The Gem Group Achieves 475% ROI Using Everdream SaaS Desktop Management Solution

Multinational accessories manufacturer leverages leading on-demand platform to achieve license compliance and increased IT efficiency.

Fremont, Calif. — July 23, 2007 — Everdream today announced that The Gem Group, a leading promotional products and marketing incentive company focusing on bags, business accessories and corporate gifts, has dramatically increased software license compliance, improved PC security and achieved a ROI of nearly 475% using Everdream’s desktop management services delivered as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).

As an international organization, The Gem Group has several facilities and field offices to support its sales and manufacturing operations. In recent years, the company has experienced rapid organic growth requiring a new approach to managing key PC management functions including asset discovery and management, software license compliance, software distribution, patch management and online data backup.

In 2005, The Gem Group began planning for a new ERP system that required a minimum PC configuration for its client-side application. As a result, the company’s IT staff needed to quickly determine the readiness of its existing Windows-based computers for the new application.  In addition, The Gem Group was interested in a solution that could deliver a strong ROI when compared to homegrown or on-premise desktop management solutions, while freeing up key IT resources to focus on strategic line of business initiatives.

To address these challenges, the company selected Everdream based on its SaaS model which requires no new technology infrastructure investments such as server hardware, software, and VPNs and delivers a way to manage PC compliance, security and configurations in real-time via any Web browser.

“Our company was growing, our systems weren’t operating properly and end users weren’t satisfied. As our China office expanded, we realized that we had no idea what they had and we were responsible for them,” says Ben Messar, The Gem Group’s director of information technology. “I was in the middle of a problem and Everdream was a great solution to help me address these problems.”

According to Brian Smith, The Gem Group’s technology manager, “We looked at on-premise desktop management solutions from Altiris, Symantec and others, but the $50,000 upfront price tag and the ongoing IT resources required to run those systems drove us to look further at other options. Another organization was offering Microsoft’s SMS as a managed service but the cost per desktop was considerably higher than Everdream and it did not include all the features.”


Strong, Measurable Results

In addition to an ROI of 475%, The Gem Group was also able to achieve the following benefits using Everdream:

  • License compliance—Everdream’s Asset Discovery and Asset Management software services enable The Gem Group to analyze software license information on every PC and quickly generate reports to demonstrate compliance, saving $5000 per asset inventory event.
  • Improved IT efficiency—Since deploying Everdream’s solutions, The Gem Group estimates that it has seen a

38% increase in the number of systems they are now managing every day. Meanwhile, the number of IT staff required to manage these systems has been reduced by 50% for an annual savings of $80,000.
 

  • Increased employee satisfaction—Everdream has enabled The Gem Group to reduce its help desk resources by

33%, while reducing the number of calls into its support organization caused by PC problems by nearly 10%. At the same time, the company has increased employee satisfaction by 50% based on its internal evaluation criteria.

“Despite a number of incumbent desktop management solutions on the market, companies like The Gem Group are increasingly turning to Everdream and our solution that is easy to deploy, requires little upfront investment and gives them the ability to make security, configuration and compliance changes 24/7 via the Web,” said Jim Obsitnik, Everdream’s vice president of marketing. “What’s more, beyond providing an on-demand solution that significantly streamlines and improves the desktop management process, we’re also delivering the added benefit of significant cost savings as evidenced by The Gem Group’s savings of $154,000 a year. The Gem Group is a perfect example of how Everdream can help companies conquer desktop management challenges, freeing their IT staff to focus on strategic line-of-business initiatives.”

“I can’t understand why any mid-size company would not use Everdream,” says Messar. “You need as many tools as possible to make life easier. Compliance and asset management can really take a lot of time to handle. Everdream takes a huge burden off what was really becoming a time-consuming process.”

 

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Everdream is a registered trademark of Everdream Corporation. All other brands, products, or service names are or may be trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.

Company Contact
Debra Chin, Vice President Marketing Programs
510.818.5640
dchin@everdreamcorp.com

Press Release Contact
Jason Throckmorton or Kasey Fleisher
LaunchSquad
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everdream(at)launchsquad(dot)com