When the pandemic forced the UK into lockdown, many businesses were without a plan. Markerstudy Group wasn't among them. With the help of Citrix Systems, Inc. and its partner IGEL,
the Kent-based insurance provider went all-in on the cloud and quickly
enabled its employees to work safely and securely from home.
"We transitioned to Citrix Cloud services wholesale
and within two weeks were operating business as usual with 1,500 call
center staff working normally and supporting customers from home," said
Ian Richardson, Infrastructure Team Leader, Markerstudy. "We advised
colleagues to take their computers home, plug them in, connect them to
the Internet and they will work. And they did."
Speeding to the Cloud
Markerstudy had long been running Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops on-premise
in its two datacenters to provide consistent, secure and reliable
access to the applications and information employees need to get work
done, wherever it needs to get done. As part of efforts to streamline
and modernize its IT infrastructure to support the new model,
Markerstudy, working closely with application delivery and security
specialists CloudDNA, began moving to the cloud.
And in doing so, the company was able to pick up the pace and achieve its objectives more quickly.
Enabling Secure, Hybrid Work
"Citrix
runs this ‘front door' entry which removes a considerable management
overhead compared to our previous on-premise solution," Richardson said.
"We don't have to worry about DDOS attacks, updates, patching or access
security - it's all provided along with a four nines availability. It's
an excellent security boundary which has allowed us to mobilize people
from home."
To
further bolster its security, Markerstudy took the additional step of
standardizing on IGEL OS and converted laptops, desktops and HP thin
clients into ‘locked down' centrally controlled devices which could be
managed through a single window using IGEL's Universal Management Suite
(UMS).
"Markerstudy
were early adopters of a hybrid approach to staff working across
multiple locations," said Adam Miller, Head of Group IT, Markerstudy.
"The combination of Citrix and IGEL facilitates seamless secure access
to our platforms and a consistent user experience, which both boosts
end-user adoption and ultimately staff productivity."
Markerstudy
joins more than 400,000 companies around the world who are using Citrix
solutions to power secure hybrid work and boost employee engagement and
productivity. Click here to learn more about these solutions and the results they can deliver.