“We’re taking advantage of capabilities in Windows 7 Enterprise, like improved smart card authentication and the enhanced user interface design, to tighten PC security and maximize productivity.”

Gail Meredith, Director, Windows Desktop Blockpoint Program Office, Boeing

For Boeing, staying current with technology is mission critical. In 2010, the company decided to deploy the Windows 7 Enterprise operating system to its entire work force. For those computers already running the software, Boeing anticipates continued gains in PC performance and worker productivity, along with improvements in security management.

Business NeedsBased in Chicago, Illinois, Boeing is the world’s foremost manufacturer of commercial and military aircraft. With its leading role in developing and improving aerospace products and systems, Boeing relies heavily on information technology to ensure the success of its global business strategy. This technology spans everything from the sophisticated computer-aided design tools that its engineers use to the PC operating system software that supports those applications.

Over the past several years, business and IT leaders at Boeing have looked for ways to increase the company’s competitive edge. In 2010, executives concluded that it was the right time to move forward with a companywide upgrade of the Windows XP operating system, which it had used for nearly a decade.

Along with the upcoming expiration of enterprise support for Windows XP, the company was motivated by an opportunity to acquire new tools for tightening network security, accelerating PC performance, and improving employee productivity. “When we started looking at moving off of Windows XP, we identified a number of priorities,” says Gail Meredith, Director of the Windows Desktop Blockpoint Program Office at Boeing. “First, we needed a straightforward path for migrating thousands of business applications. We also saw a critical need

for improving protection against malicious software at the operating system level and in the browser. And the solution needed to offer tools for increasing productivity through capabilities like easier navigation, simplified logon and remote access, and better device compatibility.”

In addition to these criteria, the company placed an emphasis on minimizing the impact of the upgrade on employees. “We needed a way to accelerate the process of capturing and configuring PC images,” says Meredith. “And once we deployed the software, we wanted employees to be able to get up and running quickly, without the need for our IT staff to continuously troubleshoot problems.”

SolutionBoeing chose to deploy the Windows 7 Enterprise operating system, along with the Windows Internet Explorer 8 Internet browser. “Our selection of Windows 7 fits with our commitment to adopting technologies that help us build on our advantage,” says Meredith.

The IT team spent six months before the deployment performing readiness testing on more than 3,800 applications. It considered virtualization solutions, which the IT team could use to deliver applications on a virtual PC running Windows XP. But IT leaders chose instead to take advantage of the extensive guidance provided through the Microsoft

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Customer: BoeingWebsite: www.boeing.com Customer Size: 150,000Country or Region: United StatesIndustry: Aerospace and defense manufacturing

Customer ProfileFounded in 1916, Boeing has a long and distinguished history as the world’s preeminent aerospace engineering company. It has more than 150,000 employees and serves customers in 90 countries.

Software and Services Windows 7 Enterprise Microsoft Server Product Portfolio− Microsoft System Center

Configuration Manager 2007 Technologies− Microsoft Application Compatibility

Toolkit− Windows Internet Explorer 8

For more information about Windows 7, go to:www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7

Windows 7Customer Solution Case Study

Boeing Targets Productivity, Boosts Security with Operating System Upgrade

Application Compatibility Toolkit—a lifecycle management tool that assists in identifying and managing application portfolios—to remediate applications as needed. In addition to the Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit, the Boeing IT team is using AppTitude from Citrix App-DNA to manage testing and remediation for a subset of its applications. In July 2010, after identifying 1,800 applications as fully ready for migration, the IT team began initial, limited deployment of the 64-bit version of Windows 7 Enterprise to about 1,000 users. The team completed the rollout to approximately 4,000 employees at the end of September, and the company is on schedule to achieve full deployment to all 187,000 PCs by the end of 2012. The IT team relied on manual installation techniques during the early phases of the upgrade. But it plans to use the operating system deployment features of Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 to automate image creation and network configuration tasks.

Early adopters of Windows 7 Enterprise at Boeing offices worldwide take advantage of user interface enhancements, such as the improved Windows Taskbar, to find information with greater ease. And the company is capitalizing on expanded smart card support to meet its security requirements. BenefitsIn the first several months after deploying Windows 7 Enterprise, Boeing has realized faster PC performance, while strengthening its network security capabilities. Company leaders anticipate gains in productivity across the organization as more employees take advantage of enhanced desktop tools and simplified access to network resources.

Faster PC Performance By deploying the 64-bit version of Windows 7 Enterprise, Boeing has already benefitted from faster performance on a substantial number of its PCs. “We exclusively deployed 64-bit to access the larger addressable memory space it offers,” says David Bernhardt, Senior Manager, Windows Desktop Blockpoint Program Office at Boeing. “This gives us a huge advantage in terms of system performance and stability, especially for our engineering groups, which

need to work with extremely large design files.”

Tightened Network SecurityThe company plans to capitalize on the enhanced security model of Windows 7, including built-in support for a greater variety of smart card usage scenarios. “Because it provides us with a greater level of protection against malicious software and other threats, Windows 7 Enterprise is a critical component in helping us rigorously safeguard our IT assets,” says Bernhardt.

Increased Productivity As the IT team deploys Windows 7 Enterprise to more employees across the organization, Boeing expects to see increased productivity. “Our employees need to manage an ever-increasing amount of data on their desktops,” says Meredith. “The user interface design in Windows 7 is a great fit for the way our people work.”

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Document published November 2010

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