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The University Hospitals of Leicester (UHL) are one of the biggest and busiest National Health Service (NHS) trusts in the United Kingdom, incorporating the Leicester General, Glenfield and Royal Infirmary hospitals. The hospitals have more than 14,000 IT users and over 7,000 PCs. The existing physical PC estate was in need of a refresh estimated to cost £2.5 million and their existing Citrix XenApp application virtualisation implementation was experiencing severe performance problems. Ongoing infrastructure management was also increasing operational costs and complexity.

UHL decided to transform its desktop computing environment using the VMware Horizon Suite including VMware Horizon View, Mirage and Workspace. VMware Horizon View was to provide stateless (90%) and persistent (10%) virtual desktops to the staff, nurses and clinicians with simplified management, the security and control of centralised desktops and performance that was far superior to their existing physical PCs. VMware Horizon Mirage was used to centrally manage physical desktops used by junior clinicians that could not be virtualised and required local execution of applications. VMware Horizon Workspace provided the entire estate with secure access to and control of data on any device while reducing infrastructure management costs.

After deciding to redesign its desktop computing platform, UHL turned to Centralis, a strategic consultancy and VMware partner specializing in desktop virtualisation, and IBM to design and outsource their desktop virtualisation estate. The result was an innovative new architecture using the IBM PureFlex deeply integrated compute, storage and networking system with Atlantis ILIO storage optimisation software. With the Atlantis ILIO Diskless VDI software, UHL was able to use local server RAM as storage for their VMware Horizon View virtual desktops, dramatically lowering cost and improving desktop performance.

With its integrated VMware Horizon View, IBM PureFlex and Atlantis ILIO implementation, UHL was able to reduce boot times from as much as 15 minutes to under five seconds, with login times under 10 seconds, while at the same time cutting the CAPEX cost per desktop by 50%. By simplifying management and increasing user productivity, UHL anticipates saving millions of pounds more in operational, management, and datacentre costs over the lifetime of the project.

"We passionately believe in the benefits of virtualised desktops and Atlantis ILIO is an integral part of our VDI solutions, enabling faster than physical desktop performance", explains Peter Wilkins, CTO, Centralis.

With the improved security, the single-sign-on capabilities of Horizon Workspace and centralised control of VDI, UHL is better able to prove compliance with NHS governance directives. With VDI in place, UHL is also now planning to implement Bring Your Own Device programs for back office staff and doctors, allowing users to leverage iPads and other mobile devices to access their desktops, files and applications.

The UHL desktop virtualisation deployment is innovative in its use of multiple desktop virtualisation technologies (View, Workspace, Mirage) to meet the needs of a wide variety of user types (doctors, nurses, administrative staff). In addition, UHL's world-class implementation of IBM PureFlex with Atlantis ILIO enabled it to achieve an amazing user experience that is significantly faster than physical PCs while cutting costs by more than 50%. With the completion of its desktop transformation, UHL will be able to provide better patient care, spend more time with patients and less time on its devices, while reducing the cost of healthcare within NHS.
More info: www.atlantiscomputing.com