The Gem Group achieves a 475% ROI through by removing manual work from IT asset management and related processes

•  Backup/Recovery/Archiving•  Dell Systems Management•  Point of Sale•  Services•  Systems Management—Client•  Workstations

“ Compliance and asset management can really take a lot of time to handle. Dell takes a huge burden off what was really becoming a time-consuming process.”Ben Messar, Director of Information Technology, The Gem Group

Customer Profile

Company: The Gem Group

Industry: Retail and Wholesale

Country: United States

Employees: 600+

Web: www.gemline.com

Business Need As it began planning for a new ERP system, The Gem Group realized that it had limited visibility into its client computing environment. Asset inventories provided a snapshot of the software on the company’s desktop and laptop computers, but they were conducted only twice a year because each inventory event took approximately 15 person days and cost roughly $5,000.

Solution The Gem Group engaged Dell Infrastructure Managed Services to provide real-time, 24×7 visibility into its client systems while reducing the total cost of ownership of those systems. The organization is using Dell Asset Discovery, Asset Inventory, Software Distribution, Patch Management and Online Backup services. The solution greatly simplifies management of desktop and laptop computers company-wide, saving IT staff from manual activities that previously consumed a great deal of time.

  Benefits•  475% ROI on asset management,  

asset discovery and software distribution services

•  5-figure annual cost savings on  asset inventory events

•  $14,000 cost savings in manual deployment of software patches

•  $80,000 savings on desktop and laptop management staff

•  33% reduction in help desk resources•  3-fold higher IT productivity 

distributing new software•  38% more desktop and laptop systems 

under management by smaller IT staff•  50% increase in employee satisfaction•  Real-time visibility into desktop and 

laptop environment•  Real-time management of PCs 

companywide via Web browser•  4-fold faster recovery after  

security breach

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“ Our mobile execs and key sales staff lacked a consistent backup schedule, leading to potential leakage of highly sensitive, mission-critical data. Now with Dell, I know it’s backed up, and I know we can restore. This is a perfect fit.” Ben Messar, Director of Information Technology, The Gem Group

Beyond the new ERP system, The Gem Group also struggled to gain a holistic view of its desktop environment, creating uncertainty with respect to new investments in hardware and software and the deployment of new company-wide technology initiatives. In addition, the company was entering into a rapid growth phase highlighted by a shift from a single, centralized manufacturing process to a multi-facility manufacturing operation across the U.S. and Asia. The Gem Group needed to shift critical IT resources away from manual processes to allow its IT organization to focus on key, line-of-business initiatives and set the stage for the next wave of growth.

The Gem Group had other needs, such as ensuring that end user productivity was not compromised due to security threats or unmanaged computers, while simultaneously gaining deeper visibility into the security and configuration status of desktops and laptops across its growing global operations.

Within just a few years, The Gem Group’s desktop management challenge went from one that could be addressed using point products and manual processes to one that required an integrated, automated solution. “Our company was growing, our systems weren’t operating properly and end users weren’t satisfied. As our China office expanded, we realized that we had no idea what they had and we were responsible for them,” says Ben Messar, The Gem Group’s director of information technology. “I was in the middle of a problem, and Dell was a great solution to help me address these problems.”

On-demand desktop management provides 475% ROI

“Our existing solutions were very tedious to use, resource intensive and only provided a snapshot in time into our desktop environment,” says Messar. “We wanted an automated solution but didn’t want to make a significant up-front investment or increase our IT overhead.”

According to Brian Smith, The Gem Group’s technology manager, “We looked at on-premises desktop management solutions from Altiris, Symantec and others, but the $50,000 up-front price tag and the ongoing IT resources required to run those systems drove us to look further at other options. Another organization was offering Microsoft’s SMS as a managed service, but the cost per desktop was considerably higher than Dell and it did not include all the features.”

The Gem Group IT organization had to solve the problem quickly—and with little upfront investment. It also wanted to ensure that traveling executives, sales

In 2005, The Gem Group began planning for a new ERP system that required a minimum PC configuration for its client-side application. To determine the readiness of each computer for the application, The Gem Group needed to assess a number of PC attributes, including operating system, processor speed and RAM, a process that historically took approximately 15 person days and cost roughly $5,000 per event.

Technology at Work

Services

Dell™ Infrastructure Managed Services

Asset Discovery

Asset Management

Online Backup

Patch Management

Software Distribution

teams and far-flung manufacturing employees would not need to connect to a LAN via a virtual private network (VPN) for security and configuration updates as well as data backup. An Internet-based connectivity solution was the obvious choice to provide IT with the required visibility into all desktops and laptops, regardless of location. In addition, The Gem Group needed a way to track and enforce compliance with software license agreements and corporate policies in real-time.

After evaluating numerous alternatives, The Gem Group selected Dell Infrastructure Managed Services to provide Asset Discovery, Asset Management, Software Distribution, Patch Management and Online Backup services.

The Gem Group’s IT organization gained real-time visibility into the condition of its desktop and laptop environment, and they can make required changes to any PC across the organization in real-time, 24×7 from any Web browser. The company estimates that by eliminating its manual compliance and security processes it has saved an estimated $154,000 a year in total expenses, a 475 percent return on investment (ROI), by using Dell Asset Discovery, Asset Management and Software Distribution services.

5-figure annual cost savings on asset inventories

The Gem Group’s IT organization is now able to proactively manage every employee’s computer, including all laptops, to ensure compliance with software licensing agreements and prevailing corporate policies. Dell’s Asset Discovery and Asset Management software services enable The Gem Group to analyze software license information on every PC and quickly generate reports to demonstrate compliance. Additionally, The Gem Group saves $5,000 per asset inventory event, which typically averages twice per year.

“Previously, a snapshot of inventory would take days and then we would have to figure out what the information means,” says Messar. “Now it takes a few hours and is in a format that allows me to do my job. I can now easily organize my data by department for management purposes: customer service, manufacturing, sales, and finance.”

3-fold higher productivity in software distribution

In preparation for deploying several new IT solutions, including ERP, CRM, shipping and VOIP systems, The Gem Group needed to determine that all PCs met a minimum PC configuration baseline. This baseline function delivered an added benefit, allowing The Gem Group to gain a clear understanding of the lifecycle status of its computers companywide, thereby adding efficiency to its PC purchasing process.

The Gem Group is also able to cost-effectively package and distribute new software applications, such as a UPS shipping tool, over the Internet to all of its systems in an automated manner, achieving a three-fold productivity gain.

Smaller IT staff manages  38% more systems

Prior to Dell, The Gem Group relied on manual and resource intensive desktop management processes. With Dell, the company has automated the management of its desktops and laptops, allowing the company’s IT staff to focus on strategic line-of-business initiatives while improving its security and compliance service levels.

Since deploying Dell’s solutions, The Gem Group estimates that it has seen a 38 percent increase in the number of systems it is managing every day. Meanwhile, the number of IT staff required to manage these systems has been reduced by one, an annual savings of $80,000.

“ Previously, a snapshot of inventory would take days and then we would have to figure out what the information means. Now it takes a few hours and is in a format that allows me to do my job.” Ben Messar, Director of Information Technology, The Gem Group

The cost of common desktop management activities has also been dramatically reduced. According to The Gem Group, the company has cut its time to recover after a security breach by 400 percent, while nearly eliminating the roughly $14,000 per year required to manually deploy software patches.

Messar adds, “One great example is online backup for our mobile execs and key sales staff. They lacked a consistent backup schedule, leading to potential leakage of highly sensitive, mission-critical data. Now with Dell, I know it’s backed up and I know we can restore. This is a perfect fit.”

Employee satisfaction up 50%

Dell has enabled The Gem Group to reduce its help desk resources by 33 percent, while reducing the number of calls into its support organization caused by PC problems by nearly 10 percent. As a result, Paula Weadick, The Gem Group’s tech support manager, says “it has increased employee satisfaction by 50 percent based on its internal evaluation criteria.”

“You need as many tools as possible to make life as easy as possible. Compliance and asset management can really take a lot of time to handle. Dell takes a huge burden off what was really becoming a time-consuming process,” Messar concludes.

Availability and terms of Dell Services vary by region. For more information, visit: dell.com/servicedescriptions

© February 2011. Microsoft SMS is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States, other countries or both. This case study is for informational purposes only. DELL MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS CASE STUDY. Reference number: 10009363

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