Background

With a flagship campus in Coventry, UK, the Coventry University Group operates and delivers in both domestic and international locations, from Belgium and Poland through to Dubai, Singapore, Egypt, China, Kenya, Nigeria and Pakistan. Around 50,000 students are currently studying a course with the university in one of more than 40 countries.  

Challenge

As the university has grown in recent years so has the number of devices being used across campuses, considerably adding to the IT team’s workload as the time spent on managing the ageing and disparate device estate grew. Coventry University Group looked for a more efficient solution. 

Steve Rogers, CTO at Coventry University Group, explained: “Over the years, we had accumulated laptops and desktops from multiple vendors, with no standardized approach to device procurement or management. Our complex device universe was time-consuming to manage and costly to operate – and users had to hold onto their devices for up to seven years before we had the budget to replace them.” 

With further expansion expected in the coming years, it was vital that the group ensured its students, faculty and staff had reliable access to the tools needed for their work and studies. However, procurement decisions were often made on a departmental basis, leading to a situation where 188 distinct models from a range of manufacturers were in operation, with many being used beyond their suggested lifespan.  

The challenges of managing these devices went further than the number of models. Users were located across the globe in both domestic and international locations, but the IT team needed to manually set devices up before they could be given to their new owners.

Solution

To simplify its approach to device procurement and management, Coventry University Group turned to Lenovo and its managed service provider partner CDW. Lenovo introduced the Group to Lenovo TruScale Device as a Service (DaaS), a consumption model that provides a range of digital workplace solutions with flexible payment options, allowing organisations to scale and manage their IT estates.  

Given the challenges faced in rolling out new devices, it was also vital to Rogers and his team that any new model came with more support options that would help free up time spent on manual processes. Rogers commented: “Lenovo and CDW were one of the only vendors we found that could integrate with Microsoft Intune. That integration is a key benefit for us, as it means our IT team doesn’t need to touch the machines at all – everything ships directly to the end user.” 

Lenovo and CDW equipped Coventry University Group’s users with a suite of modern hardware and the ability to refresh laptops and notebooks in a more cost-effective way. Devices provided include Lenovo ThinkPad T14s, X13 2-in-1, and X1 2-in-1 laptops, which are now all available at a single, predictable monthly price.

Results

The devices themselves are higher performing than those used previously, giving users a better experience and requiring less support from the IT team. All devices will be replaced after four years in service, minimising any reductions in performance and management time for older laptops.  

Coventry University Group also now benefits from Lenovo Premier Support. Previous approaches made it harder for users to access technical support when needed. Now, they have a single point of contact for all support requests, backed by 24/7/365 direct access to Lenovo engineers.  

New faculty devices are now pre-configured by Lenovo and CDW, and then delivered directly to users’ preferred locations, where they are enrolled automatically on first use. “With Lenovo TruScale DaaS, our team has slashed the time spent on provisioning and managing devices,” confirms Rogers. “We’re saving approximately 40 hours a week with TruScale DaaS, which is time we can reinvest in supporting our staff, students, and faculty around the world.” 

Another driver for change was the desire to advance Coventry University Group’s sustainability goals, with its commitment to net zero emissions by 2030 for scope 1 and 2, with a 30 percent reduction for scope 3. Working with Lenovo, to date, the Group has been able to offset 223 tons of carbon emissions through Lenovo CO2 Offset Services, which estimates CO2 emissions across the average lifecycle of the customer device(s), and helps offset them by purchasing credits to support verified United Nations Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), Climate Action Reserve, and Gold Standard climate action projects aimed to help reduce CO atmosphere. Plans are also underway to leverage Lenovo Asset Recovery Services, which will allow devices to be recycled, supporting a circular economy and unlocking additional cost savings.