Case Study: University of Nantes achieves reduced total cost of ownership and rapid desktop deployment with Ubuntu

Meeting evolving IT needs at the University of Nantes, France

The University of Nantes, serving over 40,000 students and staff, faced a complex desktop challenge: a wide range of users and outdated to modern machines, decentralized departmental support processes, and cultural resistance to change. IT Services needed a secure, easy‑to‑use desktop platform that would run on older hardware, cut licensing and management costs, and allow fast, low‑cost deployment without disrupting teaching or administration.

The university selected Ubuntu for its strong performance on legacy PCs and its efficient management tools, and deployed it across more than 1,700 machines in teaching, research and administration. The result was rapid, low‑effort upgrades, broad user acceptance—even among Windows loyalists—and a meaningful reduction in total cost of ownership thanks to license freedom and simpler deployment and support, with productivity remaining unaffected.

University of Nantes

Matthieu Le Corre

technical manager