Maximizes Productivity and Flexibility

• Maximizes productivity and flexibility
• Empowers employees
• Increases time savings andbottom-line results
• Opens new opportunities

Works the way you want

Situation

Franklin, Tennessee-based Simplex Healthcare provides home delivery of medical supplies to more than 180,000 patients with diabetes. In fact, the company is the third-largest U.S. provider of diabetic testing supplies for seniors and offers free products to help patients understand and adequately address diabetes-related issues.

Simplex employees found that legacy systems took too long to start up and resume, adding up to hours of lost productivity for each worker over the course of the year. And, in an increasingly mobile business environment, employees needed a more efficient, intuitive way to connect to projectors for off-site customer presentations—and a longer-lasting laptop battery so they wouldn’t have to interrupt meetings to find an available power source.

Simply finding folders and files took longer than employees would like, thus delaying project completion. Exacerbating this problem was the fact that employees had a difficult time formatting documents in Microsoft Office Word.

For Simplex IT managers, creating system images was a time-consuming and costly process. And Simplex training managers spent several hours a week updating training manuals for new and existing processes, which involved a seemingly endless cycle of copying multiple screenshots, pasting each one into a new document, and resizing and adding text as appropriate.

It became clear to Simplex that it needed to provide employees with faster, more flexible systems that facilitated more control over their technical workspace, as well as a more cost- and time-efficient way to back up important data and update employee training manuals.

Solution

To realize this goal, Simplex decided to test the Dell Latitude E6400 laptop running the Windows 7Professional operating system*. The company discovered that this combination dramatically improved productivity, enhanced mobile flexibility, and simplified complex processes such as system backups and training manual creation.

“With Windows 7 Professional running on my Dell E6400, there are no technical barriers,” notes Kerwin Smith, IT Director at Simplex. “All of the little enhancements help me do my job better, faster, and more efficiently.” Smith points out that as a result of this trial, Simplex is immediately deploying Dell Latitude E6400 laptops running Windows 7 across the organization. “The Dell Latitude E6400 and Windows 7 work seamlessly together. Adding this to our arsenal is really a no-brainer,” he adds.

Benefits

By deploying its Windows 7 and Dell Latitude E6400 solution, Simplex expects to gain the following benefits:

Maximizes Productivity and Flexibility

Windows 7 features faster resume, shutdown, and standby functions, which reduce workflow interruptions—and the frustration that often comes along with it—while enabling users to get more done in less time. According to one third-party test group, when Windows 7 is running on a Dell Latitude E6400, startup times are 10 percent faster and resume times improve by 61 percent.

“When running Windows 7 on my Dell E6400, my system starts up in seconds,” Smith points out. “Instead of getting coffee while I wait for my PC to respond, I can get straight to work!”

With the Mobility Center in Windows 7 Professional, which allows users to access mobility settings by simply pressing the Windows logo key + P, employees are finding it easier than ever to set up to projector screens during customer meetings—eliminating the need to call on IT support for help.

As Smith indicates, “Mobility Center should be highlighted as a top 10 feature of Windows 7. I use it every day—and it’s saving me at least 15 minutes each time I need to make a presentation.”

Windows 7 Professional also includes power saving enhancements, such as adaptive screen display brightness through the power management feature. Combined with the Dell E6400 extended battery life—which lasts up to 19 hours—users gain a more flexible, reliable system that enables them to work on-the-go without worrying about having to locate a power source while on the road.

“Windows 7 power management plus the long battery life of my Dell E6400 has made a huge difference in terms of enhancing flexibility,” says Smith. “Gone are the days of searching for power outlets during meetings.”

Empowers Employees

According to Simplex employees, finding files and folders has never been easier thanks to the Windows Search feature. Instead of riffling through multiple locations, employees can now begin typing in a phrase or keyword and the instant search suggestions feature begins populating the search screen with suggestions.

“Windows Search saves me 15 minutes per day,” Smith points out. “I can just start typing in a request, and results pop up instantly. Anyone who uses this will never go back to trolling through menus to find what they need.”

For Simplex employees, findingapplications and files faster is just the first step toward working more efficiently. When running on the Dell Latitude E6400, Windows 7 helps users to not only find what they’re looking for, but also save time, as applications launch up to 11 percent faster.

According to Smith, “Finding applications faster is important, but being able to start them quickly is crucial. Windows 7 helps me locate what I need, and applications start right away on the Dell E6400.”

With the Aero desktop experience in Windows 7, Simplex employees can “Snap” windows side-by-side to compare documents quickly and effortlessly, eliminating the need to manually resize windows or print multiple documents.

“I’m constantly switching between windows and documents—to the point where I have to print several of them just to compare fields and notes,” Smith remarks. “With the Snap and Shake features, I save paper and time.”

Smith also points out that Windows XP Mode ensures a smooth migration over to Windows 7 Professional—a benefit that can help any organization. For Simplex, this feature enabled employees to maximize the capabilities of Windows 7 Professional while still being able to work with existing applications.

“One of our older programs was on a delayed upgrade schedule, so we were a bit concerned that it might not work right on Windows 7 Professional,” Smith says. “When we loaded Windows XP Mode, everything worked perfectly. What a great idea!”

IncreasesTime Savings and Bottom-Line Results

Dell Image and System Management tools simplify system management, which saves time and cuts down IT expenses.“We are saving hundreds of hours and [U.S.]$30,000 annually with the Dell Image and System Management Tools,” Smith states. “System imaging used to take 2.5 hours—now we can do it in 15 minutes.”

On top of that, using the Problem Steps Recorderfeature in Windows 7 drastically reduces the time required to create training manuals by recording users’ actions in real time.

“Problem Steps Recorder is perfect for creating training manuals,” says Smith. “Instead of having to copy each screen shot of a process and paste it into a manual, we can record and annotate it in half the time.”

Opens New Opportunities

When testing the Dell Latitude E6400 and Windows 7 combination, Simplex also opted to try Microsoft Office 2010 —and its employees have already seen the payoff.

“We decided to include Office 2010 beta as part of our overall system upgrade—and we’re glad we did,” Smith says. “With Word 2010, we can easily create slick documents that stand out.”

“Overall, the intuitive Windows 7 interface and ergonomic Dell Latitude E6400 layout, with features such as the backlit keyboard, really enhance my ability to do work in the office or on the road,” Smith adds.“Windows 7, the Dell Latitude E6400, and the added bonus of Office 2010 combine to give us the ultimate solution to getting more done—better and faster.”

*As part of the solution deployment, the customer received laptops and technical support from Microsoft and the OEM.

Windows 7

Works the way you want: Windows 7 will help your organization use information technology to gain a competitive advantage in today’s new world of work. Your people will be able to be more productive anywhere. You will be able to support your mobile workforce with better access to shared data and collaboration tools. And your IT staff will have better tools and technologies for enhanced corporate IT security and data protection, and more efficient deployment and management.

For more information about Windows 7, go to:

Works the way you want