UK Magnet School Taps New Boundary Technologies for Software Deployment, PC Security and PC Power Management

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--New Boundary Technologies^® today announced Nova Hreod, a magnet school in Swindon, England, is successfully leveraging the company’s PC configuration, security and PC power management technologies to ease school-wide software deployments, secure IT networks and significantly reduce PC energy consumption.

“We had significant issues with the solution’s ability to group computers with similar configurations and then roll-out new software – it was terribly inefficient. We really needed a solution that not only could streamline the software deployment process, but also perform automatic updates, initiate repairs and reduce installation errors.”

Nova Hreod is a specialist college/magnet school for science, mathematics and computing – serving more than 1,200 students ages 11 to 16. The school actively manages more than 700 PCs and features several computer suites and interactive technology rooms; all classrooms feature wired and wireless technology.

“Schools in general are software-intensive,” said Dalton Godwin, Nova Hreod’s IT manager. “That’s even more true with a school such as Nova Hreod that’s specifically geared for science, math and computing.”

Gaining Complete Control
Nova Hreod has worked with NetWorld UK, New Boundary Technologies’ UK distributor, to gain complete control over the school’s software deployment, PC/network security and PC power management activities – all using software from New Boundary Technologies that is simple, automated and granular.

Software Deployment
Dalton notes that Nova Hreod had been using a customized education software deployment solution, but was not happy with it: “We had significant issues with the solution’s ability to group computers with similar configurations and then roll-out new software – it was terribly inefficient. We really needed a solution that not only could streamline the software deployment process, but also perform automatic updates, initiate repairs and reduce installation errors.” Prism Deploy^® was the answer.

Prism Deploy is part of New Boundary Technologies’ integrated Prism Suite^® of PC configuration management software, which also includes IT asset management and patch management modules.

Prism Deploy makes spreading education software on Nova Hreod’s network when and where it is needed ‘a snap,’” Dalton said. “Whether it’s a system-wide deployment that’s called for or getting software to just a couple of PCs, Prism Deploy does it beautifully. We use it to install everything from Macromedia Studio and Adobe Photoshop to managing constant Windows and Java updates; we know exactly when and where all software and software updates are going.”

Dalton notes that what is “really brilliant” about Prism Deploy is that his small staff of three, including himself, does not have to go around to each of the school’s 700 PCs to individually install updates and configuration changes.

PC/Network Security
Beyond software deployments, Nova Hreod found itself turning to NetWorld UK and New Boundary Technologies’ Policy Commander^® product to meet core PC/network security standards. “Policy Commander takes a fraction of the time it would to configure and protect our networks and PCs manually,” Dalton said.

Specifically, Dalton notes that Nova Hreod has a lot of shared network drives, and it was a huge challenge to manage and secure them appropriately: “Policy Commander brought that situation totally under control by allowing us to create custom policies to secure our network resources by setting Active Directory permissions. Our networks are completely secured with Policy Commander, and at a fraction of the cost compared to other security vendors.”

PC Power Management
Nova Hreod also is using PwrSmart^TM from New Boundary Technologies. PwrSmart is a simple, automated PC power management solution that centrally controls power settings and energy consumption. In a typical month, the school saves nearly $5,000 (£3,000) using PwrSmart to ensure its 595 non-laptop computers are powered down when not in use. Over the course of three years, Nova Hreod will save nearly $180,000 (£108,000) using PwrSmart.

“We first tried to manage PC power management settings by going from computer-to-computer and manually running power management scripts – a cumbersome and inefficient process,” Dalton said. “Today, PwrSmart makes controlling PC power management settings simple. It’s especially easy to assign different power schemes to staff and student computers based on when they leave the building each day. It’s also easy to quickly adjust power settings on an ad-hoc basis, for example, if computers need to stay on later for parent-teacher conferences.”

Full Case Study and Free Trial Versions of New Boundary Technologies’ Software
The complete Nova Hreod case study and free, fully functioning trial versions of Prism Deploy, Policy Commander and PwrSmart are available for download on New Boundary Technologies Web site.

About New Boundary Technologies
New Boundary Technologies^® develops innovative software solutions for PC configuration management and remote equipment monitoring and control. The company’s Prism Suite^® automates software deployment, asset management and patch management. PwrSmart™ is a simple, automated PC power management solution that centrally controls PC power settings and energy consumption. Policy Commander^® automates computer security policy enforcement. Radiem^® technology powers the company’s FleetVista™ and TankVista™ products, which monitor and control remote and mobile equipment via wireless Internet. Founded in 1985, New Boundary Technologies is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn. For more information, visit www.newboundary.com or call 800-747-4487.

New Release Tags: New Boundary Technologies, New Boundary, Nova Hreod, Networld UK, Prism Deploy, Prism Suite, Policy Commander, PwrSmart, software deployment, PC configuration management, PC security, network security, PC power management, green IT, Minneapolis, Swindon, England