Alba Insurance, based in Basel, Switzerland, has modernized its server-based computing (SBC) environment. In this effort, the German market-leader, IGEL Technology, has proven to be a solid, capable partner with reliable support services and economical, efficient thin-client solutions that can handle graphics-intensive applications.

Although Alba is 100%-owned by another Swiss insurance company, the Allianz Suisse Insurance Company (Zurich), Alba has been able to make its own mark in the insurance business. The company, which has 250 employees and 12 offices, is active throughout Switzerland, offering all forms of insurance coverage except life insurance. Alba considers its IT system to be a particularly important competitive factor. Modern thin-client workstations create both an efficient and secure IT environment for Alba’s 155 internal office employees.

Modernization Step-by-Step
The strategic decision to implement an SBC environment had already been made by the year 2000. “In 2001, we migrated over to a solution with Windows® 2000 Server and Citrix MetaFrame. In doing so, we began a new era in the way we had our employees access their applications,” reports Robert Oberli, IT manager at Alba Insurance. “We first used IBM NetVista terminals at our workstations.” After about two years, Oberli and his five-person IT team realized that these terminals could not keep pace with the increasing demand for better graphics capabilities and thus were increasingly limiting user productivity. “If scrolling in Microsoft® Excel is either jerky and jumpy or takes too long, this interrupts workflow in a way that is unacceptable,” Oberli makes clear. While visiting another company located in Basel, Oberli discovered that it was implementing a step-by-step solution for modernizing its own workstations. “After IBM had discontinued the existing terminals, the personnel there were using upgrade kits from IGEL Technology. This allowed them to provide the NetVista hardware with more powerful firmware at a fraction of what it would have cost to purchase everything new.” So in 2004 Alba also deployed the IGEL upgrade kits, which immediately solved the persistent and nagging performance problems.

The customer Offers all forms of insurance coverage, except life insurance, throughout Switzerland A subsidiary of the Allianz Suisse Insurance Company 300 computer workstations, 155 of used in company offices

A Long-Term Decision in Favor of IGEL
By 2007, even the upgraded terminal hardware was finally technically obsolete and needed to be completely replaced. Based on their previous experience with the IGEL upgrade kits, products from IGEL were also included in the test setups intended to evaluate competing solutions available on the market. “We had already come to appreciate the management solution from IGEL,” recalls Wolfgang Osterholz, deputy IT manager at Alba. “As with all IGEL thin clients today, the IGEL Remote Management Suite always came standard with previous equipment. But what really impressed us was the complimentary group-based management system and the convenient, easy-to-use and reliable update mechanisms.” Beyond that, there was yet another point that was a big plus for IGEL and its solutions. “IGEL also made a positive impression as an especially reliable and dependable company,” Oberli adds. “It’s a privately held company from Germany and also part of the globally active Melchers Group, which means that it can’t be taken over through a simple majority stock purchase – something that recently happened to a bidder from outside Europe. That means that we can be sure to have full continuity when it comes to support.”

An Economical and Reliable Solution
During the three-week test phase, Alba evaluated one model each from ten manufacturers of thin clients. Ultimately, Alba decided to go with the IGEL LX Smart unit. “What most impressed us about IGEL’s technology was its reliability and its management capabilities,” Oberli recalls. “The hardware and software both are very stable and offer us a wide range of deployment options for the future – unequalled in this sector.” Osterholz elaborates: “The maximum power consumption of the entry-level model that we use is only 24 watts. This results in a correspondingly low heat load. Even this relatively low-priced unit still can offer an impressive screen resolution of 1920 x 1440 pixels. What’s more, if necessary its two graphics interfaces allow simultaneous connection of two displays. An IGEL thin client can also be used as a print server. And, with an optional adapter, they’re even WLAN capable.”

The challenge Increase productivity by deploying a new thin-client infrastructure, thus improving graphics capability and eliminating performance problems Achieve efficient and reliable management of thin clients Find a well established thin-client manufacturer with long-term support capability

The Universal Desktop of the Future
The universal desktop approach from IGEL is ready for the future right now. “Although we’re currently almost exclusively using the ICA protocol to access the Citrix environment, we can keep many options open when it comes to our technology. That’s because despite their standardized management approach, all IGEL models offer different ways of accessing central infrastructures such as mainframe environments or virtual desktops.” While Alba was changing over to IGEL thin clients, it also modernized its server topology. With the help of IGEL, all thin clients were ported to a new administration server, from which they are now centrally managed. In addition, there are also an active directory server and a file server. The five-unit Citrix server farm is now running Windows® Server 2003 and Citrix Presentation Server 4.5. “All five application servers use the same image, which we distribute by means of Citrix Provisioning Server.”

Reliable Connections to Alba Agencies
The IGEL thin clients are used by the office personnel in the company’s headquarters and throughout its twelve branches. Through the thin clients, users have access to many resources including the main application, a company-own insurance program with an integrated Microsoft® Word program all hosted on an IBM iSeries operating system. Other centrally accessible resources include the archive solution Infostore, Lotus Notes, Windows® Internet Explorer and, in some cases, Microsoft® Excel. The thin clients in the branches are connected to the server farm by DSL and over the network of the Allianz Group. The approximately 150 notebooks used by the company’s outside sales representatives access the server farm through ICA-Client and DSL or wireless communications. Furthermore, planning calls for the availability of Citrix Access Gateway for insurance agents.

The solution First migration phase: 155 IGEL upgrade kits for IBM NetVista Second migration phase: 155 IGEL LX Smart thin clients IGEL Remote Management Suite

Rapid Deployment, Less Support
The deployment of the new IGEL thin clients was organized by Alba internally. “Before we set up the thin clients, we first removed the file server,” Osterholz reports. “We had a total of five IT personnel handling the whole job. For each department, we needed about a half a day to get it all done. The agencies took about a day each, including travel time.” After about two weeks, the rollout of the thin clients was all finished. One of the primary and immediate results was a clear reduction in the support load on the IT department. “With the new server system and the IGEL thin clients, things have finally calmed down here again,” Oberli states, summarizing a major benefit. “It used to be that two of our people were constantly dealing with support questions. For instance, our support workload was always particularly high after certain updates. But now with the thin clients in place, we rarely have those kinds of support issues. Instead, we’re getting positive feedback from our users. In particular, they really like the faster processing speeds, which enable them to work more smoothly and quickly.”

All Goals Achieved
Oberli looks back on the implementation of the modernization project with a real sense of satisfaction. “Our entire system is now very stable; the thin client deployment was a major success across the board. The excellent performance of the new thin clients has ensured that we can be constantly productive and now enjoy a sustained reduction in our support load. Beyond this, we now have IGEL as a reliable and steady partner that’s always there for us. With its flexible solution featuring high graphics capability, we’re now well-prepared to meet the challenges of the future. So, it’s clear that we’ve achieved all of the goals of our project.”