Business applications make a pit stop at FASTBOX with Wyse thin computing

Drivers arriving at FASTBOX with their cars want exactly the same thing as Formula One racers at a pit stop:  To steer their vehicle into the pit lane, get it fixed without having to make an appointment und drive off right after. To make this possible the quick car-service branch of the Austrian Wolfgang Denzel AG created an IT-infrastructure with the help of Wyse Thin Clients, which does the same with the needed business applications and data: providing IT-service on the spot, reliable and efficient. FASTBOX GmbH & Co. KG is one of the many business branches of the Wolfgang Denzel AG; it was founded in 1938 by the race driver Wolfgang Denzel and today is a firmly estbalished constant in Austria's automobile market with its wide spectrum of brands and models, car-sharing solutions, cars for rent as well as its broad arrange of finance and service offers. The quick-service queue is spread over the entire country with its 22 stores and offers a fast and affordable repair service to all drivers independent from brand or model.

"With the FASTBOX stores, Denzel offers an efficient and low-cost service to drivers of all brands," Heinrich Starke, system administrator and the Thin-Computing project leader at Denzel, explains the requirements. "That is why the IT-structure, too, has to function slimly, efficiently and on a low-cost basis." For the FASTBOX stores the company has been counting on thin computing via a Microsoft terminal server since 2005. Via simple ADSL-cables with 768kb download and 128kb upload bandwidth the FASTBOX stores were connected with their respective two to three PC to the IT central in Vienna. "Even though we serviced those PC centrally," says Starke, "many tasks like for example installing updates for the operating system Windows XP were very complex and time consuming because of the weak data link. And if a PC really did fail, the administrator still had to be on site or the machine had to come to Vienna.” In the face of the necessary withdrawal of many PC in the FASTBOX stores, it was decided by the end of 2007 to give thin clients a closer look.

Thin Computing mit Wyse wins the race

“Since we didn't have any experience with thin computing technology ourselves so far, we had  X-tech to help us in finding the right vendor,” Starke retells. X-tech managing director Peter Höfer comments on this: “It's important to us that our clients get a product that fits their demands and expectations ideally. Because of our long lasting contacts and our know-how we were able to communicate an objective overview and a comparison of various possible products within a one-day seminar.”

Within this workshop HP, Igel and Wyse presented their thin computing solutions. “The Wyse technology convinced us,” Starke says. “Wyse is a vendor that focuses its development on thin computing. And you can see that because of their well-engineered and smooth solutions.” Thus the Wyse operating system Thin OS, for example, convinced the team with its slim 2 MB, as it's much easier to distribute over the low-capacity data links of the FASTBOX stores than the rivaling 50-60MB heavy operating systems of the competition. “Additionally, the Wyse device manager wowed us,” the IT-administrator tells us. The Wyse device manager enables remote monitoring and management of the thin clients with numerous functions in a very organized way. It makes an easy management of the clients and the user profiles for access to business applications and data possible. It allows for e.g. the distribution of full images or patches, execution of terminated updates, an automatic configuration of devices and a detailed inventory. “And last but not least, the engagement of the Wyse team and the cost-benefit ratio of the product convinced us,” Starke finishes his thoughts.

After the new configurations, user profiles, access rights etc. were set with the Wyse device manager, the PC in the FASTBOX stores were exchanged for 44 thin clients Wyse S Class in January 2008. The new devices were set up  and configured automatically within minutes and today provide business applications for all 120 FASTBOX employees in the entire country, fast and easy. All the applications developed particularly for car servicing tasks such as order processing und billing as well as query from parts catalogs and inventories are sent to the Wyse thin clients from the central processing center in Vienna via a Windows terminal server.

Smooth pit stop

“We can already see,” Heinrich Starke explains the advantages of the new technology, “that switching to thin computing definitely paid off. Log-in times for our team were reduced drastically and the application run smoothly. Administrating the devices in the FASTBOX stores also got a lot easier: Microsoft updates, for example, are no longer necessary at all. All in all we could reduce the front-end costs to about a fourth.” Unexpected side effects are as absent as failing machines, according to the project leader, even though they could be easily compensated with a  backup device thanks to the thin computing technology. “It's likely that the thin clients that are so small we can just attach them to the monitor, even more robust than your classic PC,” Starke speculates, “they're fanless and less dust-damage prone and thus perfect for this rough garage environment.”

But also the reduced power costs – about 85% less – add to the satisfaction with the new IT-service in the FASTBOX stores. “That's not only great for our budget,” Starke continues, “but also for our environment.” The successful implementation of the thin client computing technology has wide repercussions in the Wolfgang Denzel AG. An additional 16 thin clients were added to the Denzel customer service station as info points. In this way 500 employees, who themselves do not have a work station, access to a business portal and service applications. At the info point they can get news about further education, for example, register for courses or enter sick notes. “Moreover, we're right now assessing,” says Heinrich Starke, “where and how we can use the thin computing concept in the entire Denzel company rationally. Our experience with the FASTBOX stores has shown us that speed and efficiency are not privilege of the Formula One.”

• Case Study Denzel AG (german) (Typ: PDF, Größe: 1,2 MB)