Kingston University Drives Virtual Learning with Quest Software

Kingston University today announced it is implementing the Quest Software, Inc. (Nasdaq: QSFT) desktop virtualization solution, Quest^® vWorkspace, to give staff and students virtual access to their university desktop and learning resources from any location, on a wide range of devices, at any time.

Kingston University is creating a ‘university without walls’ for its 23,000 students and 2,000 full-time staff. Quest vWorkspace provides staff and students with the flexibility to access their personal files and applications when logging on to any of the university’s 7,000 PCs or 2,000 laptops, or from their personal computers – on or off campus. Kingston University’s additional 1,500-plus distance learning students, based around the UK and abroad, are also able to keep on track with assignments and lectures using the new system. Encouraging students to work from home alleviates the strain on resources and space on campus, which allows Kingston to expand its services to the wider community – local Further Education (FE) colleges and NHS organizations. Quest vWorkspace and Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V virtualization technology will be used throughout the new infrastructure. It is the largest planned deployment for both Quest and Microsoft, to date.

"Kingston University has been researching Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solutions for two-and-a-half years with the aim of providing our staff and students the best solution for flexible access to learning resources regardless of their location,” said Daniel Bolton, technical analyst (R&D), Kingston University. "Our aim of achieving a ‘university without walls’ when it comes to flexible virtual access has been truly recognized with Quest vWorkspace. We initially looked into Citrix and VMware solutions, but felt that Quest’s user environment management and personalization features were more advanced. Quest vWorkspace provided more value with its integrated features, which meant we did not need additional third party tools. In reviews with Quest and Microsoft, we saw how the solution could be customized and scaled to suit our environment, and, with our existing four-year relationship, Quest became the obvious vendor choice. We chose to deploy Quest vWorkspace on the Microsoft Hyper-V platform because it is flexible, robust and low maintenance.”

Staff and students will particularly benefit from the Quest vWorkspace accelerated delivery of multimedia content, which provides a richer and consistent user experience across a wide range of devices. This is provided by Quest Experience Optimized Protocol (EOP), an integrated part of Quest vWorkspace, which gives users an enhanced, PC-like experience. EOP and EOP Xtream enable virtual desktops and applications to respond as if running locally – even over high latency or low bandwidth links – which is key for students to be able to work effectively in any location all over the world.

The solution also provides Kingston University’s IT helpdesk with powerful profile and desktop management tools. IT staff can control a user’s desktop remotely to assist them – instead of having to be physically present on-site – and can log users off their systems, reboot their PCs and end running processes all from a centralized location, which is essential for this solution. The single Quest vWorkspace management console reduces time and costs, and improves staff productivity while granular (role-based) access control increases security of administration. Quest vWorkspace allows IT staff to see from where students are logging in, which helps with overall security, and its logging facilities help with accountability policies. Features like the universal printing capability and USB device support mean the virtual desktop behaves and feels like a physical one, and provides a high quality and effective experience for a wide and demanding user base.

"We are delighted that Quest vWorkspace technology is a key element in Kingston University’s ability to deliver a consistent learning experience at any time and to any location worldwide,” said James Freeman, business unit director EMEA, Quest Software. "Quest is proud to help Kingston deliver a manageable solution that allows IT staff to help users quickly and efficiently wherever they are, and which can adapt to changing demands in the future.”

"This is a great example of what Microsoft and Quest can deliver together,” said Gareth Hall, Windows Server product manager, Microsoft UK. "Together we are delivering a solution which is low cost, quick and easy to deploy and manage, but which also delivers advanced features for a high quality user experience anywhere in the world.”

Phase one of implementation is due to complete in October. For more information on Quest Software’s vWorkspace solution, please visit http://www.quest-software.co.uk/virtualization/desktop.aspx

About Kingston University

With more than 23,000 students, Kingston University is the largest provider of higher education in South West London, offering an extensive range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes both in the United Kingdom and overseas. The University is renowned for teaching excellence, has established itself as a growing force in research and is a pioneer in e-learning. In its most recent University league table, The Sunday Times praised Kingston’s record for teaching quality for positioning it "among the best in the modern university sector”. The University boasts a raft of modern facilities. Three new buildings have opened as part of a £123 million investment programme running until 2018.

About Quest Software, Inc.

Quest Software simplifies and reduces the cost of managing IT for more than 100,000 customers worldwide. Our innovative solutions make solving the toughest IT management problems easier, enabling customers to save time and money across physical, virtual and cloud environments. For more information about Quest go to www.quest.com.

Quest, Quest Software, and the Quest logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Quest Software in the United States and certain other countries. Other trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.