Case Study: University of Wollongong in Dubai achieves major IT cost savings and improved user productivity with Citrix

University of Wollongong in Dubai - Customer Case Study

The University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD), a longstanding Australian-founded institution with more than 400 IT users and a six-person IT team, faced a major challenge when the 2009 capital budget was sharply cut: replace aging PCs without degrading user productivity or forcing disruptive changes on staff. IT leadership determined that centralizing applications and desktops in a hosted, virtualized environment was the best path forward and tested several solutions over a constrained 100 Kbps link to ensure acceptable performance and user acceptance.

UOWD implemented a Citrix-based virtual desktop and application solution (XenDesktop, XenApp, XenServer, NetScaler), rolling out 195 users overnight with no visible disruption. By 2013 the university had reduced physical PCs from 500 to about 60 and deployed over 300 thin clients, while gaining seamless software updates, anywhere access, and improved mobility. The move delivered strong savings—an initial 47% reduction in capital expenditure in year one and an average 21% annual reduction in combined capital and operating costs—alongside higher user satisfaction and simpler IT management.

University of Wollongong in Dubai

Joseph Aninias

University of Wollongong in Dubai