Sungard Availability Services PC Refresh Programme Customer FAQ. Version No: 1.0 February INF-UKMKT-PMK-PC Refresh FAQs

Transcription

1 INF-UKMKT-PMK-PC Refresh FAQs Sungard Availability Services 2016 PC Refresh Programme Customer FAQ Version No: 1.0 February 2016 External Sungard Availability Services is a trademark of SunGard Data Systems Inc. or its affiliate used under license. All other trade names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders Sungard Availability Services, all rights reserved. CHK

2 Table of Contents 1. Overview Frequently Asked Questions What is Sungard Availability Services Policy on PC Technology at Workplace Recovery Centres? When will Sungard AS Deploy Refreshed PCs? What Technology Advances have taken Place in the PC Market Place? What will the New Specification of the Workplace PCs be? Which Operating System will the Proposed PCs be able to run? Will Monitors be Refreshed as part of the 2016 Refresh Programme? Will Monitors be Regularly Refreshed in line with the PC Refresh Cycle? What are the Benefits of Sungard AS PC Refresh Policy? Will Sungard AS Increase the Quantity of PCs Available on a Fixed Basis at Each Site? Which PCs are to be Included as part of the Refresh Programme? Which PCs will not be Refreshed in 2016? What will it cost a Dedicated Risk Workplace Customer to add their PCs to the Refresh? What will it cost a Shared Risk Workplace Customer to Subscribe to the Refresh Programme? When will the PCs be Refreshed again? Will Sungard AS Upgrade these PCs at the Request of a Customer before the Next Refresh? How will the PCs be Maintained? When the PCs are Refreshed, How will Customer Images and the Project generally be Managed? PC Loan Service Can Customers buy one of the Proposed PCs from Sungard AS so that they can Build their Images in their Home Environment? Can Customers Rent a PC from Sungard AS to Operate in their Home Environment? How will the PCs be Operationally Deployed? When will Each Site be Refreshed?

3 1. Overview This document contains a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Sungard Availability Services forthcoming Workplace PC refresh programme in Q Sungard Availability Services (Sungard AS) is the only Business Continuity Service Provider with a commitment to offering a uniform PC platform throughout its UK Workplace Recovery Centres. 3

4 2. Frequently Asked Questions 2.1. What is Sungard Availability Services Policy on PC Technology at Workplace Recovery Centres? Sungard Availability Services (Sungard AS) is committed to refreshing PC technology, when PC development has advanced to an extent that warrants a complete change of specification from the then deployed specification. The refresh cycle varies depending upon the rate of advancement in the PC industry. Sungard AS is committed to standardising its PC technology at Workplace Recovery Centres, wherever practicable, deploying identical PC models for all Back Office and Front Office end user positions. Front Office PCs are typically to a higher memory specification than Back Office PCs, thus preserving the greatest flexibility in customer support, particularly in the event of multiple invocations. Sungard AS reviews its PC technology regularly, assessing PC developments and Operating Systems used by the majority of its customers to determine the right time to deploy new PCs, or changes to the existing specification. Sungard AS deploys PCs from mainstream manufacturers stable image Desktop range, selecting a specification that would meet customer recovery requirements and have the longest availability, whilst not warranting an increase to the customers annual subscription charge. Sungard AS reserves the right to alter the refresh time cycle and its scope dependent on when technology change warrants new specifications When will Sungard AS Deploy Refreshed PCs? The Workplace PC refresh programme will be delivered by a phased rollout commencing in Q This will be for all shared and PC Refresh contracted dedicated PCs, which are not HP EliteDesk 800 G1. For more detail see How will the PCs be operationally deployed below What Technology Advances have taken Place in the PC Market Place? Sungard AS has seen a number of technology changes being delivered through the PC products being offered in the market place. The effects of these have been reviewed and assessed for their impact on customer requirements. The changes and their impacts are itemised in the table below, along with their availability with the Sungard AS PC. Technology Availability Impact change USB 3 Available with this upgrade Although available, the majority of customers do not permit their staff uncontrolled access to the USB ports. Therefore, the likelihood of a USB-3 device requiring connection to a Workplace PC is very low. 4

5 Technology change DisplayPort HDMI SSD (Solid State Disk) Blu-Ray Players/writers Windows XP end of life d by Microsoft. Windows 7 x64, Windows 8, 8.1, 8.1 update & Win10 Availability Available with this upgrade Available with this upgrade Available with this upgrade DVD ±RW only Win 10 Professional, downgrade to Win 7 Professional Impact The current PC already has a DisplayPort connection available. Customers do not provide monitors. Sungard AS current monitors are able to connect with one or more of the following, VGA, DVI or displayport, all of which can be supported. Manufacturers monitor roadmaps show continued support of VGA, DVI and DisplayPort, on some of their range until A 2 way interface. Both the above answers apply to this change SSD is an optional replacement (or addition) to the HDD (Hard Disk Drive). Sungard AS has opted to provide SSDs in their PC stock. The reasons are an improved data transfer rate and potential improved reliability, over time, due to the storage device not containing moving parts. The majority of customers do not permit their staff uncontrolled access to the DVD re-writer, so the likelihood of a Blu-Ray device being permitted in a company connected PC is very low. Win 7 x64, Windows 8, 8.1, 8.1 update and Win 10 are operating systems (OS) that make use of, and work better with more than 4GB of memory. Older or x32 OS will run on computers with more than 4GB, but will only be able to make use of the first 3.5GB (assuming 0.5GB Graphics) 2.4. What will the New Specification of the Workplace PCs be? Due to a need to ensure support for newer Operating Systems and Programs, Sungard AS is going to refresh the shared Workplace PCs. We are taking the opportunity to deploy one of the higher specification business PCs. This has enabled us to take advantage of recent component introductions including 6 th generation Itanium CPU and the Intel Skylake chipset. The 2016 PC specification will be: Component Part Number Specification Model Processor Chipset Back office Spec Memory Front office Spec Memory Floppy Drive Dell Optiplex 7040 SFF 180W Intel Itanium i (Quad core, 8MB, 8T, 3.4GHz, 65W) Intel Q170 Skylake 16GB ( 2 x 8GB 2133MHz DDR4 Non-ECC) easily expandable to 32GB 32GB (2 x 16GB 2133MHz DDR4 Non-ECC ), expandable to 64GB None 5

6 Component Part Number Specification Hard Drive Media Drive On board Graphics Adapter Secondary Graphic Card Network Card M.2 256GB SATA self encrypting Solid State Drive (SSD) DVD ±RW Bezel, Small Form Factor, 8x PowerDVD software NOT included Intel Integrated Graphics, Dell Optiplex None Intel Integrated Keyboard Mouse I/O ports and connectors Dell Multi-media Keyboard KB216 UK QWERTY Dell Wired Optical Mouse MS116 - Black 10 USB (4 Front 2x USB2, 2x USB3, 6 Rear 2x USB2, 4x USB3) 2 x DisplayPort 1 x HDMI 1 x PCIe x 16 2 x PCIe x 1 1 x PCI 2.5. Which Operating System will the Proposed PCs be able to run? Operating System Supported Comment Windows 2000 No No longer supported by Microsoft Windows XP Home Windows XP Professional Windows Vista Windows 7 Freedos Windows 8, 8.1 & 8.1 update Win10 No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No longer supported by Microsoft No longer supported by Microsoft Microsoft end of sale Oct 2011 Standard support April 2012 extended support until April 2017 Linux Yes Earliest release to be confirmed Ubuntu Yes Earliest release to be confirmed NB: - No, or unsupported, means that there are limited or no new drivers issued for the Operating System. However, customers can install and run the Operating System on the PCs. There may be limited PC functionality on the PC and Sungard AS offers no guarantee that unsupported OS will function correctly. 6

7 2.6. Will Monitors be Refreshed as part of the 2016 Refresh Programme? Not at this time. As monitors typically have a longer lifecycle than PCs, Sungard AS has not budgeted for the purchase of new monitors in Monitors will remain as per current specification Will Monitors be Regularly Refreshed in line with the PC Refresh Cycle? No. Sungard AS will not be refreshing monitors as regularly as it refreshes PCs as these typically have a much longer life cycle. Customer IT support teams advise that they typically run monitors for 8 to 12 years What are the Benefits of Sungard AS PC Refresh Policy? Maintaining a single PC specification at all sites has several advantages: Customers benefit from the maintenance of standard technology that will be close to that operated in their production environment. The cost of refreshing the technology is borne equally by all our customers rather than just the ones who are at the bleeding edge. Customers have greater clarity of the service they receive and know when the technology is going to be next refreshed. Customers only have to test their standard desktop build on one specification of PC. This means that PCs can be imaged very quickly following a disaster, and in the unlikely event of a multiple invocation, the recovery process will work equally well in another Workplace suite or site. This is particularly important to large, multi-site customers. Cost savings to companies that have outsourced their desktop management to a third party, who will be charged to make sure each image is tested and works. PCs are less prone to failure, so customers can have a high confidence in their being able to recover Will Sungard AS Increase the Quantity of PCs Available on a Fixed Basis at Each Site? Sungard AS is deploying PCs on all shared desks within our Workplace Recovery Centres, as part of the 2016 PC Refresh. Sungard AS has consistently increased the PC refresh population on each occasion. This iteration takes the PC population to over 8,600, an increase of over the last refresh. While the maintenance of a standard PC platform is Sungard AS intent, it is not always possible to offer this capability. For example if a new facility is opened or we need to increase the number of PCs at a particular facility to meet a customer s immediate response requirement, it may not be possible to obtain new / additional PCs of the same specification. In this instance, we may operate with a different specification until the next site wide refresh is undertaken Which PCs are to be Included as part of the Refresh Programme? All PCs located in shared risk recovery suites, Front and Back Office, CCCs, as well as dedicated suites where PC Refresh forms part of the contractual agreement. Dedicated Customers who do have PC Refresh within their contract, but have been provided with their PCs as HP EliteDesk 800 G1 will not have their PCs refreshed during this cycle. 7

8 2.11. Which PCs will not be Refreshed in 2016? PCs located within dedicated Workplace suites will not be included within the refresh programme unless there is a specific contractual requirement to do so. Customers who subscribe to dedicated suites but do not have entitlement to the refresh programme will be given the opportunity to subscribe to the refresh programme for an incremental subscription premium. QuickShip PCs will not form part of the 2016 refresh. This is because Sungard AS will be populating all shared Workplace positions. Apple Macs, located at various Sungard AS sites will not be refreshed. Sungard AS Apple imac resource was upgraded during the deployment of the Mansell Street site (CLN), in Customers requesting an Apple Mac refresh should contact their Account Manager, so that the request can be reviewed in line with Sungard AS procedures What will it cost a Dedicated Risk Workplace Customer to add their PCs to the Refresh? Dedicated customers wishing to avail themselves of the PC Refresh programme must discuss this requirement with their Sungard AS Account Manager. They will provide a quotation for this service What will it cost a Shared Risk Workplace Customer to Subscribe to the Refresh Programme? Customers subscribing to shared Workplaces will not be charged any incremental subscription fees to obtain the benefits of the refresh programme regardless of the specification of PC reflected in their contract schedule. Customers subscribing to London Workplace Recovery Centres, who have in the past needed to contract to QuickShip PCs to populate all of their subscribed positions, should discuss the changes a PC on every desk provides, with their Sungard AS Account Manager When will the PCs be Refreshed again? Post the 2016 refresh, the next refresh is likely to be reviewed in 24 to 30 months time. This will be to assess the changes, against the Dell Optiplex 7040, available in the then current manufacturers offered PCs, and the alternate solutions for providing production desktop services. The assessment will establish the necessity of a refresh at that time. Therefore a potential date for the next refresh will be confirmed after the review, at that time. Sungard AS reserves the right to alter this date in line with significant technological changes from the PC manufacturers Will Sungard AS Upgrade these PCs at the Request of a Customer before the Next Refresh? Past experience has shown that this is unnecessary. However, if the market does change and numerous customers require a change to the specification, this will be considered in advance of the future refresh programmes How will the PCs be Maintained? The new PCs will be bought with a 3 year manufacturer s warranty. This will provide replacement hardware to site for the next working day. Site support staff will be used to install the replacement components. Sungard AS will provide a minimum of 1 PC per site as a 8

9 warm/hot standby, enabling potential resolution of problems before the replacement component(s) are delivered. Failed PCs will be repaired utilising the manufacturer s spares When the PCs are Refreshed, How will Customer Images and the Project generally be Managed? As part of the evaluation process the Workplace Operations Team have undertaken testing, in Sungard AS San Ramone facility, on a selection of customer images to determine and provide guidance for any issues associated with migration. Sources of additional drivers required to support the various Microsoft Operating Systems will be provided by Sungard AS, with the proviso that they are commonly available and the OS concerned is still supported. In particular remaining NT4 users and other pre Windows 7 Operating Systems, which are not supported by the manufacturer or Microsoft themselves. Additional drivers required for each standard Operating System will be provided by the Workplace Operations Team at each Recovery Centre. Sungard AS has taken delivery of the initial despatches of the new PC during January In the initial phase of the project, Sungard AS will deliver five of the new specification PCs to each Recovery Centre in advance of the refresh window. These will be positioned to allow several imaging tests a day to be undertaken simultaneously. Imaging tests will be booked in the normal way and will be additional to normal testing, i.e. it will not be taken out of the customer s annual testing allowance. It will be limited to image testing only and will not incur incremental charges to the customer. In addition, a stock of the new PCs will be set aside to allow customers to test their images in their home environment as follows: PC Loan Service The majority of our customers test their images as part of their scheduled Workplace tests. However, a small number of customers, particularly those who have outsourced their desktop management, and those whose images change regularly, prefer to build and test their images in their home environments. For these customers Sungard AS has developed the PC Loan service. The customer can contact the Sungard AS Service Desk and ask to book a Loan PC. The Workplace fulfilment team will confirm that a PC is available on the dates required, and will ask the customer to confirm the details and acceptance of the associated conditions and charges (see below). Prior to the scheduled dates, the Sungard AS Workplace Fulfilment Team will courier one of Sungard AS' standard PC units to the specified address. Included will be a keyboard and mouse but no monitor. The customer will then have the use of the PC for 3 full days and it will then be collected on the 4th day for return to Sungard AS. For customers who subscribe to the Sungard AS Imaging Service, once the image has been tested, a copy of the image will be stored into Sungard AS Image system. Customers who do not subscribe to Sungard AS Imaging Service must ensure that they have taken all actions necessary to preserve their testing results. 9

10 Because the need for this option has been instigated by Sungard AS performing a PC Refresh, there will be no charge for the first instance of the PC Loan service. This will apply to all first requests for PC Loans, up until 30 th September Subsequent to this date, the customer s yearly allowance will be used. Secondary, subsequent or use of the PC Loan Service will be chargeable. The current charges for this service are 150 for a 3 day test plus delivery charges. Additional test days are charged at 50 per day. The customer will be liable for any loss or damage whilst Sungard AS PC is in their possession. On the return of the PC it will be checked for damage and the disk storage device will be reformatted to remove any customer data. The Workplace fulfilment team will then raise the relevant invoice request form and forward it to the accounts department Can Customers buy one of the Proposed PCs from Sungard AS so that they can Build their Images in their Home Environment? Yes. The new PC will be available for purchase through Sungard AS via an portal. The PC will be at an advantageous price. The price will only be available via Sungard AS and will be fixed until 31st December Customers will only be able to purchase a PC for their use in the management of their Workplace PC image(s). Single unit price will be excluding VAT. This includes delivery. Valid until 31st December Can Customers rent a PC from Sungard AS to Operate in their Home Environment? PCs will not be available for rental. Customers can take advantage of the PC Loan Service (2.18) or purchase a PC (2.19) How will the PCs be Operationally Deployed? Sungard AS Workplace Operations teams will block-book dates for all Recovery Centres in quarter 2, 2016 so that customer tests are not disrupted during the PC Refresh deployment. When a site is scheduled for refresh, the new PCs will be delivered to site and installed on a suite-by-suite basis. Each suite will have the units satisfactorily tested for operation, before the team move on to the next suite. This would mean that any customer that invokes whilst the operational process is being undertaken will have use of sufficient PCs even if the site is part way through the refresh When will Each Site be Refreshed? The new kit will be installed on a suite-by-suite basis throughout May, June and July, as follows: Recovery Centre Deployment Date Borehamwood 9th May

11 Bristol 27th June 2016 City of London 10th July 2016 Coventry 28th May 2016 Crawley 17th May 2016 Docklands Capstan House 17th July 2016 Docklands Lighterman House 17th July 2016 Elland (TC4) 4th July 2016 London Technology Centre (LTC) - Workplace 14th June 2016 London Technology Centre (LTC) CCCs 14th June 2016 Leatherhead 24th May 2016 Leicester 25th May 2016 Livingston 4th June 2016 Poole 13th June 2016 Paris Garden 25th July 2016 Southwark Bridge Road 19th June 2016 Stockport 25th June 2016 Theale 23th May 2016 Warrington 29th June