HCL's IT Organization Consolidates Six Tools and Slashes Costs with BigFix

HCL Global Information Technology (HCL GIT) manages over 108,000 endpoints across 40 different locations worldwide (as of September 2020).  The 24×7 operation is resource–intensive with demands typical of a large IT organization. As with many organizations, multiple management silos had been created, each with its own agent running on the endpoint, its own engineering and operations staff, and specific hardware and software – all of which drove up IT spend. 

Umesh Kad, Deputy General Manager of GIT Engineering, described the challenges: “We had more than six different tools which resulted in too many agents from too many vendors, elongated patch cycles, various degrees of scalability across many geographic locations, multiple port dependencies, extensive staff skillsets, multiple time zone support requirements, as well as reporting challenges requiring data to be consolidated from multiple sources.” Another big challenge was the lack of visibility of internet-facing (roaming) computers, which caused patching delays and often manual intervention. HCL GIT needed more automation, speedier patching, and greater visibility and control of internet-facing laptops using a solution that could effectively manage and control workstations and servers running Windows, HP-UX, macOS, and RedHat Linux. 

After HCL acquired BigFix from IBM in July of 2019, GIT embarked on a functional and requirements analysis that confirmed BigFix could be used in lieu of six different endpoint management tools — SCCM, Flexera Secunia, RedHat Satellite, Flexera Admin Studio, Symantec Wise, and JAMF — to streamline endpoint management processes, and to provide a single source of truth for all endpoints. 

By consolidating six tools with BigFix, GIT gained a singular tool to manage and control all servers and workstations, regardless of operating system, location, connection, and status. Specifically, GIT: 

• consolidated six tools to just one, reducing annual software and hardware costs associated with six different tools
• reduced patch cycles by five (5) days, saving 2700 staff hours annually 
• gained visibility and control of 15,000 internet–facing workstations, dramatically increasing first pass patch success rates 
• simplified skill requirements, reducing engineering effort and training costs while simplifying the scheduling of operations staff 
• created a single source of truth for inventory and patch status, eliminating tedious data consolidation from multiple tools 
• reduced labor costs associated with patching, compliance and inventory dropped by 25%, redeploying five (5) staff to new IT initiatives and projects.  

Additionally, when a large percentage of HCL’s workforce became remote workers in early 2020, GIT had the answer: BigFix. They were easily able to expand support gaining visibility and control of our employees’ workstations in their homes, patching them as if they were on the corporate network. With BigFix, HCL has implemented a cost-effective and scalable endpoint management solution that supports an effective and secure Work From Home strategy. 

Jason Walker, the BigFix Lab Services Consultant who helped GIT successfully deploy BigFix, discussed the implementation during the June 30th webinar. Learn more by clicking on the links below. 

To learn more about BigFix, visit www.bigfix.com.