Computing Deployment Solutions (CDS)

When an organization’s IT environment falls short of the ideal, a gap forms. This gap is typically characterized by excessive and uncontrolled IT spending due to a complex, difficult-to-support computing environment. This inadequate environment makes system deployments and software implementations problematic. Legacy hardware and software can constrict the computing tasks and solutions IT is capable of offering end users.

The solution is to reduce complexity and increase standardization by selecting a hardware and software baseline, or set of similar baselines, to which all users have access. With standard baselines, the IT department can more easily manage computing resources and roll out new software and hardware to its users. This enables IT to divert spending away from excessive support and maintenance and into strengthening the organization’s competitive advantage and ability to reach its goals.

DSI provides guidance for managing these tasks. At its heart, DSI is about dedicated people using technology standards coupled with in-house automation tools and business processes to improve the deployment of computing devices and make your data environment more efficient.

DSI‘s SKIIL process is a flexible, interrelated series of concepts, models, and best practices that serve as a foundation on which to plan and build technology projects. SKIL principles and practices help organizations define, develop, and deploy technology solutions that meet business objectives. Distributed computing projects tend to be long and complex, and the SKIL process helps participants by creating high-level consensus on vision, architecture, responsibilities, scheduling, and other factors that determine success or failure. A shared vision makes it possible to define, schedule, and carry out detailed methods.

DSI’s Computing Deployment Solutions offering provides the following:

  1. TRaDE configuration system enables the custom-configured load of both the operating system and applications and server operating systems and applications.

  2. Operating system loads can be easily configured to meet the customer's specific requirements. This enables components to be configured consistently, reliability, and with little or no manual intervention and the use of server/workstation profiles can permit site-specific configuration.

  3. Software-enabled configuration allows easy updating of system configuration software or files over extended build/rollout periods, if customer desires. For example, virus protection software will often have updated signature files that are released periodically. These updated files, after approval by the customer, can be easily added to the PC distribution sets.

  4. Consistency of automated configuration process assures that devices are configured similarly over time and is not dependent on configuration decisions made by various engineers in the field.

  5. Custom configuration parameters can be added to accommodate specific customer application requirements (e.g. user specific host IDs, communications gateway addresses, etc.), permitting devices to be configured with a high degree of customization, further eliminating the need for hardware "tune up" in the field.

  6. Custom desktop applications (e.g., Computing Device database apps and data files) can be "reverse-integrated" and distributed to PCs being built.

  7. Desktop application software can be distributed according to group membership or profile, or by exception.

  8. TRaDE software has complete support for all aspects of automated software installation, including file distribution, registry updates, and INI and text file updates. Use of user-specific variables inside software templates enables the building of highly customized application configuration files, especially helpful in configuring communications applications.

  9. Complete support for Windows built-in desktop policy and security features, allowing the production of Windows desktops that are completely customized according to the customer's needs.