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Meeting the needs of innovators on day one
Draper eliminates workflow bottlenecks, ensures each employee has the right client device and speeds provisioning by 64 percent with Dell
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Customer
Draper
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Industry
Research and development
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Offerings
Dell Latitude, OptiPlex and Precision client devices
Dell UltraSharp monitors
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Key Challenges
Accelerating innovation and efficiency
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Outcomes
64% acceleration in device provisioning
81% faster device imaging
Virtual environments are delivered in 30 minutes instead of two hours
Improves staff satisfaction and recruiting efforts
Boosts efficiency and innovation
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CHALLENGES
Remove bottlenecks to innovation
Draper continually pushes the boundaries of what’s possible. Using a variety of technologies, Draper’s staff design and produce products such as spacecraft guidance systems for NASA, tools that detect biological attacks for the U.S. Department of Defense, autonomous undersea vehicles and exoskeletons for soldiers.
Although Draper has always maintained a rapid pace of innovation, its previous client devices were slowing efficiency. All new employees were issued the same workstation or laptop, which was sized for typical business workflows. This created inefficiency because engineers, scientists and designers had to submit requests to the IT department to get additional compute, memory, storage or graphics processors for their client devices. Vanessa Bryan, director of client services at Draper, says, “People had adjusted to the cadence but the à la carte configurations were taking a lot of cycles away from our specialized workforce.”
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Our Approach
When Draper began working with Dell Technologies on a new hybrid cloud, it also engaged the organization for an end-to-end client solution. Gene Surilou, desktop engineering manager at Draper, says, “We can provide everyone with the right device by working with Dell, and its products deliver better capabilities and quality than the competition.”
Today, Draper issues devices based on users’ roles. For example:
• Desk-centric workers and corridor warriors who need only Microsoft Office and other business applications use Dell OptiPlex workstations and Dell Latitude laptops.
• Specialized workers such as engineers use Dell Precision mobile and fixed workstations to support SolidWorks and other resource-hungry applications.
To make it easy for anyone to work in shared spaces, the company’s atrium and conference rooms are equipped with OptiPlex desktops. If employees need faster performance, they can use the OptiPlex desktops to connect to their personal devices.
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“We didn’t need to go to multiple vendors. We had a team come in from Dell Technologies and design a cohesive enterprise solution.”
Vanessa Bryan, Director of Client Services, Draper
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OUTCOMES
Speeds productivity
With the new Dell solution, device provisioning is 64 percent faster and desktop imaging is 81 percent faster. “It used to take us 14 days to deploy a PC,” explains Bryan. “Today, it takes less than 5 days. And our build times have gone from 4 hours to 45 minutes.” Surilou says, “I also save at least 5 minutes for every system I set up now that we’re using automated tools from Dell. We have about 5,200 devices, so that translates into significant savings. With our new hybrid cloud, I can also deliver a VM in 30 minutes, instead of 2 or more hours.”
Improves recruiting and staff satisfaction
By providing every employee with the most appropriate and modern client device, Draper has improved its recruiting efforts. Mike Crones, CIO of Draper, says, “We need to get devices into the hands of new hires as quickly as possible. On day one, hour two, we can now say, ‘Here's your new Dell system, ready to rock.’"
Gives staff the right options
Draper has also cut complexity and boosted efficiency by using standardized technologies in the most appropriate form factor. “We get the same computer in a standard, small and micro device from Dell,” explains Surilou. “And we can provide people with a high-quality, right-sized monitor with the UltraSharp line. For example, an ultrawide UltraSharp can handle the job of three monitors without the bulkiness, and it provides a more immersive experience for product designers.” Depending on their job and workspace, employees use a standard, curved, ultrawide, or HD-4K Dell UltraSharp monitor.
Improves innovation
Providing IT based on employees’ roles drives workforce transformation. “By partnering with Dell for client devices, we’re no longer dealing with so many tickets about device performance,” says Bryan. “We’ve built trust with our internal customers. And client devices are no longer just endpoints used to get email and write documents. Instead, they’re tools that are integrated into the DNA of every process.”
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Copyright © 2018 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. All Rights Reserved. Dell, EMC and other trademarks are trademarks of Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. Other trademarks may be trademarks of their respective owners. This case study is for informational purposes only. The contents and positions of staff mentioned in this case study were accurate at the point of publication in August 2018. Dell and EMC make no warranties—express or implied—in this case study.