Wyse Technology Teaches Snowflake Unified School District the Cost Savings of Server-Centric Computing

School district saves over half a million dollars with Wyse® Winterm™ thin clients and Wyse Rapport management software

San Jose, CA – 2003/12/08 - Snowflake Unified School District in Snowflake, AZ has adopted Wyse Technology's server-centric computing solutions to help achieve their goal of one computer for every two students in the district. Snowflake has deployed more than 800 Wyse® Winterm™ thin clients in K-12 classrooms, and manages the devices from a central location with Wyse™ Rapport® management software. The implementation has saved the district more than $500,000 through a reduction in the cost of ownership for technology equipment, utility savings and improved employee productivity and efficiency.

Snowflake is a rural school district serving 2,500 students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. The district is committed to empowering its students and teachers with access to technology, but cannot afford the high costs of deploying and managing a large number of personal computers. Budgets are tight and the personnel and resources required to manage thousands of PCs across its six campuses are scarce. To achieve its objectives of widespread computer access, Snowflake had to find a more cost-effective alternative that would still deliver the computing power K-12 students need.

After evaluating several options, Snowflake chose Wyse Technology to help them close the gap. The district saved half a million dollars and experienced many benefits from implementing server-centric computing. Wyse thin clients can be set up in the classroom in mere minutes and all devices are centrally managed through Rapport software, reducing computer maintenance and repair costs by 85 percent district-wide. The district saved $50,000 on furniture and equipment costs because thin clients can sit on smaller, lighter and less expensive desks. Additionally, Snowflake reduced its IT department supply budget by 20 percent over two years and increased overall network management efficiency. This allows the IT staff to spend scarce funds on other pressing technology projects and increase the time spent on training and staff development.

"We accelerated our deployment plan and met our project goals earlier than expected because we were able to buy twice as many thin clients with our budget than we would have with PCs," said Gary Sims, director of information technology for the district. "With the ease-of-use, reliability and manageability delivered by Wyse's thin clients, we are also able to support the technology with a limited IT staff of three people - something that would have been impossible with PCs.

"Our IT staff found that PCs were a consistent distraction for teachers," continued Sims. "Classes were often interrupted when PCs became infected with viruses, were damaged or improperly used by students, or simply locked up. These interruptions required teachers to focus on addressing IT issues and took away from time dedicated to instruction."

Several elements of the Wyse server-centric computing solution contributed to the district's decision, including reduced up-front acquisition costs, simplified management and maintenance, increased security and virus resistance and device reliability. Rapport software enables Snowflake Unified School District to centrally manage its computing environment (software distribution, device diagnostics, device configuration and asset management) from a single location. With Rapport management software, Snowflake IT staff can easily maintain the software that resides on a Wyse thin client; perform updates to specific applications; and access important information about each device without ever having to physically touch the thin client.

"There is a growing demand for technology in the classroom and many parents expect their children to use computers at school, though the costs can be difficult for districts to absorb," said David Rand, director of corporate marketing at Wyse Technology. "Wyse server-centric computing has the unique ability to assist school districts like Snowflake that are struggling with budget reductions to save money and still meet their established technology goals."

关于Wyse Technology

WYSE创建于美国硅谷，是全球最知名的智能网络计算解决方案供应商之一。连续8年蝉联全球智能网络应用终端市场占有率第一，占全球市场份额的38％。WYSE提供的硬件、软件和服务为用户提供了可中央控制的系统来协调运算资源、应用软件资源、储存资源以提高性能，在确保系统安全、可靠、灵活的同时，降低了总体拥有成本，并且将IT部门从不必要的支持和维护工作中解放出来，大大提高了生产力。多年来，WYSE深受全球众多知名商业及公共机构的信赖，主要应用智能网络应用终端的产业包括金融、电信、广播传媒、零售、运输、政府、医疗、国防、旅游、能源、教育等行业，WYSE的客户主要是行业领先的全球化公司，财富全球排名前100名中有超过四成已经成为WYSE的客户。

从2005年初起，WYSE开始大规模发展针对新一代网络计算终端的软件和系统开发。并在中国和印度大力投资技术研究与开发中心，加速新产品开发和推出结合本地客户要求的客户化解决方案。

WYSE的全球总部位于美国硅谷，分支机构遍布世界各地。亚太区总部设在中国北京海淀区融科资讯中心大厦，下辖六个分公司，分别位于中国台湾、日本东京、韩国首尔、印度班加罗尔、澳大利亚悉尼和新加坡。