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About Darwin Convention Centre

The Darwin Convention Centre (DCC) is an award winning, world class venue in the tropical harbor city of Darwin, Australia. Managed by leading venue specialists, ASM Global, the DCC successfully hosts hundreds of events per year, and contributes over $50 million (AUD) to the Northern Territory economy annually.

With 26 full time staff and up to 300 casual staff, the convention facility provides services for local, national, and international conferences, large exhibitions, gala dinners, numerous award ceremonies, concerts, and sporting events. The DCC has earned its reputation for delivering outstanding and innovative events, first class food, world class IT and audio visual services, and excellent customer service provided by a dedicated team of passionate professionals.

Business Challenge

The IT network at the DCC utilizes a dual node Cisco UCS server and VMWare Hypervisor Technology for its storage and virtual server Infrastructure. This supports up to 100 network devices.

Discussing the IT network, Faustino (Jun) Salting, ICT manager, said "Our biggest challenge is to continuously monitor all hardware and software systems, both during work hours as well as after-hours, and especially in this event-driven industry with our minimalist IT team".

Salting oversees the overall IT Infrastructure, and provides technology advice and solutions to DCC stakeholders and clientele. This ensures unprecedented visibility and the capability to control the entire IT infrastructure for the organization.

The search for a unified endpoint management (UEM) solution

Previously, Salting and his team relied on Windows Server Update Services for patching computers servers and laptops. They also used a third-party software to generate lists of the applications installed on each machine, which was vital for monitoring unauthorized installation and use. Having been a longtime ManageEngine user who has worked with other ManageEngine solutions including ServiceDesk Plus and OpManager, Salting was looking at consolidating his needs under one software umbrella.

The Solution: Desktop Central

To efficiently manage endpoints, servers, and staff PCs, it is essential for a systems administrator to employ effective time management. In an events-driven organization, it is crucial to be able to quickly and efficiently monitor all hardware and software systems with minimal ease. IT equipment at the DCC is utilized during any major event to store in-house financial and management systems, which isn't ideal for IT security reasons and productivity reasons.

Desktop Central simplified the IT management process at DCC significantly, improved productivity, and ensured greater IT security.

Salting notes that Desktop Central has provided the DCC with numerous benefits, such as:

  • End-to-end OS and other third-party applications patching
  • Ensuring periodic scans to track hardware and software in the network
  • Providing a plethora of remote access features for remote troubleshooting
  • Numerous device management reports that give deep insights on the IT network
  • A seamless process for OS imaging and deployment
  • Providing a unified console for managing both desktop and mobile devices

The Desktop Central Experience

Fully satisfied using Desktop Central, Salting said "Desktop Central has provided us control and reporting under the one hood". Controlling operations from a central location streamlines and simplifies IT operations. Maintaining different vendors and product licensing was cumbersome, and required concerted efforts to ensure software versions were always up to date. Having used Desktop Central for more than a year, Salting maintains one unified IT infrastructure now, and is only concerned with maintaining one software license, saving valuable time, effort, and cost for DCC.

Desktop Central Support

Like other software Salting has used, installing and configuring a solution to meet customized needs can take time. Salting notes that the Desktop Central help desk stood out and provided timely assistance, knowledge, and support for DCC.

Salting stated that DCC hasn't experienced any issues with Desktop Central, and if it does in the future, he's confident the Desktop Central help desk will provide timely assistance.

About Desktop Central

ManageEngine Desktop Central is a holistic, unified endpoint management solution that helps in managing thousands of servers, desktops, and mobile devices from a central location. It automates the complete endpoint management life cycle, ranging from a simple system configuration to complex software deployment. With over 15 years of expertise in the IT management industry, ManageEngine Desktop Central has understood the needs in the market, and developed the product to defend against cyberthreats. Trusted by more than 15,000 customers around the globe, Desktop Central helps businesses cut costs on IT infrastructure, achieve operational efficiency, improve productivity, and combat network vulnerabilities. For more information about Desktop Central, visit www.desktopcentral.com