Máxima Medisch Centrum (MMC), a 865-bed hospital in the Netherlands
employs 3,500 people and provides a total package of basic healthcare
services in the region Eindhoven-Kempenland, with specializations in
neonatal intensive care and dialysis. A merger enabled the organization
to build a complete new IT architecture and centralize many functions.
MMC
has a large number of applications because many small groups within the
hospital use their own specialized applications. Their ultimate goal is
running 80 percent of all applications centralized on Citrix
Presentation Server. In addition, they prefer thin clients wherever
possible. Because this goal is difficult for their physicians that need
graphical intensive applications, they needed an additional solution.
Cam IT Solutions bv, a Systems Integrator with 20 years history,
proposed and designed a solution based on Citrix Presentation Server and
RES Workspace Manager. Cam IT Solutions also advised MMC to take a look
at another product from RES Software called RES Automation Manager, a
tool for automation of software installation on their Citrix
Presentation Servers, Windows XP clients and Windows servers. It took
only a few weeks to make the decision to switch to Automation Manager.
Now all systems run the Automation Manager agent to automate many
change and reporting tasks. The combination of both Workspace Manager
and Automation Manager eliminates the need for custom made scripts and
automates many IT administration tasks. It perfectly complements other
technologies in use by MMC, like Citrix Presentation Server, Microsoft’s
Remote Installation Services and Microsoft Application Virtualization
(SoftGrid).
Thanks to the RES Software, the maintenance window for administration
of servers and desktops is much shorter than ever before, which
improves the general availability of IT services. They instantly know
differences between systems and can update them automatically. Also, in a
Citrix environment, it is extremely important that servers in a farm
are identical. With Automation Manager this can be realized in a snap,
resulting in a stable infrastructure. Instead of sequential
installations, they now run in parallel and it takes about one minute to
initiate the process.
