School District Cuts IT Support Burden By 20 Percent With New Windows XP Security Tool

Microsoft Windows XP Professional Customer Solution Case Study

School District Cuts IT Support Burden by 20 Percent With New Windows XP Security Tool

Overview “Soon after installing [Windows XP], I introduced a Country or Region: Curaçao, Netherlands few viruses into the system. When I turned the Antilles Industry: Education computer off and back on, I didn’t see any traces whatsoever of those viruses.” Customer Profile The Curaçao Roman Catholic School Milton H.R. Yarzagaray, Systems Engineer, Curaçao Roman Catholic School Board Board, a school district located on the island of Curaçao, manages 86 schools The Curaçao Roman Catholic School Board oversees a large with more than 20,000 students. These students regularly use and share 2,200 school district located on the island of Curaçao. More than computers. 20,000 students at 86 schools regularly access the district’s

Business Situation 2,200 computers. Because so many children share computers, Because of the shared computer the district’s IT group struggled with security and reliability environment, the district struggled with security and reliability issues. And issues. Also, because only five IT personnel handle network because only five IT personnel handled issues for the entire district, travel time had become a burden. network maintenance, travel time was excessive. Against that backdrop, the financially challenged school board needed to choose between implementing a Linux operating Solution After considering Linux, the district chose system or the Microsoft® Windows® XP operating system. The to deploy the Microsoft® Windows® XP board decided on Windows XP because of its application operating system because of a new feature called the Shared Computer compatibility, reliability, and the new management and security Toolkit. tools in the Microsoft Shared Computer Toolkit for Windows XP.

Benefits As a result, one IT staff member has saved 16 hours per week  Lowered ownership costs on travel time, and Windows XP has improved overall security  Improved security, reliability and reliability. Situation The school board knew it had to upgrade The Curaçao Roman Catholic School its existing Microsoft® Windows 95, 98, and Board operates and manages a 20,000- 2000 operating systems to help solve these plus–student school district located on issues. However, there was an internal Curaçao, an island in the southern part of struggle over which system to purchase the Caribbean Sea. The island is owned by and deploy. One group was pushing for a the Netherlands Antilles, a self-governing move to the Linux operating system, citing part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. cost of ownership as the main factor. The district contains 86 schools, including Another group wanted to move to Windows elementary and high schools, and uses XP. “The first group really wanted us to go customized educational software to Linux, because they thought it was applications in its classrooms. Students cheaper, more efficient, and could work on share more than 2,200 PCs, which run on any computer type,” says Yarzagaray. “But different versions of the Windows® we had a new financial director, Karina operating system. However, because some Lombardi–de Freitas Brás, who really of these shared computers are wanted to stay with Windows and move to “We realized we could freestanding machines, students often Windows XP.” lower our costs changed settings and downloaded software, making overall system Solution significantly without management difficult. “In some cases, Following a short, unsuccessful test of the compromising the nobody knew how to get the PCs to work Linux operating system, the Curaçao again after the students got through using Roman Catholic School Board decided to functionality of our them each day,” says Milton H.R. implement Windows XP, based partly on computers because of Yarzagaray, Systems Engineer for the the newly released feature called the school board. “Sometimes we would have Shared Computer Toolkit. During the Tech the toolkit feature, to completely reinstall the entire Windows Ed 2005 Convention in Orlando, Florida, which is free.” operating system.” Yarzagaray and another IT professional viewed a demonstration of the Shared Milton H.R. Yarzagaray, Systems Engineer, And because the school district operates Computer Toolkit. This feature, targeted to Curaçao Roman Catholic School Board on a very limited budget, only five IT administrators of shared PCs, makes professionals are employed to maintain computers more reliable and less time- networks and the computer infrastructure consuming to manage. for all 86 schools. “I have more than 500 computers to look after, doing things like The Shared Computer Toolkit for Windows updating software and installing patches,” XP contains the Windows Disk Protection says Yarzagaray. “Because our facilities tool, which clears changes each time a are so spread out and our staff so small, computer restarts. This prevents users, we’re constantly traveling to geographically viruses, spyware, or other programs from dispersed schools all over the island to making permanent changes to the hard solve problems. All that driving really took a disk. “It’s basically a way to reset the lot of time out of our work week.” computer to a known, trusted condition,” says Yarzagaray. “I actually made a bet The product also comes with a User significantly without compromising the Restrictions tool, designed to let functionality of our computers because of with some of the administrators easily limit users’ access to the Toolkit feature, which is free.” students that they Windows system utilities, files, and data. With this tool, system administrators like IT support costs have dropped too. “The couldn’t uninstall some Yarzagaray can stop users from accessing Microsoft support program is great. It’s software without the control panel, command prompt, and much easier for us to get information and other system utilities without having to edit training for Windows from them than it administrator the registry or use more-advanced tools would have been with Linux,” he adds. passwords and user like GPEdit. It can also stop users from running unauthorized software on a shared Improved Security and Reliability rights. I dared them to computer. “It allows us to lock down the Because the Windows Disk Protection tool delete it, and they computer if we want to,” Yarzagaray says. provides additional safeguarding against spyware, viruses, and user tampering, it haven’t been able to The toolkit also helps to protect user has improved computer security for the figure out how.” privacy by refreshing the desktop, user schools within the district. “Soon after settings, and user data each time a student installing the product, I introduced a few Milton H.R. Yarzagaray, Systems Engineer, logs on. In addition, it consolidates several viruses into the system,” says Yarzagaray. Curaçao Roman Catholic School Board accessibility features into one user “When I turned the computer off and back interface, so that students can have easier on, I didn’t see any traces whatsoever of access to the features they use most those viruses.” regularly. Yarzagaray was so confident in the security aspects of the Shared Computer Toolkit Benefits that he dared students to find a way to Implementing the Shared Computer Toolkit hack into the system. “With the protection for Windows XP has provided the Curaçao we now have, if students install programs Roman Catholic School Board with a or tamper with a computer, we only have to system that features lower total cost of reboot the computers after they’ve ownership, improved security and finished,” he says. “I actually made a bet reliability, and easier management. It has with some of the students that they couldn’t also enabled Yarzagaray to save 16 hours uninstall some software without per week and U.S.$500 per month spent administrator passwords and user rights,” traveling and troubleshooting. The overall says Yarzagaray. “I dared them to delete it, IT support burden has been reduced by 20 and they haven’t been able to figure out percent. how.”

Lowered Ownership Costs The reliability of the new solution has also For the district, deploying Windows XP, impressed Yarzagaray and the rest of the especially with the Shared Computer district’s IT personnel. “Things are definitely Toolkit, was less costly overall than smoother now, and extremely reliable,” he implementing Linux. “Linux would have says. “We ran a Linux pilot program in been more expensive,” says Yarzagaray. three schools, but the system didn’t support “We realized we could lower our costs all the software that we wanted to use. It would have required running Windows 98 whether that means setting permissions or on top of the Linux system. When we saw blocking certain students’ access. All we this, it confirmed why Windows was a have to do is set it and forget it. It’s very better choice.” simple.” In some cases, he says that the IT staff has been able to quickly show Saved Travel Time teachers how to apply their own policies Introducing Windows XP has also greatly and set their own user restrictions. reduced the support burden on the district’s small IT staff. “Previously, we would get Being able to operate within the same called out on maintenance all the time,” familiar Windows environment has also says Yarzagaray. “Whether someone been beneficial, says Yarzagaray. “The couldn’t access the Internet, or needed to Windows platform is very easy to use. We change IP addresses, or couldn’t connect had many people here, including to the server, we would be called out every administrators, teachers, and students, week. Now those types of calls only who were originally afraid of using happen every three weeks or so.” computers. But when we first introduced Windows XP, they easily understood the In fact, Yarzagaray says that Windows XP interface, based on their previous has saved him 16 hours per week of travel experience with Windows. Also, when we and service time. “We are so understaffed were looking at the two different systems, that we were regularly about three to four we all knew the Windows environment and months behind on our other work,” he says. how it operates. And the changes in the “But because of the Toolkit, I don’t have to Windows XP platform aren’t that leave my projects to go out and help fix complicated, so we all got up to speed network problems, or reinstall the system, quickly.” or back up data anymore,” he says. “Now, the problems are just related to cables Linux did not provide that luxury. “Linux being unplugged or other hardware trouble. would have been more complex for all of us I discover problems within 10 minutes now, to understand, as well as troubleshoot,” because they’re not software-related or says Yarzagaray. “And in terms of support, network-related. I now have more time in we can find more tools and educational my workday to concentrate on other software to work on [Windows] XP, as things.” opposed to on Linux.”

Provided Easy Management Although the Shared Computer Toolkit for System management overall is also much Windows XP is currently installed on only easier with the district’s new Windows XP 150 of the district’s PCs, Yarzagaray hopes operating system. “With Windows, we can to have it completely installed on all 2,200 solve most problems by pointing and machines within the next six months. He clicking. It makes our job easier as got board approval to put it on all administrators,” says Yarzagaray. “The computers. “We also want to have more Toolkit offers an effective list of restrictions laptop computers in each classroom you can set on an individual computer, eventually,” he says. “If that happens, there For More Information will be even more sharing of computers Microsoft Windows XP Professional For more information about Microsoft than there is now. But we’ll be ready for it Microsoft Windows XP Professional gives products and services, call the Microsoft because of the Toolkit.” you the freedom to do what you want at Sales Information Center at (800) 426- home and at work--simply, reliably, and 9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft securely. Canada Information Centre at (877) 568- 2495. Customers who are deaf or hard- For more information about Windows XP of-hearing can reach Microsoft text Professional, go to: telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro 892-5234 in the United States or (905) 568-9641 in Canada. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to: www.microsoft.com

For more information about Curaçao Roman Catholic School Board products and services, call (599-9)767-1222 or visit the Web site at: www.rkcs.org

Software and Services  Microsoft Windows XP Professional

© 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Microsoft, Windows and the Windows logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Document published April 2006