Case Study: Colt Technology Services achieves scalable, storage-less DaaS and 40% higher desktop density with Atlantis Computing

Cloud-based VDI delivers IT efficiency and scalability for developer and its customers

Colt Technology, working with service provider Agilisys, developed a cloud-hosted desktop-as-a-service (DaaS) to solve widespread end-user IT challenges: ageing desktops, slow OS/application upgrades, limited remote working and insecure, hard-to-manage data for customers including UK borough councils. The initiative began as Colt’s internal “Office of the Future” programme in 2010 and launched commercially with Agilisys in August 2012 to deliver a scalable, centrally managed virtual desktop service.

Colt implemented VMware View on a VCE vBlock with Atlantis ILIO diskless VDI, using server RAM as primary storage to avoid extra storage hardware and enable fast, modular scaling (units of 100) up to 20,000 users. The solution boosted desktop density by about 40%, cut capex/opex, sped provisioning (multiple racks for thousands of users in under an hour), added DR/high availability, improved performance and remote access, and won Best Desktop Virtualisation Project at VMworld Europe 2012.

Colt Technology Services

Brian Keats

VDI Project Manager