Windows 7
Customer Solution Case Study
Wireless Retailer Saves Energy, Boosts
Efficiency with Operating System and PC
Pairing
Overview
Country or Region: United States
Industry: Wireless telecommunications
industry
Customer Profile
ABC Phones is a privately owned
premium retailer for Verizon Wireless,
offering cellular phones, services, and
customer service from roughly 85 stores
in seven states.
Business Situation
ABC Phones sought to improve its
overall computing speed and efficiency
with an operating system that would
allow the company to streamline
operations and save time, money, and
energy.
Solution
After using Windows 7 Professional on
Dell Latitude E6400 machines, ABC
Phones enjoyed a significant
improvement in the speed, accuracy, and
efficiency of virtually all computing tasks.
Benefits
 Saved 8 hours a day with faster startup
 Faster network connections
 Improved productivity
 Saved 5 hours a week with mobility
features
 Longer notebook battery life
“Windows 7 and Dell is the whole package—efficiency
and style.... [W]e’re getting more done, and looking
good doing it.”
Rich Balot, CEO andPresident, ABC Phones
ABC Phones of North Carolina, Inc. (also known as "A Wireless")
was launched in 1996 as an agent for U.S. Cellular. After many
years of selling communication products from Cingular, Sprint,
and T-Mobile, ABC Phones is now an exclusive premium retailer
for Verizon Wireless. With over 500 desktop and 30 notebook
computers scattered across 85 stores, it was in need of a
computing system that would improve speed and performance,
increase efficiency, and prevent the delays and system failures
that were common to older computers and operating systems.
By combining Windows 7 Professional with the power of the
Dell Latitude E6400, ABC Phones found a computing system
that solved all its routine operational difficulties. The staff
reported faster startup times, improved processing speed, more
robust mobility for notebook users, improved search and
encryption capabilities, and better power management.
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“Being on the road
brings a lot of
challenges, but Windows
7 Professional makes it
easier. Windows 7
Professional
automatically applies the
right settings, whether
we join to a private
network or a public
network, to make
connecting easy."
Rich Balot, CEO and President,
ABC Phones
Situation
As a premier provider of Verizon Wireless
phones and products, North Carolinabased ABC Phones has more than 500
employees in 85 store locations spread
across seven states. In addition to 500
desktops, the company also has 30
notebooks that are used when employees
travel to Verizon’s corporate offices.
Despite the stability of their computers,
employees had complaints about the
performance of the operating system. Slow
startup, data access barriers, and mobility
challenges often resulted in frustration and
inefficiencies.
To improve overall computing
performance, ABC Phones sought a system
that would offer quicker startup, better
power management, and improved
mobility functions. Improved search
functionality and encryption file security
were also priorities.
Solution
Benefits
Increased Speed and Efficiency
Windows 7 Professional outperforms older
operating systems most notably in its
everyday performance: It is markedly faster
to start up, opens files and programs
instantly, and makes searching for
documents easier than ever. In fact, in
independent tests, application
responsiveness was up to 8 percent faster
with Windows 7 Professional running on
Dell machines.**
Balot reports, “Starting up the computers is
significantly faster now. We used to leave
our desktops running all the time, but now
we can power them down without worrying
about long wait times. And starting up
more often helps our systems perform
better.” This is augmented through
electricity costs saved by not leaving
desktops running indefinitely. Balot adds
that computer start-up times are at least a
minute faster per machine.
The Windows 7 Professional operating
system from Microsoft offers improvements
in speed, efficiency, data access, encryption,
and power management—every area that
ABC Phones found lacking in its previous
operating system.*
ABC employees also save time with the
improved search functionality. The more
intuitive Windows Search allows users to
search across all files, folders, applications,
and networks, delivering results based on
partial search strings.
Windows 7 Professional provides specific
benefits for companies that rely heavily on
computers to perform customer service
and management functions. And when
paired with the power of the Dell Latitude
E6400, there were noticeable improvements
across the board.
Enhanced Mobility Features
Mobility features are also vastly improved
with Windows 7 Professional. “Being on the
road brings a lot of challenges," Balot says,
"but Windows 7 Professional makes it
easier. Windows 7 Professional
automatically applies the right settings,
whether we join to a private network or a
public network, to make connecting easy.”
“Windows 7 and Dell is the whole
package—efficiency and style," notes Rich
Balot, CEO and President of ABC Phones.
"The operating system is just much faster
and easier to use. So we’re getting more
done, and looking good doing it.”
The Network Connection Wizard is also
faster and more reliable, and new features
like Location Aware Printing make it easy to
send documents where they're needed,
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“With Windows 7, the
battery life on the
Latitude E6400 is
incredible. We used to
have to scramble to find
power sources, but now
we can relax and get
more done no matter
where we are.”
Rich Balot, CEO and President,
ABC Phones
even on the go. Users also found Bluetooth
setup to be more intuitive on the new
system.
*As part of the solution deployment through the
Windows 7 SMB Evidence Program, the customer
received complimentary notebooks and technical
support from Microsoft and Dell.
Dell’s ProSupport Mobility Services have
also provided an extra layer of protection,
working to help protect computer data in
notebooks while working off-site.
**Source: Principled Technologies, A
Performance Comparison of Current and Previous
Generation Dell Latitude Notebook Systems,
October 2009 report commissioned by Dell.
Better Power Management
Battery life is often a challenge for
notebook users, especially on older models.
Windows 7 Professional improves battery
life with power management features that
boost system performance and extend
power usage. “With Windows 7, the battery
life on the Latitude E6400 is incredible,"
Balot says. "We used to have to scramble to
find power sources, but now we can relax
and get more done no matter where we
are.”
Actual performance will vary based on
configuration, usage, and manufacturing
variability. For full test results and methodologies,
see the complete report posted at:
www.principledtechnologies.com/clients/reports/
Dell/Latitude_1009.pdf
The Dell Latitude E6400 has also
demonstrated a long battery life during
testing. The Dell ControlPoint software also
helps to maximize battery life by putting
power-saving settings at users’ fingertips.
Improved Encryption and Security
Data encryption is especially important for
businesses that manage large amounts of
customer data and financial transactions.
ABC Phones found the security features to
be significantly improved in Windows 7
Professional. Users have much more ease
and flexibility in securing sensitive data and
granting access to individual files.
“The Encrypting File System in Windows 7
Professional gives us peace of mind,
without any confusing manual processes,”
notes Balot. “We just click a check box and
know that our file is protected.”
Dell’s Trusted Platform Module (TPM)
technology further eases security concerns
by preventing unauthorized access to
network folders and files.
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For More Information
Windows 7
For more information about Microsoft
products and services, call the Microsoft
Sales Information Center at (800) 4269400. In Canada, call the Microsoft
Canada Information Centre at (877) 5682495. Customers in the United States and
Canada who are deaf or hard-of-hearing
can reach Microsoft text telephone
(TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234.
Outside the 50 United States and
Canada, please contact your local
Microsoft subsidiary. To access
information using the World Wide Web,
go to:
www.microsoft.com
Works the way you want: Windows 7 will
help your organization use information
technology to gain a competitive
advantage in today’s new world of work.
Your people will be able to be more
productive anywhere. You will be able to
support your mobile workforce with better
access to shared data and collaboration
tools. And your IT staff will have better
tools and technologies for enhanced
corporate IT security and data protection,
and more efficient deployment and
management.
For more information about the Dell
Latitude E6400 products and services, call
(800) 456-3355 or visit the website at:
www.dell.com
For more information about Windows 7, go
to:
www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7
For more information about ABC Phones
products and services, call (252) 3170388 or visit the website at:
www.abcphones.com
Software and Services
 Windows 7 Professional
Hardware

Dell Latitude E6400
Partner

Dell
This case study is for informational purposes only.
MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.
Document published September 2010
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