With a goal of providing employees real-time access to critical information while also maintaining budgets, Dane County Wisconsin faced a difficult challenge. Twenty-five dispersed county offices with individual servers had created silos of information and escalating IT maintenance costs.

To improve operational efficiency and reduce IT costs in this disparate environment, Dane County implemented Citrix® Presentation Server software with Microsoft® Windows® Servers. Running on 50 servers, the Citrix solution enabled Dane County to replace its CPU environment with a single server network. Today, 1,200 concurrent users – 80 percent of all Dane County employees – in 45 county departments use Citrix software to securely access the information and applications they need, whether they are in the office, in the field, or working from home. Applications running on the system include Microsoft Office, Kronos Time & Attendance, and over 130 custom departmental applications.

“Our Citrix solution has improved Dane County operations by providing real-time information access to all departments and by increasing the efficiency of the IT environment,” said Dawn Szyryj, Senior System Administrator for Dane County. “Employee retention has also improved since installing the system. With secure access from home, employees are not tied to the office, making for a better life/work balance.”

On-demand access to information has also improved employee productivity.  For example, county police officers working in the field now have fast, centralized access to background information and mug shots, assisting them in making accurate, rapid decisions.

IT infrastructure costs have been reduced as well with the Citrix solution. Previously, the county’s 1,800 computers and multiple office servers needed to be upgraded manually, a significant drain on the county’s limited IT staff and budget. “Our maintenance process was time-consuming and very costly,” noted Szyryj.  “Now, with Citrix technology, upgrades can be done from one location very quickly and easily, which has reduced IT costs dramatically.”

About Dane County, Wisconsin

Dane County covers 1,238 square miles and is the second largest county in the state of Wisconsin.  With 25 offices, Dane County manages 45 departments, including the sheriff’s office, local police departments, the zoo, the airport, and human services.

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