Systems & Network Engineer at West Morris Regional High School District
Real User
Nov 2, 2021
Another school was looking into similar things, like getting their labs onto Chromebooks. I told them to contact their CDW rep and talk to him about AppStream and that they'll set up the whole thing. You won't have to worry about anything. They'll give you a document to guide you on how to use it and help get it going. For us, AppStream seems to be working out pretty well. At first, it was hard for the teachers to take on because it was a whole new approach. We had to hold their hands and walk them through how to do it so that they could teach their classes. Now that we're in our second year, a lot more of them have adopted it, and they're using it and when it doesn't work, I hear about it. Our expectations of CDW have definitely been met in terms of the services delivered.
I would recommend the service because it is something that we rely on. It is almost just there. We don't really have to think about it because it is there. We don't have to increase our staff to monitor our environment, which is kind of important to me that we have somebody else who is looking at it. I would give it nine out of 10 because there is always room for improvement.
Sr. Manager, IT Infrastructure & Security at a pharma/biotech company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Oct 19, 2021
I would definitely advise others to give it a look, especially if you're not going to be spending six figures every month. It is well worth the value as well as the quality service. CDW services haven't helped to improve our infrastructure performance, but they gave us capabilities that could be leveraged off the cloud. They gave us capabilities that aren't available with an on-premises equivalent. We have used CDW’s free Recommendation Engine a number of times, which shows you how much money you can save by making simple changes to your cloud configuration. It has not affected our cloud costs much because the way our systems are set up, we can't move as quickly as I would like. I would rate CDW Managed Cloud Services a nine out of 10.
CDW Managed Cloud Services provide managed services to support our infrastructure solution in regards to the cloud. When I think of infrastructure, there is infrastructure in the cloud because we have our virtual network in there, e.g., all the networking between the servers and workspaces. These are all routes in which I have leaned on them to get clarification for, such as, "If I change this, will it break everything?" They answer, "No." Then, I ask, "What are the best practices?" and they go through them. There is also the local infrastructure, which is my physical setup in the main office and our satellite locations. While CDW does provide the hardware and some of the assistance for that, this is not under the managed services. We are planning on increasing usage in terms of the WorkSpaces. By just the nature of business, more stuff will be added going forward. There should be an increasing number of servers and WorkSpaces as well as more traffic. This is just the nature of, "Oh, that is new and shiny. That has to go up there." It's always something. In the next three years, we will probably be doubling our footprint. If you've never experienced it, this service is definitely worth a look at. From a traditional IT guy perspective, it takes a lot off your plate. It allows you to focus on other stuff without putting out daily fires. It makes you aware of security protections, infrastructure improvements, and all sorts of stuff that you probably would never figure out on your own. I would definitely rate it as nine out of 10. CDW is always growing and adding stuff. Employees, if they want to buy something, don't have to make a CDW account anymore. They can actually use their Microsoft email and that can go to me for approval. I can make sure they are not charging the company, then I can approve it. Before, it was like this weird sort of informal thing.
CDW Managed Cloud Services is an all-around cloud management service. This service is used to manage, integrate and migrate cloud platforms such as Office 365, Amazon WorkSpaces, and Microsoft Azure Cloud, to name a few. In addition to the cloud management service, CDW Managed Cloud Services as well helps users design and set up platforms upon request. This service helps users keep their platforms running smoothly and advises the best practices to its users. Users can lean on this service as...
Another school was looking into similar things, like getting their labs onto Chromebooks. I told them to contact their CDW rep and talk to him about AppStream and that they'll set up the whole thing. You won't have to worry about anything. They'll give you a document to guide you on how to use it and help get it going. For us, AppStream seems to be working out pretty well. At first, it was hard for the teachers to take on because it was a whole new approach. We had to hold their hands and walk them through how to do it so that they could teach their classes. Now that we're in our second year, a lot more of them have adopted it, and they're using it and when it doesn't work, I hear about it. Our expectations of CDW have definitely been met in terms of the services delivered.
I would recommend the service because it is something that we rely on. It is almost just there. We don't really have to think about it because it is there. We don't have to increase our staff to monitor our environment, which is kind of important to me that we have somebody else who is looking at it. I would give it nine out of 10 because there is always room for improvement.
I would definitely advise others to give it a look, especially if you're not going to be spending six figures every month. It is well worth the value as well as the quality service. CDW services haven't helped to improve our infrastructure performance, but they gave us capabilities that could be leveraged off the cloud. They gave us capabilities that aren't available with an on-premises equivalent. We have used CDW’s free Recommendation Engine a number of times, which shows you how much money you can save by making simple changes to your cloud configuration. It has not affected our cloud costs much because the way our systems are set up, we can't move as quickly as I would like. I would rate CDW Managed Cloud Services a nine out of 10.
CDW Managed Cloud Services provide managed services to support our infrastructure solution in regards to the cloud. When I think of infrastructure, there is infrastructure in the cloud because we have our virtual network in there, e.g., all the networking between the servers and workspaces. These are all routes in which I have leaned on them to get clarification for, such as, "If I change this, will it break everything?" They answer, "No." Then, I ask, "What are the best practices?" and they go through them. There is also the local infrastructure, which is my physical setup in the main office and our satellite locations. While CDW does provide the hardware and some of the assistance for that, this is not under the managed services. We are planning on increasing usage in terms of the WorkSpaces. By just the nature of business, more stuff will be added going forward. There should be an increasing number of servers and WorkSpaces as well as more traffic. This is just the nature of, "Oh, that is new and shiny. That has to go up there." It's always something. In the next three years, we will probably be doubling our footprint. If you've never experienced it, this service is definitely worth a look at. From a traditional IT guy perspective, it takes a lot off your plate. It allows you to focus on other stuff without putting out daily fires. It makes you aware of security protections, infrastructure improvements, and all sorts of stuff that you probably would never figure out on your own. I would definitely rate it as nine out of 10. CDW is always growing and adding stuff. Employees, if they want to buy something, don't have to make a CDW account anymore. They can actually use their Microsoft email and that can go to me for approval. I can make sure they are not charging the company, then I can approve it. Before, it was like this weird sort of informal thing.