Sparkasse Haslach-Zell

Bank Improves Customer Service using Sun Ray Technology

Sparkasse Haslach-Zell is a savings bank headquartered in Zell, Germany. The bank has 11 branch offices, employs 230 people and manages EUR 900 million.

Customer Challenges

Maximize effectiveness of bank consultants and improve customer service
Minimize capital expenditures and operating costs
Integrate and simplify IT administration for complex desktop environment

Solution

Sparkasse Haslach-Zell (SHZ) upgraded its customer relationship systems to Sun Ray ultra-thin clients, Sun x64 servers and the Java Desktop System. Using the smart card, SHZ employees can log onto any available Sun Ray client with a single sign-on.

Business Results

Higher utilization levels for customer meeting rooms
More responsive customer service
94% reduction in power consumption
Full payback expected in 20 months

Products and Services

Story Details

Bankers pay attention to money, so it's not surprising that Sparkasse Haslach-Zell (SHZ) realized recently that its PC-based infrastructure was too expensive to maintain and use. The reasons were aging equipment - 166 MHz Pentium-based PCs - and a complex mixture of desktop applications. The bank also needed to increase the effectiveness of its consulting staff. Several SHZ consultants shared a room used for meeting with clients. Difficulties in accessing files and printers on the room's PC prevented consultants from responding quickly and effectively to customer needs and limited the number of customers they could service.

" One Sun Ray client uses just 11 watts, compared to 150 or more with a typical PC. We've seen huge reductions in our electricity costs, thanks to Sun. "

— Hans-Jürgen Neumaier, Head of the IT Organization department, Sparkasse Haslach-Zell

Sun suggested an architecture based on ultra-thin clients. Initially skeptical, SHZ ran the numbers using an ROI calculator provided by Sun and predicted substantial savings. In a first-phase rollout aimed at the bank's customer relationship management systems, SHZ deployed 25 Sun Ray ultra-thin clients and 3 Sun V20z servers with dual AMD Opteron processors. The servers are installed in a central location and connected to the Sun Ray clients over broadband connections.

While the bank could have chosen a free Linux distribution for the thin clients, that would have required an expensive and time - consuming learning curve. The bank opted instead for Java Desktop System software. For access and authentication, SHZ chose Citrix MetaFrame to manage Windows-based applications and RayMote W*Admin software from Slovakia-based UNIT to manage Solaris and Linux applications.

The biggest benefit to SHZ is to allow bank consultants to share offices more effectively. A consultant can use any meeting room at any time simply by inserting a smart card into the room's Sun Ray client. The computing environment comes up in the meeting room exactly as it was at the consultant's desktop, with application, file system and printer configurations all set correctly for that user. Now SHZ consultants can handle more customers per day and provide better levels of customer service.

Electricity savings are substantial: A Sun Ray ultra-thin client consumes just 11 watts versus 150 for a typical PC. Sun Ray clients have fewer components, so both acquisition and repair costs have been reduced. Administrative costs are lower, thanks to centralized administration and control of the desktop and applications. New applications, upgrades and patches are much simpler to deploy, since they only have to be installed on the servers, not on each individual desktop.

SHZ is so pleased with the Sun-powered environment that it completed the rollout in April 2005, deploying a total of 150 Sun Ray clients. You could say that Sun ultra-thin clients are making an ultra-big difference at SHZ.