Pratt and Whitney, a global leader in the design, manufacturing and support of aircraft engines, gas turbines and space propulsion systems, has turned to Wyse Technology, domain experts in server-centric computing, to provide a low-cost IT solution to transform the paper-intensive operations of their factory floor into a secure and reliable server-centric environment. With the addition of Wyse's solution, employees can access manuals and work orders from a centralized terminal server. The Grand Prairie, Texas office, which repairs turbine module components for commercial jet engines, deployed the Wyse Winterm Windows CE-based terminals, Rapport for Wyse management software and Wyse Expedian terminal server acceleration software to provide cost-efficient real-time access to stored information across numerous product lines from a safe and reliable device.
"To make our transition to a paperless office successful, we knew we needed a device that could withstand the harsh atmosphere of a turbine manufacturing floor that operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week," said Pratt and Whitney's IT manager Ed Talbot. "Wyse's thin clients proved to be extremely reliable in this environment, and with the added benefits of Rapport for Wyse and Wyse Expedian software, we were able to increase the performance and capacity of our Microsoft terminal server and manage all of the Winterm thin clients from a central location without the need to touch the devices. This resulted in a significant decrease in IT administration costs."
With no movable parts and no demands on users to update or administer software, the Winterm thin clients were an ideal fit for Pratt and Whitney. The devices are based on Microsoft's Windows CE and work in a centralized server environment with popular thin-client solutions like Windows 2000 and 2003, Windows NT 4.0, Terminal Server Edition, and Citrix MetaFrame. The Windows-CE based product has a tiny footprint, an attractive design and comes with fully integrated 16-bit stereo sound capability, 10/100BaseT network support, and four USB ports.
"Pratt and Whitney's deployment of Wyse's technology on their factory floor exemplifies the benefits of its small footprint as well as the inherent power consumption and cost savings that Wyse provides to the manufacturing industry," said David Rand, director of corporate marketing at Wyse Technology. "With the addition of Wyse Expedian and Rapport for Wyse software IT management tasks are simplified and CIOs can realize the extended benefits from current IT infrastructure through increases in both application and server performance. The combination of all three of these server-centric, best-of-breed solutions from Wyse provides decision-makers with an affordable solution with enhanced security, manageability and reliability."
Rapport for Wyse management software enables Pratt and Whitney to conduct four critical desktop management functions from a single, central location: software distribution, device diagnostics, device configuration and asset management. Rapport allows Pratt and Whitney administrators to replace all of the software that resides on a Wyse thin client, as well as perform updates to specific applications on any device. Additionally, Rapport delivers hands-free device configuration, which allows Pratt and Whitney to adjust settings for any device. Finally, Rapport enables Pratt and Whitney to perform asset information on their network, which includes not only the number, type and location of devices, but specific information about each device.
In addition to Rapport for Wyse is Wyse Expedian software, which analyzes how the various components of application software utilize memory, and then automatically and continuously optimize the server environment to provide greater application performance and user scalability. Additionally, Wyse Expedian's new management console makes the software simple for IT staff to install and administer, particularly in enterprises and data centers that manage massive server farms.
Wyse Technology (now part of Dell Desktop Virtualization and Cloud Client-Computing) maximizes the benefits of server-centric computing. The company delivers access to Windows and web applications and has end-to-end expertise from the server, through the network, to the desktop. Wyse makes server-centric computing more manageable and cost-effective through: software that delivers better ROI from existing servers and PCs; desktop and mobile thin-clients that provide easy and affordable access to information; software tools that manage a broad spectrum of information access devices; and professional services to make it all work better together. Wyse customers gain a greater return from their existing technology investments, mitigate business risks, and improve their bottom line. The company has been #1 in thin-client market share for the last six years, and has been named Microsoft "Embedded Partner of the Year" for three years running.