Through adopting Citrix technology, our aim is to ensure that technology will aide, and not hinder, workers – allowing us to focus on supporting children and young people across the UK with a broad range of services
Alan Crawford
Director, Information Systems
Action for Children
Children’s charity Action for Children has announced plans to deploy Citrix mobile workspaces technology, creating a flexible and efficient IT environment for its employees. This major workplace transformation project will ultimately empower Action for Children’s 6,000 staff, based in over 400 sites across the UK, to deliver an even better service, whilst allowing them to easily work from anywhere.
Action for Children is working with Platinum Citrix Solution Advisor Kelway to design and implement a mobile workspace, built on Citrix XenDesktop®, XenMobile® and Netscaler® technology. Combined, these technologies form Citrix Workspace Suite, which provides a comprehensive and secure solution that integrates app and desktop virtualisation, mobile app and device management, enterprise file sharing, WAN optimisation and secure access to enable people to choose when, where and how work gets done.
A virtual desktop will deliver apps and data as a secure on-demand service to 3,000 thin client devices, whilst XenMobile mobile app and device management will offer true enterprise mobility for up to 1,500 tablet users. Citrix NetScaler will optimise, secure and control access to services over any network, including low bandwidth, high latency environments. Workers will have the ability to work effectively from any device, anywhere. This is especially important for the charity’s field staff – social and care workers, for example – who will be no longer need to return to the office unnecessarily to connect to the network.
Key features of the deployment will include:
- A single, secure virtual desktop, tailored to the specific needs of the workforce and managed centrally which will reduce management administration time whilst enhancing data security as well as allow a seamless migration from Windows XP. The IT team will be able to quickly and flexibly provide additional desktops and virtual applications across the charity’s 400 plus sites – ranging from disability centres to supported housing.
- Field staff will be able to access data and apps critical to their job out on the road, via smartphones, tablet devices or laptops. Removing the need to visit a physical office will make staff more productive and increase the speed with which responses can be made. Filing reports and checking information in situ will further improve efficiency, and improve the service provided to children and parents.
Action for Children will run an initial pilot in September 2014, before deploying Citrix technology across the organisation over the next 12 months.
From an IT perspective, Action for Children was at a crossroads. Faced with a need to migrate from Windows XP and a highly mobile, disparate workforce, we took the opportunity to re-evaluate our employees’ IT needs. Ultimately, we wanted to give our workers the flexibility to work from any device, anywhere, whilst ensuring that apps and data were stored in a secure, central location. Through adopting Citrix technology, our aim is to ensure that technology will aide, and not hinder, workers – allowing us to focus on supporting children and young people across the UK with a broad range of services.
Alan Crawford
Director, Information Systems
Action for Children
Used in a strategic way, technology can completely transform a work environment into somewhere more productive, flexible and efficient. Action for Children’s decision to deploy Citrix technology is testament to its unwavering commitment to delivering the best possible service to staff and the children, families and communities it supports. Jason Tooley
Country Manager, UK
Citrix