SimpsonHaugh Architects, a renowned UK-based architectural practice with offices in Manchester, London, and Birmingham, has embarked on a substantial digital transformation journey by implementing a sophisticated Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) environment. This strategic initiative, designed to future-proof their operations, has been catalysed by the introduction of advanced Digital Employee Experience (DEX) management technologies through the ControlUp platform.
Situated at their Manchester headquarters, the adoption of VDI aims to centralise IT management, enhance remote working capabilities, and improve staff work-life balance, while simultaneously fostering heightened project collaboration. This new tech environment replaces ageing high-end PCs, which were costly and nearing the end of their lifecycles, with a cutting-edge system designed to run GPU-intensive architectural applications such as Revit, Rhino, Enscape, and SketchUp seamlessly.
The initial investment in this transformation stands at £1.21 million, which will be spread over several years. The technological overhaul includes the deployment of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktop, Citrix NetScaler, VMware vSphere Hypervisor, Dell Servers with vSAN storage, and NVIDIA vGPU. ControlUp provides real-time VDI performance analytics and solutions to potential IT issues that could disrupt operations, ensuring continuity in service delivery and significant downtime avoidance valued at £1.79 million.
Dave Moyes, the partner in charge of information and digital systems at SimpsonHaugh, highlighted that modern architecture heavily relies on graphics-intensive IT systems. The integration of VDI meets the increasing demands for data generation and visual quality from clients. With the pressure of producing twice as many drawings now compared to a decade ago, maintaining a high-performing and reliable IT infrastructure has become indispensable.
The practice’s strategic approach involves rolling out VDI in phases, maintaining a hybrid environment of virtual and physical desktops to leverage existing investments in costly workstations. Technical support and implementation were provided by ebb3, a UK managed service provider that ensured minimal latency by optimising the compute and data proximity. Jav Fiaz, ebb3’s Technical Architect and Senior Platform Engineer, underscored the importance of preserving compute efficiency to avoid user dissatisfaction due to possible system lag.
Thanks to this digital transformation, SimpsonHaugh has experienced substantial productivity gains, capturing around £35,000 in savings by not needing to hire additional support staff and improving employee work-life balance through enhanced flexible working conditions. The integration of Citrix and ControlUp technologies has made the work experience for employees seamless, regardless of their physical or virtual settings.
The next phase of SimpsonHaugh’s ICT strategy will involve expanding the VDI to encompass the full breadth of the organisation over the next several years. Concurrent upgrades to the corporate network include a transition to a 25 Gigabit Ethernet backbone and the introduction of higher resolution display monitors along with Nutanix data storage systems.
Delving further into innovative ICT solutions, the practice intends to explore privately hosted AI technologies to handle task automation and generate design images. Strict adherence to client confidentiality demands the use of private data, particularly as AI extends into generating detailed building designs and planning space layouts.
Robert Ellis, UK Sales Director at ControlUp, attested to the project's successful execution, noting the exceptional user experience facilitated by pre-implementation planning and ebb3’s effective management of the roll-out, which significantly reduced potential interruptions and ensured a smooth transition.
SimpsonHaugh’s commitment to innovation in architectural technology signals a progressive step in adapting to the ever-evolving demands of the industry, setting a new benchmark in digital transformation within the architecture sector.
Source: Noah Wire Services