Userful Case Study: Omni in South African schools

CASE STUDY: Userful Multiplier

Novell South Africa Deploys 2,205 SUSE Linux Desktops in 105 Schools With Userful Multiplier

A Case Study by Omni Technology Solutions - A Userful Partner


Userful Multiplier provides up to 10 workstations from a
single computer box using standard 10 monitors, mice and keyboards, reducing total cost of ownership.

Overview
South Africa has 27,781 schools to serve over 12 million students across the country. A challenge faced by all African governments is how to deploy the most cost-effective desktops in their computer labs.

Improved computer access in K-12 schools and post-secondary institutions leads to a more skilled workforce, a narrower “digital divide”, a more diversified economy, and wider participation among all citizens in the knowledge-based economy. South Africa’s North West Province is taking a leadership role in helping their students cross the digital divide. They were looking for the best way to deploy 2,205 desktop computers in 105 of their schools.

Quick Fact: ECO Fact
Userful Multiplier saves money, reduces administration burden, and helps the environment. We’ve saved our customers millions of dollars on hardware costs, millions of hours in installation and maintenance, and tens of thousands of tons of CO2.

The government contacted Pinnacle Micro, one of Novell South Africa’s major OEM hardware partners, for a proposal that would meet their objectives. Pinnacle and Novell South Africa proposed a very low-cost, high performance Linux desktop solution that allows 21 students to work at the same time on three SUSE Linux desktop computers. Yes, that is correct-three PCs per school, each allowing seven students to have their own monitor, keyboard and mouse with full access to the educational applications on the system.

Quick Fact: Total Cost of Ownership
Userful Multiplier’s ability to turn 1 computer into 10 saves you money by greatly reducing hardware and support costs.

The Challenges
The North West Province, like other provincial governments in South Africa, face the challenge of determining how to best:

  • Deploy and manage computer desktops in a large number of schools across a wide geographic area
  • Maximize their IT budget(computers, software, maintenance, technical support)
  • Reduce software licensing costs.
  • Reduce the expense and downtime of computer viruses and malicious spyware
  • Create computer labs that require very little electricity in rural areas

 

The Solution
Pinnacle and Novell South Africa proposed and piloted a “multiplied” SUSE Linux Desktop strategy. Novell’s SUSELinux Desktop is a secure, full-featured desktop operating system that costs a fraction of Microsoft Windows XP. SUSE Linux comes bundles with OpenOffice Novell South Africa used Omni’s Linux Desktop Multiplier, powered by Userful, to reduce hardware costs by leveraging three SUSE Linux computers per school instead of deploying 21 individual computers. The “7-for-1” Linux Desktop Multiplier solution presented an immediate cost savings on hardware and software. The long-term cost savings of decreased electrical; maintenance and management costs will ensure the long-term viability of this project.

Quick Fact: About Userful Multipler
Userful Multiplier is software that lets your Linux computer support up to 10 independent users, monitors and keyboards.

Novell South Africa has prepared a strategy to train teachers how to use SUSE Linux, OpenOffice and the educational applications. This training component is a very important to the success of the project.

PDF Download: Omni Technology Solutions Case Study (PDF - 499KB)
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