NBS Bank, a division of the Board of Executors (BoE) Bank, has saved R2.5 million over the past 12 months using Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) for software roll-out. The organisation recently implemented Service Pack 3 (SP3), the latest service pack for Microsoft`s SMS 2.0, as part of a maintenance plan it has with Unisys Africa.
NBS expects cost savings to be ongoing as the business grows continuously and has between eight and ten software roll-outs per month. The solution was implemented by BoE`s Group IT Division - KwaZulu-Natal, which also manages and operates the SMS product.
"The features and functionality of SMS 2.0 are continually improved upon with the installation of each Service Pack," says Diane McCarthy, customer relationship executive for the BoE Group at Unisys`s Durban office. "The product is installed at 10 primary and 27 secondary server sites around the country, serving 2 800 users."
"The return on investment figures are based on a conservative estimate of R250 per remote PC software rollout, if a technician had to visit each site as in the past," says Seggie Govender, SMS administrator for BoE Group IT - KZN. "Savings are also realised when a fault in a remote location is repaired centrally. This saves on travel and man hours, and provides quicker turnaround times."
BoE installed SMS version 1.2 in 1997, implemented various service packs followed by an upgrade to SMS version 2.0, and has now implemented SP3. If the organisation had continued to perform manual software rollouts by visiting each site, it would have had to outsource the operation due to the drain on resources.
The software roll-outs using SMS focus on the desktop, where the Microsoft Office automation suite of products features.
"There is a plethora of applications used by the various business units and SMS is used to roll out upgrades and new installations," says Lex Stewart, support services manager at BoE Group IT - KZN.
SMS is touted as a scalable means of reducing the cost of change and configuration management for Windows-based desktop and server systems. The suite`s planning tools include hardware/software inventory and compliance checking, which compares inventory to a predefined list of hardware or software. Reporting is provided via a customised version of Crystal Reports. Deployment tools allow for unattended software installation as well as other features and report back to the administrator the status of the installation. The suite is also heavily integrated with Microsoft Windows NT and Microsoft SQL Server.
One of the features NBS is increasingly making use of is tracking software licences. Any large organisation knows this can be a serious problem, especially when the Business Software Alliance (BSA) wants to conduct an audit. "With Microsoft`s new licence fee structure we have to ensure that we know exactly how many licences we have at any given moment," says Stewart.
SMS has had a huge impact on the number of technicians in the field. The BoE Service Centre in KwaZulu-Natal makes extensive use of the remote management option. The Service Centre is a central helpdesk facility that employees countrywide can telephone for support. With SMS agents can take remote control of a caller`s PC to resolve problems. "That`s improved our fault resolution capability and greatly reduced the time it takes to do so, which has a direct impact on costs," says Stewart.
He adds, however, that technicians are still required in the field to perform certain tasks where hands-on intervention cannot be replaced by a remote software tool.
Says Stewart: "A general trend in the IT industry is consolidation. Everyone is being affected by the economy. SMS is in keeping with facilitating doing more with less."
The entire SP3 implementation project required only one week and took place after hours, causing no disruption to NBS`s business.
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