SAN FRANCISCO, February 13, 2019 – IGEL, a world leader in software-defined endpoint optimization and control solutions for the secure enterprise, today announced that Budd Baer Auto, one of the largest new and used car dealerships in Washington, Pa., has upgraded its virtual desktop infrastructure to put in place a flexible, easy to manage and non-proprietary solution to support the future growth of the business.
Family owned for three generations, Budd Baer Auto is an authorized dealership for Buick, GMC, Mazda and Subaru. With a significant $10 million investment program currently underway, it is constructing two new dealership locations to separate its main car brands adding to the company’s current state-of-the-art facilities. Employing around 150 staff working on five separate sites, its sells around 150 new cars every month, along with 50 used vehicles as well as servicing/repairing an additional 2,500 customer vehicles.
Around five years ago, the dealership moved away from a traditional desktop PC model adopting virtual desktop and server virtualization using VMware. This simplified IT management, saved on manpower and introduced a standardized desktop across the company.
New Endpoints Enhance Existing Investment in IT
Further to a thorough one-month proof of concept, Budd Baer Auto has now updated its endpoints installing IGEL’s powerful quad core UD6 terminals at its collision center for use by staff such as estimators who work with technicians to create detailed replacement parts lists to repair vehicles after accidents.
In addition, it has purchased IGEL’s Universal Desktop Convertor software to turn existing Windows-based HP laptops and desktops into IGEL OS-based endpoints to not only centrally manage them, but extend the life of the actual hardware. The IGEL solutions were sold by AEC Group based in Oakdale, Pa.
Ryan Kelly, Budd Baer Auto’s network and systems administrator, explains, “We’ve been looking carefully at expenses and what we can do to help the bottom line and make IT less of a cost overhead. Using UDC, management can see more value coming back from all the different technologies we’ve invested in.”
IGEL was selected for a range of reasons. First, Budd Baer Auto was looking for an open solution – with no technology ‘lock in’ – from a vendor who has a clear roadmap and vision in terms of product development. The IGEL OS is architected to provide compatibility with a range of popular virtualization protocols – more than 10 back end service types are supported – with 7,000+ configuration settings and 100s of templates enabling the delivery of a finely tuned desktop experience to each of the different user groups.
Secondly, while the business was familiar with the benefits of using thin client technology having used equipment from a previous supplier, IGEL’s Universal Management Suite (UMS) offered additional value to the IT team of just two – the ability to shadow desktops remotely to enable easy helpdesk support. Furthermore, IGEL desktops can be customized with the Budd Baer’s branding and logo which was a welcome addition to extend the brand.
Thirdly, security has been maximized. The IGEL terminals can be locked down by the UMS and the IGEL OS filesystem is ‘read only’. This means staff cannot make changes to the endpoints locally or introduce security vulnerabilities locally; plus the desktop environment along with all company data is stored and controlled centrally. And lastly, IGEL’s products come with a three-year warranty, (extendable to 5 years with registration for the UD hardware products) as standard to provide peace of mind.
Budd Baer Auto uses VMware Horizon View for its desktop virtualization solution running on virtualized Dell Power Edge 610 and 730 servers. With a data center onsite, its five buildings are connected by fiber with multiple 10 gigabit Ethernet links in the [network] core for redundancy and standard Ethernet connectivity to the desktop.
Support for a Range of Web and Multimedia Applications
Staff access a range of applications when they login such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Office and multiple web-based software solutions designed for the auto industry. This includes a cloud-based dealer management system called Dealertrack from Cox Automotive. This offers inventory tracking, finance and insurance (F&I), HR, accounting modules and so on.
Kelly says, “The UD6 endpoints support multimedia and they’re night and day quicker compared to what we had before. This is important as a lot of the car manufacturers now require us to do online training for sales and technical staff which is film based.”
Moving forward, as each new building is completed and opened, Budd Baer Auto will install an appropriate IGEL solution based on the individual needs of each member of staff – this could be a physical IGEL terminal or its UDC software. Kelly concludes, “Working with IGEL has been a really positive experience so far and the plan is to keep rolling out its technology.”
Jed Ayres, President and CEO, IGEL North America, says, “Using our UDC software is a smart way to save money and extend the life of any x86-based PC or laptop. It’s quick and simple to convert practically any hardware into an IGEL endpoint to get all the benefits of having a standardized and centrally controlled environment using our free UMS console.”
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About IGEL
IGEL, is the world leader in providing software-defined endpoint optimization and control solutions for cloud and virtualized workspaces. The company’s world-leading software products include the IGEL OS™, IGEL UD Pocket™ (UDP) and Universal Management Suite™ (UMS). These solutions comprise a more secure, manageable and cost-effective endpoint management and control platform across nearly any x86 device. Easily acquired via just two feature-rich software offerings, — Workspace Edition and Enterprise Management Pack — IGEL software presents outstanding value per Investment. Additionally, IGEL’s German engineered endpoint solutions deliver the industry’s best warranty (5 years), support (3 years after end of life) and management functionality. IGEL enables enterprises to save vast amounts of money by extending the useful life of their existing endpoint devices while precisely controlling all devices running IGEL OS as well as Windows OS from a single dashboard interface. IGEL has offices worldwide and is represented by partners in over 50 countries. For more information on IGEL, visit en-staging.igel.com.
