Dear Colleagues,
Staff Desktop Refresh
Following commencement of the successful roll out of the new student desktop to open access areas in Cambridge and Chelmsford and teaching areas in
Guild House and Fulbourn, we have commenced the launch of our new, updated staff desktop.
Your new desktop will include Windows 7 and Office 2010, together with current versions of other standard applications. You’ll also be able to benefit from our new Remote Desktop Service giving you greater access to services such as the filestore, My.Anglia and SITS: Vision when working from home, across campuses and overseas.
We will be replacing many current staff PCs with more energy-efficient ‘thin client’ machines. These are up to 40% more energy efficient than a standard PC and draw on the benefits of our new Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) and state-of-the art Data Centre, to help reduce our impact on the environment.
(In cases where it is not appropriate to replace your machine, because of the specialist nature of the work that you do or the software that you use, you will either receive a new computer with the new desktop software or your existing PC will be supplied with the new desktop software if it is suitable. This will be discussed with your Faculty / Support Service coordinator in advance of the roll out.)
Office 2010 staff training sessions will be available to you, both classroom based and online. You will also find links to Office 2010 training materials on the
IT Services web pages.
When will I receive my new desktop?
We have begun the roll out of our new staff desktop and will complete the project in late 2012/13.
As part of the roll out we will move the items that you have saved on your C Drive to your H Drive. This will provide greater security for your documents while also allowing you to access them from any location with an internet connection. Please help us by removing any files on your C Drive that you no longer wish to keep. You might also want to consider moving old files that you may still need only occasionally onto external storage.

The first recipients of the new desktop and thin client PCs have been staff in the International Office, Academic Office, Research, Development and
Commercial Services (RDCS) and a small group in the Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education (FHSCE). Staff in Arts Law and Social Sciences (ALSS) will be transferred during the Summer. Further migration dates will be announced shortly.
In the meantime, Windows XP users who have yet to be moved to Windows 7 will have the opportunity to start using the new desktop as a ‘virtual image’ by simply installing the VMware View client program from the list of Advertised Programs in your start menu and then launching the new desktop by clicking on the VMware View icon. If you experience any difficulties please contact Customer Support on extension 4357.
We are working closely with coordinators in all Faculties and Support Services on developing the plan for the next academic year and will notify staff of the dates in advance of the continued roll out.
For more information about this project and to see the new desktop in action, please visit the Staff Desktop Refresh Project pages. Many thanks to those of you who came to see us and try out the desktop on the IT Services stand during the Campus Exchange Days.
Kind regards
Alec Coleman
Senior Project Manager
IT Services
Ashby House
Chelmsford Campus
Tel: 0845 196 4371