Government Agency uses FlexApp to Play Prominent Role Application Delivery Role in Complex Hybrid Workplace
The “Waterschap Brabantse Delta” is a governmental organization that ensures safe dikes, purifies sewage water, improves and monitors the quality of surface water and regulates water levels. To perform these core tasks, IT is an indispensable link in the chain. Employees who (literally!) have their feet planted in the clay must be able to use a properly functioning mobile workspace, the organization must be accessible and available 24/7, and there is a large range of specialized applications. To optimally facilitate this, the IT department started a project to modernize its digital workspace environment. They chose FlexApp as a prominent part of the new hybrid workplace.
The Waterschap Brabantse Delta has about 800 workstations: half are physical PCs in the office and the other half is remote Citrix workstations. One of the challenges in the area of application management was the large number of applications (about 300) and the high management burden this entailed. Maintaining all Golden Images, including repackaging applications, was very time-consuming, partly because some of the applications are legacy applications. Because the applications have to be delivered and managed on two different platforms (Citrix for the locations with low bandwidth, and local installation at the head office), this caused additional complexity.
FlexApp, Liquidware's application layering solution, has a prominent role in the new hybrid workspace environment. Employees will be able to work on their own laptops and plug into a flex working space in the office. Workstations that do not have a good network connection, such as small remote locations at a pumping station, will continue to use Citrix because of its optimization for small bandwidths. On both types of workstations (the physical laptops and the Citrix workstations), applications are offered via FlexApp. Users will be able to access applications from the Liquit catalog, some will be installed locally because of the user experience, some are SaaS; but the majority will be FlexApp based." With FlexApp, you avoid 'image rot' and application conflicts. With FlexApp, applications are actually delivered as a separate layer and not 'baked into' somewhere. With the looming end-of-life for App-V, FlexApp is a solid platform-independent alternative.
One of the benefits that the Waterschap Brabantse Delta staff particularly values is the personal support from Liquidware. With larger suppliers, customers can lose that personal touch, if you get to speak to an actual person at all. Often you have to provide hundreds of log files before someone will look at the problem with you. Liquidware support, which has a 98 percent customer satisfaction rating, puts the customer first. Ultimately, one of main core values of the organization is to 'simplify management' and Liquidware and FlexApp fit perfectly with that.
