I-Konic concludes deal for Scottish environment protection

Scotland agency deploys Citrix technology to make staff more mobile

Glasgow-based Citrix reseller I-Konic has implemented several mobile and virtualised offerings to assist the 1,200 staff of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).

According to a statement released by Citrix, the provider is deploying XenDesktop, NetScaler, Receiver and CloudBridge to enable SEPA staff, based across 25 offices, to work anywhere on a range of devices, cutting costs associated with travel and energy use. Data and apps will be delivered to staff as a service.

Jav Yaqub, IT services manager at SEPA, said the agency aimed to become more efficient and have more environmentally friendly IT.

"We wanted this project to embody the core ethos of the agency," he said. "We also wanted to offer people their desktop, wherever they went, but we were obviously concerned about potential data loss. The idea of having a centralised virtual desktop and using low power thin-client devices was very attractive."

Yaqub said that staff say they love the new infrastructure because of their increased mobility -- which, according to Citrix, should also help them become more productive, not least because they will still be able to collaborate with each other while on the go.

SEPA also recently opened a new office, the Angus Smith building, that supports flexible working -- with seven desks per 10 staff, aimed at promoting hot-desking. Desktop PC energy costs will be slashed, according to the vendor.

Currently about 300 of the 1,200 staff will be on virtual desktops as a result of this deal. However, future new offices or refurbishments will follow a similar theme over the next two years, according to Citrix.