Johns Hopkins University Applied Physical Laboratory

Johns Hopkins University Applied Physical Laboratory

Aqua Connect enables Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory to expand call center support for Mac OS X

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory is a not-for-profit university-affiliated center that focuses on engineering, research and development. Located in Maryland, they handle a lot of government contracts and are primarily a defense contractor.

The Laboratory had a need for all Help Desk personnel to access an OS X desktop in order to aid users for support calls. Two of their Macintosh SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) had Intel iMacs. All other eighteen Help Desk personnel were using Windows-based PC hardware. Unfortunately, purchasing eighteen new iMacs for the support staff was not an option due to the high costs of purchasing that many new machines. By discovering Aqua Connect Remote Desktop Services, they were able to find a way to give everyone the opportunity to use a Mac.

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory installed Aqua Connect and enabled all twenty help desk personnel to access the Mac OS X platform, concurrently and from their diverse hardware. It allowed them to be able to use the hardware they already had at a lower price than buying eighteen new machines.

Aqua Connect Remote Desktop Services allowed the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory support staff to not only research support issues, but familiarize themselves with OS X in order to better aid their students and staff using Macs. Aqua Connect is currently installed on a Dual Xserve. The support staff uses Aqua Connect to access several different Mac applications including multiple versions of Office and iLife ‘08.

The Laboratory currently has plans to expand their Aqua Connect deployment to aid in remote training session for OS X.

"We were able to use Aqua Connect Remote Desktop Services to supplement our Mac support at the Help Desk. Many of the Help Desk Staff were interested in gaining experience with OSX ACRDS makes that possible, as well as simplifies management of our hardware”

-Eric Benfer
ITSD Mac Team Lead