Client story Online Game Developers Level Up for Lockdown Working
By Insight UK / 26 Apr 2021
By Insight UK / 26 Apr 2021
A leading online games and sports management simulations provider, renowned for frequently launching new products onto the market, needed to enable its developers to be able to work remotely, with full access to the company’s systems.
To stay productive in the current climate, especially in the exceptionally fast-moving gaming industry, the developers were under pressure to continue to create innovative and exciting games for its growing customer base - without disruption.
The company has more than 170 full-time staff working from its London studio and around 1,300 researchers based around the world.
When the pandemic struck, the client had to close its office doors. Some of the team were already set up for working remotely, but as the game developers needed full access to the company’s systems, software and cloud computing power, the current solution wasn’t viable for them.
In order to continue creating and improving its ground-breaking games, the company needed to give its developers remote access to high performance desktops. The client therefore wanted to explore a virtual desktop infrastructure.
“The Insight solution has given our developers the freedom to stay at the cutting edge of game creation despite the restrictions of the pandemic. Now they have the high-performance technology they need, wherever they are working.”
As the company’s cloud solution provider, Insight had already established a strong partnership with the client, particularly after the successful completion of an Azure Migration project.
The client wanted to examine the likely outcomes of implementing a virtual desktop infrastructure, so Insight and the client worked together to assess a range of options.
Windows Virtual Desktop looked like the best fit for the client’s needs. Insight agreed to conduct a Proof of Value (POV) for the client. The goal was to evaluate the performance of the technology against its cost, with a view to proving the ROI of the project.
Insight ran an initial implementation of Windows Virtual Desktop for 26 of the client’s team, using its Assess, Design, Plan and Build approach.
The POV took into account the impact of the technology on the client’s business and provided a full review of Azure Windows Virtual Desktop governance, security and compliance.
The POV project ran for three weeks, and Insight created a range of different user profiles, such as standard and high-end technology users, to measure performance and ROI across the board.
The POV demonstrated the value of Windows Virtual Desktop in enabling game designers to work as effectively from home as in the office. As a result, the client is planning to roll the solution out to the rest of its office-based staff.
Insight also managed the company’s user acceptance testing to make sure the solution provided everything the company’s workforce needed.
A leading developer of online games and sports management simulations.
The company has almost 200 full-time employees at its London base and around 1,300 part time researchers across the globe.
A cost-effective, secure and reliable remote working solution for games developers.
Microsoft Azure Windows Virtual Desktop.
