Proving its commitment to leadership and innovation in all areas, Victoria Court Career College is pleased to announce it is one of the first educational institutions in Atlantic Canada to Go Green with its information technology. Through the expertise of NCS Network Consulting – a Sun Microsystems partner, and the college’s exclusive IT provider – V.C.C.C. now has a state-of-the-art Windows-based desktop computing environment. This environment, employing Sun Ray ultra-thin client hardware, currently covers 20 seats in its first classroom at the Truro campus – a number that will rise as the college expands.

The ease-of-use offered by a Sun Ray based IT solution, coupled with the ability to have one administrator for many hundreds of desktops, will enable Victoria Court Career College students to easily access the Windows applications they need, and will significantly reduce the college’s expenses in terms of desktop management. Because Sun Ray technology is extensively used in environments in which information security is paramount,
these IT enhancements will provide greater protection for student confidentiality.

"While we needed to provide students with a heterogeneous based desktop computing environment, we were also considering aspects such as expenditure, multiple operating systems, security, and difficulties involved in deploying PCs across campus," said Susan Snook, President of Victoria Court Career College. "Virus attacks and the ongoing management expenditure of PCs were threatening to take up substantial amounts that could otherwise be allocated to more important projects. We wanted speedy deployment, ease of management and a flexible Windows environment. NCS Network Consulting worked with us to show that a Sun Ray ultra-thin client based solution would enable Victoria Court Career College students to not only use a Windows based environment but experience and learn Linux & Mac all on the same device.”

While students would continue to access a Windows-based desktop normally, no expensive or hard-to-manage PCs would be needed, thereby eliminating concerns around desktop patching, upgrades, and viruses. Sun Ray ultra-thin clients are deployed for users' desktops, and a back-end Sun Ray server and Windows VDI virtualization are deployed on Sun's x64 servers.

Victoria Court Career College selected Sun's x64 due to their affordable high-performance characteristics, and their small environmental footprint in comparison to other volume server vendors. The Sun Ray 2 clients are energy efficient, drawing a minimal 4 watts of power. This means reduced power bills for the desktop environment, as well as various side benefits such as quieter and cooler rooms, and reduced air-conditioning costs as well. "The Sun Ray is a true zero-management thin client in comparison to other makes on the market that contain an embedded operating system that continues to require local configuration, patching and updating," said Emerich R Winkler Jr, Chief Executive Officer, NCS Network Consulting. "A Sun Ray ultra-thin client is truly stateless, requiring no maintenance. It was clear to Victoria Court Career College that with a Sun Ray based solution they would be able to deploy many hundreds of seats with minimal management, and zero downtime for upgrades, patching and viruses."

Victoria Court Career College offers comprehensive and specialized courses catering to the needs of students in Nova Scotia and throughout Canada, including continuing education for professionals through evening classes. The college’s leadership with respect to technological innovation complements and reflects the college’s role and ethos - empowering career professionals to keep abreast of the latest developments in the world of technology.