Bradford College is getting a makeover. It will have a new college building with ultra-modern facilities as part of a plan to deliver ‘world-class teaching in world-class buildings’, and fundamental to this aim is a green computing strategy.

‘We need to design a new footprint for the college which is being built over the next five years. Our principal supports IT as a business strategic service rather than reactive technical function, and we are focused on reducing our carbon footprint and having a more manageable and efficient personal computing strategy,’ says IT services manager Rose Kane.

To this end, Kane is using thin-client technology from NEC. The college has already made some changes to move away from a PC environment by deploying laptops to mobile roles, and adopting a virtual personal computing centre (VPCC) pilot in key areas.

‘It is easier to manage the desktop environment from the VPCC than to manage standard PCs, but it is not a case of one size fits all,’ says Kane.

‘Groups of students with standard work who need access to applications such as Office and files are suited to thin-client computing.’

Another factor in favour of thin clients is the continued support of personal computing, which is better managed from a server environment.

‘It simplifies control – all the software is managed on the VPCC in one place, so there is no worry about a failure on the desktop. We can control what happens and it reduces the legwork as nobody has to go and fiddle with the desktop,’ says Kane.

A pilot, which commenced in April, involved 20 devices installed in a library and 10 across 10 separate departments for use by central services staff.

Kane is delighted by the results of the pilot because thin clients fit in with a strategy for mobility, using wireless technology for handheld devices and campus-managed print, which Bradford College is pursuing.

A notable fact revealed by the pilot was the potential power savings using thin clients compared with PCs. ‘The thin-client devices had automatic power save and used a tenth of the power supply needed for PCs,’ says Kane.

Working with supplier Phoenix Computers, the college has plans to replace PCs in relevant areas, rising over time to up to two-thirds of its desktop assets, and to assist in the evolution towards mobile, flexible and ecological use of its building space of the future.b