Microsoft Corp announced recently that the Shop Direct Group has embraced the Windows 7 operating system to support its ambitious online growth plans for 2011. Shop Direct Group is one of the largest online and shop-at-home retail companies in the United Kingdom. The group can now perform IT management tasks, such as pushing software updates and provisioning new computers, from a central location. It will be able to service remote computers and those at other locations more quickly and without using third-party, onsite IT resources and is expected to save valuable IT budget.
To address its virtual private network (VPN) challenges, Shop Direct Group evaluated DirectAccess, a feature of Windows 7 that, when combined with Windows Server 2008 R2, enables employees to connect to the corporate network from virtually any Internet connection. The company’s IT staff can also manage computers connected to the corporate network via DirectAccess as if they were locally connected — helping ensure configurations are up to date and secure.
In addition, Shop Direct Group wanted to enhance its IT security, particularly with encryption, in an effort to not only protect sensitive company information but to also comply with government security regulations.
— IndiaRetailing Bureau
