Call Center Achieves 428% ROI Using Dynamic Virtual Clients on PCs with Intel Core 2 Processor with vpro Technology

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1 White Paper and ROI Study Intel Core 2 Processor with vpro Technology Lenovo Secure Managed Client (SMC)* Dynamic Virtual Client Food and Beverage Industry Call Center Achieves 428% ROI Using Dynamic Virtual Clients on PCs with Intel Core 2 Processor with vpro Technology Call centers can be complex environments. Many compute models try to address the information technology (IT) issues that are fundamental to such environments. A dynamic virtual client (DVC) model is particularly well-suited to resolving the complex, shared, and rapidly changing environments of these centers. In the DVC model, applications and PC images are managed centrally, but executed on the client side. Pilot studies have shown the potential effectiveness of this type of solution. For example, after a detailed, 6-month study, a prominent Fortune 100 food and beverage company is projecting 428% positive return on investment (ROI) in 4 years by deploying a DVC solution in a call center on just 400 desktop PCs. 1,2 The pilot showed that the company could save up to $210,000 within 4 years a net benefit of about $500 per PC. In addition to substantial benefits in faster services and lower costs, the DVC model also offers increased user productivity, improved security for customer data, and minimized business risk. Author: Nihal Muzumdar Advanced Technical Sales, Intel Corporation Author: Sunil Hegde Advanced Technical Sales, Intel Corporation

2 Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Call-Center Environment and TCO Considerations 3 DVC: The Secure Managed Client 3 The SMC Model for Call-Center Environments 4 Remote-OS versus streamed OS 4 Mitigating risks with robust architecture 4 SMC Architectural Overview 4 Pilot ROI Study: Projected 428% Positive ROI in 4 years 4 TCO/ROI investigation 6 Positive results 6 Conclusion 8 More Information 8 Executive Summary Many compute models try to address information technology (IT) issues that are driving IT service costs up for PCs. One of these models dynamic virtual clients (DVC) is particularly well-suited to resolving issues in the complex, shared, and rapidly changing environments of today s businesses, including call centers. DVC is a compute model evolving around centrally managed applications that are delivered to client PCs but which are executed locally. In call centers, the DVC model makes it easier to manage PCs that are shared among users. These PCs typically have several sets of images on the system, depending on the roles of the various users. A critical issue with this type of configuration is the timeconsuming and costly reimaging of PCs for new users, to resolve software and/or OS problems, and to update applications. Reimaging can now be addressed in a cost-effective way through a new DVC solution from Lenovo and LANDesk. The Lenovo Secure Managed Client (SMC*), 3 uses client-based virtualization through Intel Virtualization Technology 4 (Intel VT) on PCs with Intel Core 2 processor with vpro technology, 5 as well as a Lenovo storage array, using the Intel Xeon processor and iscsi SAN (storage area network) technology from Lenovo, Intel, and American MegaTrends, Inc. To investigate the potential benefits of a DVC model, a wellknown Fortune 100 food and beverage company conducted a 6-month pilot of SMC on PCs with Intel vpro technology in a production environment. Results showed a projected positive ROI of 428%, and potential of over $210,000 within 4 years even when SMC was implemented on only 400 desktops in the call center. 1 This is a net benefit of about $500 per PC. 1 The pilot shows that a DVC model offers additional benefits as well, including faster problem resolution, less user downtime, lower business risk, and improved security for customer data. 2

3 Call-Center Environment and TCO Considerations Call centers are complex, centralized environments that often operate 24/7 to serve customers. Because of their reliance on PCs, call centers often have high IT operational costs in order to keep PCs up and running for all shifts. In addition, because callcenter employees have direct contact with customers, customer satisfaction is often tied to call-center service. The IT processes that support call-center PCs can play a critical role in the quality of service delivery. And, they can be a source of competitive advantage or disadvantage in terms of labor and service costs. Some of the typical issues for IT services in call centers include: Multiple users often share the same PC across work shifts. This requires that each PC be reliable, set up with the necessary data to support each user s function, and have applications that allow for fast, seamless hand-offs across work shifts. Users need access to the most recent call-center information. They also need to be able to manipulate data in real time. The user s PC must have enough computing power to manage a compute-intensive application. PC downtime for software problems can be extensive; and troubleshooting and repair procedures can be time-consuming and costly. Businesses need a better, faster way to resolve software issues and get users working again. The customer s sensitive data must be protected. However, when more than one person shares a PC, a mistake by one worker can affect sensitive data used by many other workers in the call center. In addition, an inadvertent download of a virus or other social engineering malware by one worker can affect multiple users. Today, various compute models try to address the efficiency/cost problems in the call center. These include models based on or using terminal services, streaming of OS or applications, remote desktops, and virtualization technologies. Each of these models has functional advantages and disadvantages. They can also have a very different total cost of ownership (TCO). Factors that influence TCO include deployment, management (security, changes/updates, compliance, etc.) and power costs, as well as productivity costs, which are often subjective and/or hard to measure. One of the models that shows great promise for call-center environments is the dynamic virtual client (DVC) model. Lenovo and LANDesk have collaborated closely to deliver a new DVC solution called Secure Managed Client* (SMC). 3 SMC uses Intel Virtualization technology (Intel VT) 4 on PCs with Intel Core 2 processor with vpro technology, 5 and an iscsi SAN storage array with the Intel Xeon processor, associated chipset, and software from American MegaTrends, Inc. (AMI). DVC: The Secure Managed Client Dynamic virtual client-based compute models share several characteristics: Centrally managed application and/or OS images Client-side execution, not server-side Off-network mobility Currently, four compute models fall into the DVC category: application streaming and/or virtualization, OS streaming, remote OS boot, and virtual containers. Today s OS streaming products do not support off-network mobility, but it is on their roadmaps. Lenovo s SMC solution implements the remote OS boot compute model. SMC makes it easier to improve efficiencies, lower operation costs, and reduce PC downtime in complex environments by dramatically simplifying remote reimaging. SMC addresses some of the most important cost and performance concerns of the call center: Managing a shared PC environment and maintaining multiple user images on each PC Managing systems around a high turn-over rate among call center employees, which results in many PC image rebuilds Maximizing PC uptime and availability Reducing the time it traditionally takes to diagnose and try to repair a system before reimaging Managing complex and frequent upgrades of applications across the environment Lowering IT labor costs 3

4 The SMC Model for Call-Center Environments Lenovo SMC is a storage-based alternative computing solution for desktop PCs. This solution enhances PC stability through a robust implementation of an Intel VT-assisted virtualized client hypervisor (a service OS). The hypervisor helps isolate the SMC virtual machine manager (VMM) from the user environment on the PC. SMC also includes an easy-to-use application that delivers flexible image management. SMC consists of: Lenovo ThinkCentre* Desktop PC with Intel vpro Technology, without a hard drive. You can think of this PC as a fully functional system whose image and user data is stored elsewhere on a secured storage array. Lenovo Research and LANDesk co-developed software stack. Lenovo centralized storage array, powered by an Intel Xeon processor and associated chipset, to implement iscsi SAN technology, with software developed by AMI. Remote OS versus streamed OS In the SMC model, the PC treats the SAN like a local hard drive. Unlike models in which an OS is streamed to the client, SMC clients boot directly from the SAN. Because of this, boot times are dependent on the speed of the network connection. Since the SMC model is based on accessing data stored in an array in a SAN on the network, the critical potential point of failure shifts from the local PC a more difficult element to manage in a complex environment to a highly managed centralized storage and network. Mitigating risks with robust architecture To mitigate the risks of storage and/or network failure, the Lenovo solution has several robust features, such as multilink ports, hot-swappable disks, and redundancies: Storage configured using RAID 5 SATA drives (7200 RPM) and storage disks that can be hot-swapped A network configuration that includes six NIC ports using NIC teaming, so that even if one or more NICs fails, the system can continue to operate Capacity to use two processors Redundant power supply The Lenovo solution currently supports storage array sizes of 6 TB, 9 TB and 12 TB that can support image sizes ranging from 35 GB to 200 GB per user, depending on the number of users on the system. SMC Architectural Overview The Lenovo SMC implementation uses Intel VT as a key element in the creation of a virtualized, secure environment for the clientside application. The Intel VT-assist helps isolate the Lenovo Client Virtualization Platform, based on the Xen 3.1 Hypervisor from a user s guest OS. The hypervisor, which is part of the SMC image on the local PC, manages the virtualization of the system. In the SMC solution, the central system remotely boots an image on the user s PC which contains the hypervisor. After the hypervisor loads, the user can securely log in with his or her credentials, which are authenticated using Microsoft Active Directory.* Based on the user s profile, the appropriate user image on the storage array is then downloaded to the PC and booted. In a DVC model like SMC, the central system manages the image and user data, and the PC handles all application computing. Because computing is still handled locally, the Lenovo SMC model can improve performance for applications that benefit from client computing power. Such applications include 3D CAD software, multiple HD video streams, and other compute-intensive software. In addition, as described later in this paper, the centralized image management capability of the DVC model results in significant benefits by reducing IT operations costs. Figure 1, shown on page 5, shows a high-level representation of the hardware and software stack of the Lenovo SMC model. Figure 2, also on page 5, shows how client images are stored on the SAN in the SMC V2.0 solution. The appropriate client image is downloaded to the PC as needed, based on the user s login. Pilot ROI Study: Projected 428% Positive ROI in 4 years To investigate the potential benefits of the DVC model, a prominent Fortune 100 food and beverage company collaborated with Lenovo Professional Services to deploy and study SMC on PCs with Intel vpro technology in their call-center environment. 2 The company was particularly interested in saving time and reducing costs for remotely reimaging systems at call-center help desks. The company also hoped to improve worker productivity, since help-desk users should experience less downtime with a faster, more effective reimaging process. The food and beverage company s call center is a typically complex environment. Call-center users work in three general areas: Manning an 800 number for customer support Providing equipment support for their particular machine installations at restaurants and/or other outlets Handling other companies 800 number service for a fee 4

5 Boot Manager iscsi Controller User Operating System (UOS) (Windows XP* or Vista*) Lenovo Client Virtualization Platform (LCVP) (Xen) Filtered Virtual NIC Virtual HDD Physical Hardware iscsi Boot FW External Devices SMC Management Server SMC Management Core DHCP/Active Directory Intranet/Internet Storage Array Boot Image (Read-only) User 0 User X User N UOS Image (Read/Write) User 0...User N User OS User Data Figure 1. Hardware and software stack in the Lenovo SMC model Call-center users work in three shifts to provide 24/7 coverage for customers, with peak staffing from 8 am to 5 pm. 6 The desktop PCs are shared between users who work on different shifts. As a result, each shared PC has to be set up with different data sets to support each user. A traditional issue with shared PCs is that each user s set of data is not isolated from the next user. A mistake made by one user can accidentally delete, expose, or corrupt another worker s data. Each call-center worker uses about ten applications which include office productivity applications, as well as applications to manage call-center business. (For this paper, the call-center management application studied in this investigation is referred to anonymously as APP-X.) However, each worker typically uses a different set of applications than the next worker. For example, one user might be an initial call-taker for a particular product, while the user on the next shift might be a Level III diagnostician. Because of the varied worker needs, each shared PCs must have an image that includes all applications needed by each of the three users who share the system even though each user only needs some of the installed applications for his or her own job. This complexity results in one of the biggest operational challenges and pain points in the call center: managing the cumbersome process of reimaging user systems, and restoring user settings and data to accommodate those different users on the same machine. The company s IT technicians perform hundreds of reimagings each year because of software upgrades, data corruption, or new-user configurations. Problems are compounded by the high turn-over rate for workers a traditional issue in call centers. With Client PC Client Image 1 App A App B Client OS Boot agent and iscsi Remotely stored and managed image delivered via iscsi Client Images on PC and SAN Storage area network (SAN) Remotely stored client images Client Image 1 App A App B Client OS SAN OS Client Image 2 App C App D Client OS Figure 2. Client images are stored on SAN and downloaded to the client PC new users coming in regularly, systems have to be reimaged often to accommodate the new workers, and simply staging a PC, then configuring a new user s data typically takes at least 1 hour. 6 Other reimaging costs come from time-consuming troubleshooting and repair processes that are followed before a decision can be made to reimage. In addition, IT technicians spend 40 hours a month just managing the complexity of upgrades and changes to APP-X across the PCs in the call center. 6 Changes in the callcenter management application have historically resulted in a large percentage of upgrades being rolled back. In turn, IT has then had to spend significant time reintroducing fixed images. The typical downtime for troubleshooting and subsequently reimaging a PC is 3.5 hours. 6 5

6 TCO/ROI investigation The food and beverage company s investigation of the DVC model was conducted in an environment with 20 PCs with Intel vpro technology, deployed in two buildings at the call-center site. The DVC environment included an SMC V1.0 implementation with the LANDesk server, and a storage array added to the SAN. Data was analyzed for only the one key IT service task of remotely reimaging systems. Data was then projected for 4 years, with the assumption that the company would not increase the number of PCs in the environment. 1 ROI calculations are calculated based on the difference between the company s typical PC and a Lenovo SMC PC with Intel vpro technology. ROI calculations included capital expenditures for additional storage arrays and switches which would be used to establish the SMC environment and the projected application of enhanced image management capabilities available in the upcoming SMC 2.0 version. Costs for PCs purchased over and above the typical annual refresh rate are based on the full cost of the additional Lenovo SMC PCs with Intel vpro technology. ROI was calculated conservatively for only the one service task of reimaging. Positive results The investigation showed that the DVC model can significantly reduce the time it takes to remotely reimage systems. For a small deployment of only 400 PCs, this could still save the food and beverage company as much as $210,000 in 4 years. 1 This is equivalent to approximately $500 per PC. The company was extremely pleased with the reduction in time and corresponding reduction in labor costs required to reimage the pilot systems. By taking advantage of SMC s reduced time to repair, the company is now in a position to change IT policy. The new policy will allow IT technicians to immediately reimage and restore a problem PC in about 14 minutes, instead of spending hours troubleshooting and trying to repair the system first. 1 The SMC model delivered significant cost and labor benefits in several areas: Key findings from TCO/ROI analysis Positive ROI of 428% over 4 years, by using the flexible image management capabilities of the Secure Managed Client using client-based virtualization through Intel VT, 4 as well as Intel iscsi SAN storage technology using the Intel Xeon processor for servers. 1 Break-even point achieved in 2 years. 1 Projected of approximately $210,000 across 4 years, after deploying the DVC solution for only 400 PCs 1 with Intel Core 2 processor with vpro technology. Trouble Tickets: The SMC model reduced the time spent diagnosing and repairing a system before reimaging from 3 hours to 30 minutes an 84% reduction. 1 The pilot showed that the SMC model could deliver several additional benefits: Manageability. SMC made it significantly easier and simpler to manage images by storing data in a central location. The SMC model also allowed much easier back out and reintroduction of APP-X images. Security. Since data is not stored locally (it s stored on the SAN) after the user has logged out, SMC allowed for better storage and protection of application data in the data center. Performance. After the initial network-based boot was completed, SMC ensured good client-side PC performance for the call-center worker. The pilot showed that the initial networkdriven boot time increase of less than 20 seconds was acceptable to the user. Infrastructure. SMC deployment will require only a limited amount of additional hardware (SAN and switches), and did not require that IT resequence or reconfigure user applications for the SMC environment. PC Refresh: SMC reduced reimaging time from 70 minutes to 14 minutes an 80% reduction. 1 APP-X Change Management: SMC reduced the time required to manage APP-X changes from 40 hours to 22 hours per month a 45% reduction. 1 6

7 Table 1 compares traditional service times to service times in the SMC environment. The table shows that the Lenovo SMC solution significantly reduced labor costs for each reimaging task. Table 2 shows the projected benefits of the DVC model when the call center is refreshed with 100% PCs with Intel vpro technology in an SMC implementation. Table 3 presents the ROI data from the food and beverage company s pilot study. Table 1. SMC reductions in time required for typical tasks 1,6 Parameter No SMC 6 With SMC 1 Total time to reimage one PC 70 minutes 14 minutes Time to stage a reimage 30 minutes 7 minutes Time to manage user data 40 minutes 7 minutes Average time to troubleshoot one ticket before recommending reimage Time spent on APP-X upgrades each month 3 hours 30 minutes 40 hours 22 hours Table 2. SMC benefits 1,6 PC Refresh Benefit with Lenovo SMC on PCs with Intel vpro technology Improvement Total time saved per imaging instance 0.93 hours saved per reimaging 1 80% faster 1 Imaging instances/year 98 imaging instances/year 1,6 Projected 4-year $45,967 1 APP-X Change Management Benefit with SMC Application management hours/month 18 hours saved per month 1 45% faster 1 SMC-related efficiency improvement 45% less time required 1 Projected 4-year $60,480 1 Patching/Trouble Tickets Benefit with SMC Total time saved per trouble ticket 3.43 hours saved per trouble ticket 1 86% faster 1 Re-imaging instances/year 426 reimaging instances/year 1,6 Projected 4-year $409,067 1 Table 3. ROI analysis for SMC model with PCs via Intel vpro technology 1,6 Use case Annual IT service cost of imaging PCs for new users Cumulative in IT service costs for imaging PCs for new users Annual IT service cost to reimage PCs for application management Cumulative in IT service costs to reimage PCs for application management Annual IT service cost to reimage problem PCs Cumulative in IT service costs to reimage problem PCs ROI Summary d,1 No SMC on 400 (100%) Typical PCs Projections from SMC Model for 400 (100%) PCs with Intel vpro technology Year 0 a Year 1 b Year 2 c Year 3 c Year 4 c $14,400 cost $2,900 cost $2,900 cost $2,900 cost $2,900 cost N/A $11,500 $23,000 $34,500 $46,000 $33,600 cost $18,500 cost $18,500 cost $18,500 cost $18,500 cost N/A $15,100 $30,200 $45,300 $60,400 $119,100 cost $16,900 cost $16,900 cost $16,900 cost $16,900 cost N/A $102,300 $204,500 $306,800 $409,100 Estimated with 100% PCs with Intel vpro technology IT service costs: 80% lower Cumulative 4-year : $46,000 IT service costs: 45% lower Cumulative 4-year : $60,000 IT service costs: 86% lower Cumulative 4-year : $409,000 Overall yearly incremental costs e N/A $255,000 cost ($62,600) cost ($56,800) cost ($62,600) cost Break-even point: year 2 d,1 Overall yearly $121,400 $114,300 $79,300 $69,800 Positive ROI: 428% in year 4 d,1 N/A incremental benefits benefits benefits benefits benefits NPV 4-year : over $210,400 Net cumulative benefits ($133,600) benefits $43,400 benefits $179,600 benefits a Data is the result of measurements. b Data is the result of measurements and projections. c Data is the result of projections. d ROI is calculated conservatively, based on only the one IT task of reimaging, and includes a conservative 15% hurdle or discount rate. e Cash flows are post tax and depreciation. Negative numbers represent effects of front loading the PC refresh cycle from the baseline 4-year cycle. $312,000 benefits 7

8 Conclusion The DVC model effectively addresses one of the most critical pain points in call-center management by simplifying reimaging. In a callcenter environment, the DVC model offers significant benefits, such as speeding up mean time to repair (MTTR), reducing PC downtime, and substantially lowering service costs. A pilot study by a prominent Fortune 100 company shows that, using conservative assumptions, the Lenovo SMC implementation can pay for itself within 2 years, achieve a positive 428% ROI, and deliver of approximately $500 per PC over 4 years. 1 The effectiveness of the DVC model is delivered primarily through the creation of a stable virtualized environment that isolates the service OS. With client-side computing and centralized storage, the DVC model shifts the burden of imaging and maintaining robust, stable images on individual PCs to a centralized location. This can make it substantially easier to manage images, lower call-center overhead, maximize PC uptime, and improve user productivity. More Information For technical information about Intel VT, refer to the article, Intel Virtualization Technology, Uhlig, Neiger et al.; IEEE Computer Society, 2006, hardware/12-authors.htm For more information about desktop PCs with Intel VT and Intel Core 2 processor with vpro technology, visit For more information about Lenovo SMC, visit securemanagedclient For more information about the Lenovo SMC implementation, refer to Installing and Configuring the Secure Managed Client (SMC) Student Guide, November 2008, Lenovo pub/pc/pccbbs/thinkcentre_pdf/smc12dg_en.pdf For additional details and specifications, refer to the LANDesk technical paper, Lenovo Secure Managed Client* Management Console. wp_lenovosmc_2009_en_us.pdf 1 Source: The Lenovo 2009 Pilot of PCs with Intel Core 2 processor with vpro technology, conducted in 2009, at a Fortune 100 food and beverage company s site. 2 All content about the food and beverage company was provided by the food and beverage company. 3 All content about Lenovo was provided by Lenovo. 4 Intel Virtualization Technology requires a computer system with an enabled Intel processor, BIOS, virtual machine monitor (VMM) and, for some uses, certain computer system software enabled for it. Functionality, performance or other benefits will vary depending on hardware and software configurations and may require a BIOS update. Software applications may not be compatible with all operating systems. Please check with your application vendor. 5 PCs with Intel Core 2 processor with vpro technology include powerful Intel Active Management Technology (Intel AMT). Intel AMT requires the computer system to have an Intel AMT-enabled chipset, network hardware and software, as well as connection with a power source and a corporate network connection. Setup requires configuration by the purchaser and may require scripting with the management console or further integration into existing security frameworks to enable certain functionality. It may also require modifications of implementation of new business processes. With regard to laptops, Intel AMT may not be available or certain capabilities may be limited over a host OS-based VPN or when connecting wirelessly, on battery power, sleeping, hibernating or powered off. For more information, see 6 Source: The food and beverage company s knowledge base. Copyright 2009 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, the Intel logo, Core, vpro, Xeon, and Core inside are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. Printed in USA 0909/NJ/OCG/XX/PDF Please Recycle US