TrendsInVogue is a group company of CavinKare, which has
pioneered the concept of 'Family Salons' in India with its
specialist brands – LimeLite and Green Trends. A fast growing
company, the firm which started operations in 2002 has now a
network of over sixty branches across Southern India.
As the company started scaling its operations, it realized the
critical importance of improving the efficiency of its processes.
As the business was totally cash based, collections had to be
monitored regularly to keep an eye on cash inflows. To monitor cash
collections at the branch level, the firm used a software package
that was used by the staff to enter collection related data. To
gain better insights into the running of the business, the firm
wanted to track this collection on an hourly basis. As daily cash
collections during peak periods used to run into lakhs of rupees,
timely monitoring of cash flows was critical.
This called for the IT infrastructure to be always on, as even a
minor disruption in connectivity could cause disruptions in
tracking of cash collections. The firm also wanted the IT
infrastructure to be fully secure, as the data was
confidential.
ROI of Virtual Desktops
|
- TrendsInVogue has been able to cut down more than 50 percent of
time, effort and investments by going in for desktop
virtualization
- Virtual desktops have simplified management, support and
administration
- Faster issue resolution as the firm can install, patch, upgrade
and uninstall applications on the store machines from a remote
location
|
As each location had its own infrastructure – comprising
of a computer for running the billing application, TrendsInVogue
was finding it difficult to manage the IT infrastructure at remote
locations. For example, many of the remote centers had users who
were unskilled in using computers. This meant that every time a new
application had to be installed or there was a problem in using the
IT infrastructure, a member from the central IT team had to locally
travel to the location to address the issue. Backing up data on a
regular basis was also a major issue, as the stores personnel
needed to manually backup data. The firm also did not have
visibility into store level activities.
Even as the firm was contemplating the appropriate solution, the
firm saw potential in a solution from Bangalore based Elina
Networks. The firm offered TrendsInVogue, a "zero hardware cost"
networking solution. This meant that enterprises could simply load
the solution from Elina Networks on a branch computer, and reap the
benefits of desktop virtualization. This meant that the firm could
run both virtual images of Windows and PoS applications on the same
hardware.
Virtualization has been achieved by using VMware Player –
an application that enables enterprises to create and run virtual
machines on a Windows or Linux PC. The base operating system used
is a version of Linux customized by Elina Networks. The virtual
machine is a standard Windows image, which makes it possible for
the retail firm to reinstall the complete OS, drivers, and
applications from a remote location – all within fifteen
minutes. “We have been able to cut down more than 50 percent
of time, effort and investments by going in for desktop
virtualization,” says Ramchandra Ramshetty, who is
responsible for the IT function in the company.
Today, using the solution from Elina Networks, the retail firm
has deployed virtual desktops at all its branches – and IT
personnel go onsite only in case of hardware failure.
“TrendsInVogue
is using the power of desktop virtualization to reduce its IT
support costs across all its branches. This allows the firm to have
only a single PC at each site, while maintaining high security and
complete control over the network and the Windows
environment,” says Prasanna Krishnamoorthy, Manager - Product
Marketing, Elina Networks. Moreover, virtual machines allow
centralized monitoring and management of the network at all
locations through a web user interface.
Today, due to desktop virtualization, even if the OS crashes at a
particular branch, it can be replaced instantly from a remote
central location. The firm can also install, patch, upgrade and
uninstall applications on the store machines from a remote
location.
Using a single click, store machines can be opened from the
headquarters or regional offices. This has provided the retail firm
complete visibility into the store network. Resolution of branch
issues is also faster, and the level of security has gone up
significantly. In case there is a hardware or software change, the
solution immediately raises alerts. An automatic backup facility
ensures backup of data from store machines to regional or
headquarters. Application support issues have also gone down
significantly, as the application environment is uniform and
standardized across all stores.