Citrix

National Grid Transco, plc

English  |  North America  |  Energy

National Grid Transco plc

“We wouldn’t have been able to interconnect our two networks during the consolidation process without Citrix MetaFrame. Our employees love that they can now access any application from any location by simply logging on to the Web.”

Ivan Olarte, Senior Information Specialist, National Grid Transco plc

  • Key Benefits


    • Eased the consolidation of two disparate networks
    • Streamlined application management
    • Standardized and simplified access to more than 60 applications for 600 end users
    • Connected remote offices in New England and New York

  • Applications Deployed


    60 proprietary applications including:
    • Engineering applications
    • Mainframe access
    • Time entry systems
    • Work order management system

  • Network Environment


    • Citrix® MetaFrame XP™e software running on eight servers:  HP Proliant 3500s with 2-4 CPUs, 1 GB RAM
    • Citrix NFuse® Classic
    • Microsoft Windows® 2000 Servers
    • Dial-up, modem, Internet, Intranet and LAN connections
    • 600+ Pentium desktops

National Grid Transco plc is an international energy delivery business, whose principal activities are in the regulated electricity and gas industries.  

During the process of expanding operations in North America, National Grid’s U.S.-based IT team was faced with the challenge of interconnecting its offices throughout the New England and New York area.  While the New England locations were using Novell-based networks, the New York offices were running on Microsoft® Windows®, making it difficult for the IT team to quickly deploy applications to varying client devices during the consolidation of two separate networks. This environment affected workforce productivity on collaborative projects as some offices could only access Novell-based applications while others were only privy to Windows-based programs. In order to deploy applications to differing client devices and provide users with access to business-critical programs from anywhere at anytime, National Grid chose to install Citrix® MetaFrame XP™e application server software with Citrix NFuse® Classic.

Using MetaFrame XPe, National Grid’s U.S.-based IT team is able to deploy over 60 applications to over 600 users in many locations throughout New England and New York.  Additionally, because NFuse Classic enables the IT team to publish applications to any standard Web browser, National Grid’s New England and New York-based employees now have access to business-critical applications, regardless of location or client device.  

Application performance is optimized with the advanced load management feature in MetaFrame XPe, which allows the IT team to group servers within National Grid’s farm to deliver enhanced scalability to simultaneous users.   Management of remote applications to the desktop has also been completely streamlined since deploying Citrix software. All new installations and updates of Citrix hosted applications are executed from National Grid’s centralized server farm, which contains Citrix servers located in Massachusetts and New York.

About Citrix MetaFrame

Citrix® MetaFrame® application server software provides secure, reliable, cost-effective access to Windows®, UNIX® and Java™ applications from any location, device or network connection. It delivers the end-to-end command and control that enterprise computing requires. Key benefits of a MetaFrame implementation include efficient, centralized management, rapid scalability, instant Web-enablement of existing applications, and flexible access to applications on demand.

About National Grid Transco plc

National Grid Transco plc is an international energy delivery business, whose principal activities are in the regulated electricity and gas industries. It is the largest utility in the UK.

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