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Seamless SaaS Provisioning with 2X ApplicationServer XG

The “software as a service” (SaaS) model has become a popular method for hosting applications, a trend that will continue to gain traction as time progresses. At 2X, we work with many administrators interested in application and virtual desktop delivery options from hosted platforms. Today’s hosted environments a solution that is flexible, able to easily scale to accomodate additional users with maximum ease of use, to allow optimal efficiency and minimal downtime for users. Many existing solutions are far too expensive for most companies; at upwards of $200 per concurrent user, Citrix licensing can strain project rollouts and require administrators to think long and hard before moving to such an application and virtual desktop delivery solution. By providing a highly affordable per-server pricing model, while getting high marks for flexibility and usability in an SaaS setting, 2X ApplicationServer XG can serve as the solution of choice for most hosted environments.

A prime example of 2X ApplicationServer’s versatility in a hosted environment is Florida-based DataTech’s 2X deployment to the MacDonald Training Center in Tampa, FL. MacDonald Training Center (MTC), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, offers people with disabilities living in and around Tampa, FL key services to allow them to improve their everyday lives, including vocational skills training, community living and employment services. The availability of these services allows 500 individuals annually to receive top-notch assistance in seeking to lead improved lives.  The critical nature of MTC’s mission of empowering people with disabilities to lead the lives they choose, means that facilitating technologies must be simple and easy to use, with unparalleled reliability.

Needing a trusted, reliable hosting provider, MTC looked to DataTech, a Florida-based hosting provider and value-added reseller, to provide a powerful yet cost-effective solution, given the organization’s budgetary concerns. Scott Dollar of DataTech explains that the company “wanted to provide MTC with an extremely reliable application and desktop delivery solution, hosted in our datacenter that met the organization’s needs in an extremely affordable way.” While Citrix was initially considered as a possible choice, Dollar notes that both Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop were “far beyond the price point that the MacDonald staff could reasonably support.” Having recommended 2X to other customers in the past, Dollar was pleased to use 2X ApplicationServer XG as “a perfect solution for providing MacDonald trainees and employees with quick, easy application and desktop delivery from any location, allowing worker productivity to soar.” MTC staff have since found 2X ApplicationServer XG to be a great fit from its ease of use and simple, intuitive interface, while its unparalleled affordability allowed such cloud computing benefits to become a workplace reality.

For simple, secure application and desktop delivery and remote access for MacDonald Training Center users, DataTech chose 2X ApplicationServer XG, 2X Software’s all-in-one platform for access to published applications and desktops, as well as published virtual desktops through virtually any hypervisor. The product was utilized on five terminal servers in the DataTech datacenter, with 2X including resource-based load balancing to achieve optimal server performance. Constant uptime is guaranteed by DataTech datacenter redundancy, with MacDonald Training Center using their terminal server resources for Microsoft Office and financial accounting software, along with payroll and donor management applications. MTC staff note that they strive to “run everything through 2X,” with users “easily able to understand how to use 2X to access any remote application they need.”

There’s no question that the move to 2X ApplicationServer XG has allowed MTC to enjoy much greater ease of use than continued reliance on their existing solution. MTC staff note that using stand-alone desktops, updates and upgrades were laborious, with technicians having to work individually on each stand-alone desktop. As the 2X pricing model allowed the organization to enjoy cloud computing benefits at an extremely affordable price, the organization has now been able to centralize application and desktop delivery in a seamless, secure way using DataTech’s datacenter. While DataTech has long trusted the “extremely reliable” 2X ApplicationServer XG as a trusted 2X Partner, MTC staff knew that all that was required to access the applications and desktops they need is to use the 2X Client on their desktops and mobile devices. As a result, Susan and Adelisa report that for accessing their core applications and desktops, “the process couldn’t be simpler!”

Using the 2X Client for remote access has greatly increased productivity and given more flexibility to MacDonald Training Center staff.  The organization is currently in the process using the 2X Client on an Android and Gallaxy Tablet device and it is working seamlessly.  A critical goal of the organization is to implement more mobile devices in order for coaches to complete tasks in the field and at individuals’ homes such as signing paperwork documents and translating case notes which will dramatically increase productivity. Susan and Adelisa explain that while in-house application and desktop delivery has proven effective, the ability to access such functionality on mobile devices will “hugely improve our capacity to serve the individuals we work with,” so the Center can “be confident in 2X Software’s commitment to provide clients for every major device on the market.” In short, Scott Dollar of DataTech notes the 2X benefits for both MacDonald Training Center and DataTech as “simplicity, efficiency and affordability….2X just works!”

For more information, please visit www.2x.com.