Babson College Goes Virtual with the Softricity Desktop.

BOSTON -- Softricity(R), the software virtualization company, today announced that Babson College, a business school with the nation's premier entrepreneurship program, has selected Softricity's desktop application virtualization platform to help manage its extensive laptop program and to simplify, expedite and improve efficiencies of IT operations across the staff and student body.

"Last spring we were faced with an awkward problem," said Wesley Esser, Manager of IT Service Center, Babson College. "We were hoping to leverage our undergraduate laptop program and eliminate a number of computer lab seats as part of our summer desktop refresh. The problem was how to provide access to the applications that had been in the labs. We were intrigued by Softricity's potential to give students 24x7 access to those applications via their personal laptops. In the end, we believed Softricity could provide a robust, cost-effective solution to meet our needs without additional infrastructure investments."

Every undergraduate student at Babson is outfitted with their own laptop in an effort to create an on-demand learning environment and reduce the operating costs of campus computer labs. Each laptop is upgraded every two years. However, with over 1,800 students, it was not economical to provide every software package on every student laptop. As a result, many students were still frequenting campus computer labs in order to use specialized applications. This ran counter to Babson's vision of on-demand learning.

Babson sought a solution that would simplify the distribution of applications and also reduce students' dependency on campus-run labs. After reviewing possible solutions, Babson selected Softricity to provide the base for the "Babson Virtual Lab," allowing students and faculty real-time access to the applications they need anywhere, without the tedious, time-consuming process of installation.

In addition to the Virtual Lab, Babson anticipates using Softricity in a number of other ways. Esser explained, "Deploying applications for classroom use has always been a challenge, especially when the faculty come to us with a new application that they need right away. We're also exploring using Softricity to simplify the deployment of important administrative applications."

The Softricity Desktop(TM) transforms Windows applications from products that must be installed and managed locally into virtual services that are centrally managed and deployed on-demand--without any recoding--to any desktop, server or laptop. It is comprised of ZeroTouch(TM), the front-end system that enables users to get universal access to all their approved applications from any computer anywhere via their familiar web-browser and/or the standard Windows desktop environment, and SoftGrid(R), the engine that changes applications into centrally managed network services. SoftGrid's patented application virtualization technology enables applications to run in a protected "sandbox" environment without installation or alteration to the host operating system. This eliminates application conflicts and the need for time-consuming regression testing, and enables just-in-time application and patch deployment.

Babson College, which rolled out the Softricity Desktop campus-wide this month for the Spring 2006 semester, expects to achieve these results:

--Accelerate Application Deployments, Upgrades

Without Softricity, when deploying a new administrative application or upgrade, Babson has to upgrade its entire administrative system--the server and all the clients. IT can spend days tracking down end-user machines and uninstalling and installing applications. Now with Softricity, IT can provide the necessary applications to only the user that will need it instantly, without any testing and installation time delays.

--Manage Undergrad Laptop Program

Babson College is in the sixth year of providing undergrads with laptops and, with Softricity, can enhance the usefulness of the laptops, giving students completely secure and reliable access to applications that previously would only have been available in computer labs.

--Reduce Student Computer Labs

With the full scale adoption of Softricity, Babson expects to eliminate 100 of the 155 desktop stations in campus computer labs, providing students with applications in an on-demand environment while reducing costs.

--Quickly Respond to Ad-Hoc Application Requests

With Softricity, Babson IT gains the agility needed to handle unpredicted, last-minute requests. For instance, if a professor needs to do a lecture in a room that does not have the proper software, IT can instantly and remotely provision the application. In the past IT would have to send a technician to the room and hope there was enough time to install the application before the class began.

--Support Students' Own Laptops

Leveraging ZeroTouch's capabilities, Babson can more easily and safely support student computers that are not on the Babson domain, such as graduate students or those taking evening classes who have their own computers. By using ZeroTouch, students can instantly access applications, confident that they will not be intrusive or destructive to their laptop. And, at the end of the term, IT can easily reclaim the licenses.

--Optimize Licenses

Babson expects to reduce spending on licensing costs with the help of Softricity, and ensure compliance with their software agreements. For example, if they deploy 30 licenses of a class-specific piece of software to students in the first semester of the year, Softricity will help them re-distribute those licenses to a whole new group of students during the second semester rather than buying an entire new set of licenses.

"We are pleased to help Babson College provide its students and staff with on-demand applications," said Harry Ruda, CEO, Softricity. "Babson's commitment to creating a meaningful learning environment is a testament to its mission of fostering entrepreneurship and to the incredible value that true application virtualization can provide enterprises."

About Babson College

Babson College in Wellesley, Mass., is recognized internationally as a leader in entrepreneurial management education. Babson grants BS degrees through its innovative undergraduate program, and grants MBA and custom MS and MBA degrees through the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College. Babson Executive Education offers executive development programs to experienced managers worldwide. For information, visit www.babson.edu.

About Softricity

Softricity is the only virtualization company to deliver software that is never installed, yet securely follows users anywhere, on demand, enabling high productivity while dramatically reducing IT costs. The Softricity Desktop(TM), powered by the SoftGrid(R) Platform & Softricity ZeroTouch(TM), employs the company's patented application virtualization, intelligent on-demand streaming and policy-based management technologies. Global customers include AIG, Blue Cross Blue Shield Kansas City, Northeastern University, Prudential, Raytheon, Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH and Suncor Energy. Softricity is a partner with Microsoft (Gold Certified), HP, IBM and VMware. For more information visit www.softricity.com.

Softricity, Softricity Desktop, SoftGrid and ZeroTouch are trademarks or registered trademarks of Softricity, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks or registered trademarks herein are property of their respective owners.