, and more. Empowered with this information, the IS team could be remotely contacted by users in need via Vector HelpDesk and immediately respond to the call. The IS staff could control, share, show, evaluate and troubleshoot the problem PC all on the network from their own desktop. The response time went from days to minutes. "It’s the convenience of connecting to a remote machine, regardless of its location, when we have to do work," said Halonen. "If we have to do a five-minute update on something, it saves us traveling to our remote campuses. It saves two, three, even four hours of traveling there, doing some work and coming back." Vector PC-Duo Remote Control has become an integral training aid for the staff as well. It allows training managers to demonstrate their actions to their students with a useful ‘Show’ feature. The ‘Exhibit’ feature enables the trainer to present a student’s PC screen to any or all students using the ‘Scan’ facility, which automatically cycles through the student PC screens in turn. Clearly, using PC-Duo has reduced NAIT’s total cost of ownership and increases their return on investment by allowing the technicians to service more desktops in less time. "It has given users a sense of security by knowing they can have somebody look at problems right away," concluded Halonen.

Customer: Lyndale Foods Solution: Vector Asset Management Lyndale Foods Group, headquartered in Cheshire, specializes in producing and selling quality savory, sandwich, cake, and bread products from their five bakeries throughout the UK. The Group encompasses five businesses: Fords (Edinburgh), Hampsons (Bolton), Sayers (Liverpool), Maison Blanc (London) and Peter Hunts (Bolton). Lyndale has long been a customer of Vector PC-Duo Remote Control and uses the solution to support all of its PCs enterprise-wide. The company also recently purchased Vector Asset Management with Vector Inventory and Vector Distribution.

It is an excellent and powerful solution. God help anyone who tries to take it off me Lyndale Foods Group

The main goal of this implementation is part of its strategy to become Federation against Software Theft (FAST) accredited. The solution was also chosen as it integrates well with a number of the company's top desktop applications. "Lyndale been a user of Vector solutions for a number of years now. It is an excellent and powerful solution that helps us support our users on a number of disparate networks. God help anyone who tries to take it off me.”

Customer: Unite, UK. Solution: Vector PC-Duo Remote Control Summary: Hundreds of PCs supported from over a dozen remote sites are managed using Vector PC-Duo Remote Control. Vector Networks’ advanced remote control software makes helpdesk support, maintenance and training simple and efficient. THE CHALLENGE When Khayam Khan took on responsibility for the IT needs of the MSF Union (now Unite), a company representing over 400,000 members employed in the public and private sectors, he inherited an infrastructure that was ripe for improvement. The main challenge at MSF was to move all users from a legacy email system to a more scaleable and sophisticated email service. MSF decided to migrate the organization to Microsoft Exchange running on Windows Servers. The project had to be accomplished in a very short period of time with limited IT staff. The system included more than 14 sites with hundreds of users across the UK and Ireland.

The support from Vector was outstanding. Our end-users are delighted.

Khayam Khan IT Manager

This situation underlined the need to implement a remote control and maintenance application across the entire organization. The answer was to use a remote maintenance tool that would allow as many faults to be remedied as possible which have previously required a site visit or a lengthy support call. THE SOLUTION A Vector Networks’ authorized reseller arranged for an on-site demo for the entire support team. MSF’s IT Manager, Khayam Khan explains, “The support from Vector was outstanding. From day one it became apparent that Vector PC-Duo Remote Control would provide an excellent solution to our remote control requirements at a cost-effective price.” The biggest problem that had to be overcome was that of confidentiality. More specifically, how would users react when they realized that support staff could view files and configure PCs remotely without their knowledge? It was decided at the outset that MSF would enable the Vector PC-Duo option that would give users the option of accepting support staff access with a user entered a password. THE BENEFITS It was obvious that the previously accepted practice of dispatching support staff long distances to address minor problems was no longer tenable. This was due not only to the high costs incurred in travel and accommodation expenses but also because support staff were being diverted from other important tasks. Part of the answer to this challenge was to implement a set of tools that would allow software configuration changes to be performed remotely, either over the LAN, dialup lines, or ISDN links. Khan elaborated, “Implementing Vector PC-Duo Remote Control has meant that the level of service to our customers has risen tremendously. Problems which would often have been scheduled for resolution at the next on-site visit can now be remedied immediately. Our end-users are delighted.” BONUS – A UNIFIED TRAINING SOLUTION An unexpected user training bonus has also been realized from installing Vector PC-Duo Remote Control. In the past, if users in the Glasgow office required training in the use of an office package, support staff would have to travel across the UK, configure PCs, then train the users. After the session the trainer would then have to break-down the training equipment and install the new solution on the users’ PC. Apart from being an extremely inefficient use of a technical resource it also diverted allocated funds away from other areas such as development. For MSF the answer was to use Vector PC-Duo Remote Control to deliver interactive training to users at remote sites. Khan concluded, “Vector PC-Duo Remote Control has meant that a virtual trainer is always available for users so the roll-out of any new package brings immediate improvements in performance.”