“Because we’re now able to offer more flexible delivery of applications, we can spread application development throughout the year rather than save it all for the end-of-year break.”

Louise de Villiers, Academic Support Manager, London School of Economics and Political Science

With more than 10,000 students enrolled at London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), the task of providing the applications they need could be complicated and time consuming. By using Application Virtualization (App-V) in the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack for Software Assurance, the university can now change physical applications into virtual services that are easily managed and can be upgraded as students and staff request them.

Business NeedsFounded in 1895 by Beatrice and Sidney Webb, LSE is one of the foremost social science universities in the world. Over the years, 15 LSE alumni and staff have been awarded the Nobel Prize, so it’s not surprising that the university has an outstanding reputation for academic excellence. Its research and teaching span the full breadth of the social sciences—from economics to anthropology.

Teaching tools need to reflect the high quality of education that students expect at LSE, so it was important that all 1,000 computers in IT labs and other public spaces were equipped with the latest applications. At the beginning of the academic year, IT administrators would build the image for the basic operating system, plus all the applications the university wanted to deliver to both student and staff computers. The image was growing larger every year so to provide the appropriate software, IT staff had to build different images for different uses. This was a time-consuming task that could only be completed during the university’s break at the end of the academic year. Instructors often built their course materials around specific software, so the

university couldn’t deliver upgrades to applications throughout the teaching year. However, students often requested upgrades whenever new versions of software were released. Louise de Villiers, Academic Support Manager at London School of Economics and Political Science, says: “To meet the changing technology needs of our academic community, we wanted to be a bit more flexible in the way we delivered applications, including multiple versions of the same applications delivered to computers.”

SolutionIT administrators at LSE decided that application virtualisation would solve its deployment problems. After briefly considering a solution by Symantec, senior managers at LSE chose App-V. This is a virtualization tool included in the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack, a desktop software suite that helps organisations manage IT environments. App-V changes physical applications into virtual services that can be managed by the IT team, but are never physically installed and don’t conflict with other applications. “We license the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack, which includes App-V, so it was a good opportunity to try it out,” says de Villiers.

Customer: London School of EconomicsWebsite: www.lse.ac.ukNumber of Employees: 1,500Country or Region: United KingdomIndustry: Education—UniversitiesPartner: add3

Customer ProfileLondon School of Economics and Political Science is one of the foremost social science universities in the world, with more than 10,000 students and a history of producing Nobel Prize winners.

Software and Services Solution− Microsoft Desktop Optimization

Pack for Software Assurance

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Microsoft Desktop Optimization PackCustomer Solution Case Study

Application Failure Reduced by 60 Per Cent as University Provides Software on Demand

In May 2009, de Villiers spent four weeks evaluating how to use App-V to sequence applications—creating applications that can be run in a virtual environment. After this phase, LSE hired Microsoft Gold Certified Partner add3 to train staff and help with the sequencing process. “We had a tight schedule of only three months to complete the project before the beginning of the next academic year in September, so we wanted a partner that could help us do the sequencing and provide training,” says de Villiers.

add3 set up a three-day training schedule to teach IT staff how to sequence and configure servers to run App-V. “add3 provided a comprehensive list of requirements. The team had clearly done it many times before and was really flexible,” says de Villiers. The App-V implementation went live in September 2009. The initial deployment provided a single image of the operating system across the campus, with 114 applications. Of these, 37 were stored on the operating system in the traditional way as part of the core build, and 77 applications were virtualised, only activated when requested by users.

BenefitsWith App-V, LSE can now manage applications easily with on-demand upgrades as students and staff request them. Virtual desktop applications don’t disrupt the applications that support course material, reducing system crashes and streamlining maintenance and deployment.

Application failure is reduced. “Since implementing App-V, we’ve had a 60 per cent drop in reports of application failure this academic year,” says de Villiers. Danny Clarke, Founder and Principle Consultant at add3, says: “Each application is packaged to run independently and in isolation from other applications. This eases application upgrades and modifications by treating an application as a standalone entity rather than being embedded in the operating system.”

One image fits all uses. Cutting the need for different versions of images throughout the campus streamlines user support. “The majority of the applications are now delivered through App-V so

there is no longer the need to create specific images with different sets of applications for different uses. Users can access the applications they need from their desktops without intervention from the IT team. This saves us time during installation, and means we can provide better support,” says de Villiers.

Partner expertise streamlines deployment. By partnering with add3—a specialist in desktop and application deployment, and virtualisation technologies—LSE met a tight deployment deadline while staff were fully trained on the technology.

Application updates are available immediately. If a staff member or a student asks for a software upgrade, LSE can now provide it on demand without disrupting course material that may be using a specific version of software. “Students used to complain that they’d have to wait for updated applications—now we can deliver them quickly and without causing any disruption,” says de Villiers.

Delivery team provides more services. “Because we’re now able to offer more flexible delivery of applications, we can spread application development throughout the year rather than save it all for the end-of-year break. This means we can meet the needs of the academic community more effectively,” says de Villiers.

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Document published November 2010