Sigh of Relief for IT
Before deploying its digital workspace solution, the WCU IT team would commit five to eight people working ten hours a day for two weeks to get classroom computers ready for a new year.
If a faculty member forgot to request a piece of software on lab computers, the IT team would have to re-image the entire classroom, which could take a week or more pending room availability.
Today, new apps can be assigned to a virtual desktop upon request in a matter of minutes for an entire class. When a student completes the class or withdraws, they no longer have access to that application through automated processes. This means that the WCU IT department only has to spend money on licenses for apps that are actually in use.
Tight Security
Enterprise-level security at many levels protects university data. Students in medical fields and employees of the university health service use non-persistent desktops to protect sensitive data such as patient information. Each iteration of a non-persistent desktop is discarded when a user logs out, so their information is kept secure in the data center instead of on the endpoint. Additional security features such as multifactor authentication are also utilized for secure virtual desktop applications.
Next-Gen Tech
WCU is also using products from VMware partner NVIDIA for both academic and personal computing.
In a pilot program from the College of Engineering, the IT team added NVIDIA GRID cards to a handful of servers. These cards bring the power of the NVIDIA graphics-processing unit (GPU) to students’ virtual desktops, speeding graphics performance and rendering for applications such as 3D modeling and computer-aided design.
Engineering students are thrilled with the results as they can run these sophisticated design programs right from their laptops; they are no longer required to be in a classroom just to access a physical machine.
Digital workspace technologies are enhancing the university’s mission of education for all. By breaking down barriers and making resources more accessible, WCU’s IT department is helping create a greater academic experience for faculty, distance education students and on-campus students alike.
Sara D. Smith is a Client Technology manager for Western Carolina University.
Sumit Dhawan is a senior vice-president and general manager of the End-User Computing team at VMware. The VMware Workspace ONE solution integrates application and access management, unified endpoint management, and virtual application delivery to help organizations evolve silo-ed cloud and mobile investments, enabling all employees, devices and things across the organization to accelerate their digital transformation journey with a platform-based approach.
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