Virtualizing Desktops for Higher Education: A ViewSonic Case Study

 

Colleges and universities today face several challenges supporting students, faculty, and staff with current technology. For example, the increasing demand for connecting a wider variety of BYOD devices places strain on understaffed IT resources. In addition, growing student bodies necessitate the deployment of more desktops, yet schools have limited amounts of IT funds. Many campuses also have needs for increased security, as well as a lower energy footprint.

How then, can education institutions meet these challenges while ensuring their campuses have the IT support needed to be productive and successful? In the case of Florida Atlantic University, they recently turned to a virtualized desktop infrastructure by outfitting computer labs and faculty offices with ViewSonic® SC-Z55 zero clients. Engineered to support VMware Horizon View, the SC-Z55 was fully compatible with FAU’s existing IT infrastructure, and was a perfect fit for both the university’s budget and green policies. Equipped with ViewSonic’s SC-Z55 zero clients, FAU began to immediately reap the many benefits of a VDI solution including the following:

• New computer labs were up and running within days rather than weeks, and single workstations were repurposed or upgraded in only hours.


• Centralized security, maintenance and management of computing resources save time and money for greatly reduced TCO.


• Computer labs are cooler and quieter with lower electricity cost, and the mountable design of the SC-Z55 frees up valuable desk space.

To learn how FAU utilized ViewSonic’s SC-Z55 zero clients to virtualize desktops, read the full case study here.

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