Virtualization and Transit

by Doug Couto
Created:

IT that improves operations and strengthens customer service.


Another option to consider with a virtual desktop solution is no desktop. Imagine a program in which employees bring their own personal computer — a “BYOPC” environment — and are responsible for the upkeep of the device. Some employers even provide an allowance for each employee to purchase and maintain their own computer. This approach eliminates the need for IT resources to keep the current inventory of devices up to date and allows employees the freedom to choose the computer that best suits their needs.

In this model, the virtual desktop delivers business applications and data — securely housed in the datacenter — to the employee’s computer. At the same time, the employee has access to their personal applications. This concept eliminates the need for different devices to use at work and home. The benefits are many: reduced e-waste, greater flexibility and less administration for devices.

All roads lead to virtualization
Like any other organization with a large IT component, mass transit has to examine the entire infrastructure to determine the best ways to improve capacity and performance. The key is to approach the IT infrastructure with an eye for solutions that will ultimately enable better customer service. Technologically, our customers are growing and changing in new and exciting ways. But it is up to transit to meet and exceed customer expectations in order to flourish.

Reducing operating costs of the datacenter while ramping up capacity, as well as optimizing the desktop and keeping a tighter rein on access management, will allow us to deliver the technology services that transit customers expect today and into the future. Integrated virtualization solutions for the server and desktop work with existing infrastructure to help move data and better serve the customer — which is, in the end, what it’s all about.

Doug Couto chairs the Transportation Research Board’s Information Systems and Technology Committee.

What is virtualization, anyway?
Virtualization has become one of the most talked-about technologies in recent years because it breaks the hard-coded link between hardware and software. This empowers IT agility, which means individual computing components can be dynamically combined and reassembled for maximum efficiency and performance.

The leading method for delivering applications to users is a complete virtualization infrastructure that spans from the datacenter to the desktop. The ability to orchestrate the functional components at the datacenter, front end, gateway branch and end device or desktop gives the overall system the required intelligence to adapt to dynamic business requirements.

Through effective orchestration of end-to-end application delivery, IT will be able to instill lasting improvements in security, performance and flexibility — all of which contribute to improved customer service.

Access Management: Southern Nevada Regional Transportation Commission
As the Las Vegas Valley’s population continues to increase, traffic congestion increases with it. The Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) of Southern Nevada, as both the transit authority and the transportation-planning agency for Southern Nevada, has the enormous task of identifying transportation challenges and implementing both short-term and long-term solutions while simultaneously promoting sustainability, air quality improvement, enhanced mobility and increased quality of life in the region. 

Contractors comprise a key component of RTC’s mission solutions. However, granting network access to non-government entities created concerns about data integrity, caused by accidental or intentional downloads of unauthorized software and data. RTC began developing a virtualization solution in 2006 to create an application delivery infrastructure that essentially isolates the government network data from contractors while still allowing access to the information and programs they need. Contractors working with RTC now use their own computers to securely access only the software and data necessary for their work. All data is protected behind the firewall at RTC’s datacenter and built-in security makes it easy for RTC to protect that data without the need for time-intensive installation of software on the contractors’ computers.

Today, RTC virtually delivers critical software applications, such as Orbital and Trapeze, for both contractors and employees. But the transportation provider is finding many additional uses for its virtualization implementation, as well. Access from remote sites, even for large GIS-based programs, is now faster and more secure. And RTC estimates that the resulting ability to handle software installations at the server level, instead of touching every single RTC computer, saves the government weeks of delivery time.

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