Want Macs Configured Your Way? CDW Launches Volume Custom Software Imaging for Apple Systems
VERNON HILLS, Ill. - June 9, 2008 - CDW Corporation, a leading provider of technology products and services to business, government and education, today announced that its Technology Services organization now provides custom software imaging services on a volume basis to support quantity purchases of Apple® products. As one of Apple's largest channel partners, CDW has installed the capacity to image hundreds of Apple laptop and desktop products per week, scalable to still higher volumes as needed.
"CDW's streamlined custom-imaging process is especially valuable to businesses that buy Apple computers in volume, because it reduces deployment time and expense, and allows users to minimize transition time to new equipment," said Norm Lillis, CDW vice president, services. "Providing this service is the latest way that CDW delivers added value to customers, in this case by relieving IT personnel of a time-consuming core task, so that they can focus on higher-level technology issues and projects."
Morris Communications: Nationwide Media Company Trusts Mac® Imaging to CDW
Morris Communications (www.morris.com), headquartered in Augusta, Georgia, is a multimedia company with diversified holdings that include newspaper and magazine publishing, outdoor advertising, radio broadcasting, book publishing and distribution, and online services. The rapidly growing company operates more than 100 business locations in 32 states and several in overseas locations.
Roughly 25 percent of Morris Communications computer users are creative personnel using Apple products, which once were purchased and configured locally by staff in the company's 100-plus business locations - a rugged challenge for technical support and cost management. In 2005, Morris Communications launched a plan to standardize the company's Mac desktops and laptops. They purchased the equipment through CDW but took delivery and imaged the computers internally at Morris Communications' headquarters before shipping them on to user destinations.
"Standardizing our Mac equipment and images was exactly the right thing to do - it enabled better asset management and technical support, so the first step alone made for stronger, more cost-effective Mac systems," said Morris Communications Business Analyst Dave Mussman, who has spearheaded the company's standardization programs. "However, that first step also meant a considerable amount of extra shipping, an IT staff investment of about three hours per machine in Augusta, and some additional training and time investment from our associates at each location. We were not done looking for the best solution."
Mussman and his team considered other ways to manage the delivery of standardized Mac images, even considering installation of an imaging server at each location to reduce shipping expenses. However, their goal was also to reduce the total burden on IT staff and users alike, and dispersed imaging servers would not achieve that. So, when CDW proposed providing custom software imaging for Morris Communications' Macs and shipping the machines directly to user destinations, Mussman took a close, hard look, and signed up.
"Having CDW image our Macs allows us to have them shipped directly to user locations," Mussman said, "and - with the configuration we have them install - we can see each Mac and manage it from our central office in Augusta as soon as someone plugs it into their local area network. We have virtually eliminated the time burden from new machine configuration, including the training and support we formerly needed to give local personnel. Plus, we have more consistency of Mac configurations - hence, lower support costs - across our system."
CDW's custom software imaging system enables the Morris Communications' IT team to update their specified image with a single FTP upload, and CDW automatically incorporates all Apple software updates directly to the customer's standard image.
"Within one week of any configuration update we make," Mussman concludes, "the new image is in circulation on all new machines, and our central management capabilities allow us to retrofit key updates easily to previously installed machines."
"System control, quality installation and timely delivery are common objectives that our customers present to us," said CDW's Lillis. "CDW's Technology Services organization strives continually to understand customers' business requirements and help their IT teams stay focused on solving mission-critical challenges."
For more information about CDW's Apple custom software imaging services and a virtual tour of CDW's Configuration Center, please visit http://www.cdw.com/content/services/implementation/configuration.aspx#.
About CDW
CDW is a leading provider of technology solutions for business, government and education. Ranked No. 39 on Forbes' list of America's Largest Private Companies, CDW features dedicated account managers who help customers choose the right technology products and services to meet their needs. The company's technology specialists offer expertise in designing customized solutions, while its advanced technology engineers can assist customers with the implementation and long-term management of those solutions. Areas of focus include notebooks, desktops, printers, servers and storage, unified communications, security, wireless, power and cooling, networking, software licensing and mobility solutions.
CDW was founded in 1984 and as of December 31, 2007 employed approximately 6,300 coworkers. In 2007, the company generated sales of $8.1 billion. For more information, visit CDW.com.
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