Case Study: Hamersley Iron achieves an easier, more powerful desktop environment with Avanade's Windows XP SOE

New functionality of Windows provides Hamersley Iron with an easy interface, and powerful capabilities

Hamersley Iron, a member of the Rio Tinto Group, was running a fragmented desktop environment (Windows 95 and NT4) that increased administration overhead and undermined system stability. Management identified a standard operating system as critical to reduce support tasks and improve consistency across desktops and notebooks.

They ran a Windows XP pilot to build a Standard Operating Environment, testing features like offline file synchronization, ACPI, Dynamic PnP/USB support, centralized administration via Windows 2000 Active Directory, remote assistance, and streamlined deployment and migration tools. The result was a simpler, more intuitive interface with strong support capabilities—“simple and intuitive for our infrequent users, yet powerful enough for our end users,” according to Sylvia Ordonez, IT Support Coordinator—improving usability and reducing support burden.

Hamersley Iron

Sylvia Ordonez

IT Support Coordinator