Citrix Virtualization Journal

Citrix Systems announced that Campbell Union High School District in Silicon Valley, has deployed Citrix XenDesktop with HDX technology for more than 8,000 students and faculty beginning with the 2009-2010 school year. The school district will improve security, simplify desktop management and realize an estimated savings of $250,000 each year compared to standard desktop purchasing – with additional savings expected as their desktop virtualization project continues to expand.

Serving more than 7,600 students across seven campuses, Campbell Union High School District first explored desktop virtualization as a way to help bring down skyrocketing hardware and IT management costs. The district’s IT team serves the computing needs of all students, as well as 650 employees and faculty members. In addition to personal PCs for staff members and student laptops in each classroom, each campus also provides multiple computer labs for instruction and student use. The maintenance, security, upkeep and refresh cycle for all those PCs and laptops was placing a real strain on the district’s budget. Desktop virtualization dramatically simplifies this process, allowing IT to manage all desktops from a central location while delivering a rich, personalized experience to each user, regardless of their location or the device they are using.

“This model is so much simpler. I just push a button centrally, and it’s done,” said Charles Kanavel, director of technology for Campbell Union High School District. “That simplicity leads directly to cost savings. Using Citrix XenDesktop, our savings on this year’s replacement cycle is $250,000. That includes the infrastructure and all the pieces behind the desktop that make it all work. But that’s just the beginning of the realized savings – we’re extending the lifecycles of our computers and can now effectively turn any old machine into a low-cost thin client. And because of Citrix’s HDX technology, we’re able to do all this while giving students a rich, high-definition experience, even with older PCs and laptops.”

Desktop virtualization with Citrix XenDesktop gives Campbell Union the ability to manage all desktops centrally in the datacenter. Applications are installed, upgraded and patched once, then securely delivered over the network to any device, including PCs, Macs, laptops, netbooks and thin clients. Students, faculty and staff benefit from a fast “high-definition” Windows desktop experience that always feels new. At the same time, Campbell Union’s IT team can eliminate all the time previously needed to manage and support each individual desktop computer, and instead apply precious personnel and budget resources to other important projects.

Kanavel emphasized that, in the education space, his IT team is faced with “one-time money,” which makes it even more important to be extremely careful when purchasing new hardware. He also cites additional savings on management costs thanks to Citrix XenDesktop, but especially appreciates the simplicity of managing school computers via Campbell Union’s new desktop virtualization solution.

Kanavel also offered advice for other schools considering desktop virtualization. “Labs are highest density and highest touch, so we deployed there first,” said Kanavel. “Students can go from class to class, and their profiles follow them – plus now they have access from home.”

“Based on our market surveys, 80 percent of schools in the U.S. are considering desktop virtualization technologies to solve their instructional computing challenges,” said Dave Podwojski, director of Citrix Government, Education & Health. “As the first school district in California to roll out Citrix desktop virtualization district-wide, Campbell Union is leading the way in demonstrating that virtual desktops can improve security, simplify management and save hundreds of thousands of dollars, all while improving student access to technology-based educational instruction. And when it comes to desktop virtualization, no solution on the market is more proven than XenDesktop.”

“This is the future,” added Kanavel. “With those kinds of cost savings and increased performance, it’s a no-brainer.