Argos faced significant challenges in managing its IT infrastructure efficiently. The software authorization process was slow and fragmented, as approvals had to go through store managers, leading to delays. Providing timely software access to tens of thousands of employees was difficult, and this negatively impacted productivity. Argos also struggled with balancing the need to grant administrative rights for software updates while maintaining internal security. In addition, the company faced high costs related to software licensing and dependence on third-party IT service providers.
Software deployment to 50,000 clients within 5 minutes
Industry:
Retail
Headquarters:
London, United Kingdom
Products Used:
SoftwareCentral
About NKT
Argos is a major UK-based retailer known for its multi-channel approach, combining both online and physical store sales. It offers a wide range of products, including general merchandise, electronics, home goods, toys, and clothing. Argos is part of the Sainsbury’s Group, one of the largest retail groups in the UK, and operates over 2,200 stores nationwide. It is recognized for its catalog-based shopping experience, allowing customers to order products online or in-store for home delivery or collection. Argos serves millions of customers across the UK, making it one of the largest general merchandise and clothing retailers in the country.
Pain points
- Managing software deployment efficiently.
- Slow and complex authorization processes for software requests, causing delays.
- Balancing productivity with internal security, especially regarding local admin rights.
Results
- Software deployed to 50,000 users in 5 minutes.
- Temporary admin rights improved security and cut support tickets.
- Reduced license and third-party service costs.
Challenges
Solution
To improve efficiency and control, Argos implemented SoftwareCentral and gradually expanded its functionality. They worked closely with the SoftwareCentral team to tailor the product to their needs.
“We have been working with SoftwareCentral for about a year now and have been slowly increasing the functionality of the product as well as working closely with SoftwareCentral to develop the product in line with customer needs,” said Danny Begg, SAM Technical Specialist at Argos. “Argos use the product in a limited format but it gives us incredible value in the way we use the product.”
One of the major changes was centralizing the software authorization process. By moving it from managers to a dedicated SAM team, Argos significantly sped up approvals and software delivery.
“We have used the product to provide software to our 50,000 colleagues within a 5-minute time window by centralising the authorisation process away from managers to a dedicated SAM team who then allocate licenses based upon the group’s use of the software, purchasing to fill the gaps as required or removing the software after the request if required,” said Danny. “This allows people to be instantly productive on behalf of the company.”
Argos also used SoftwareCentral to provide temporary administrative rights, enabling employees to update applications such as Adobe without needing to submit IT tickets.
“We have also used SoftwareCentral to provision and deploy local administrative rights for a limited period of time to colleagues’ machines. This allows them to update their cloud applications such as Adobe without having to log tickets each time, and used in conjunction with logging allows us to monitor our internal security and reduce the amount of administrative rights within the organisation,” Danny explained.
Results
With SoftwareCentral in place, Argos transformed its software deployment process. Now, software can be delivered to 50,000 employees in just five minutes, greatly improving operational efficiency. The centralized SAM team streamlined license management, enabling quicker service without compromising control.
Temporary admin rights improved flexibility while maintaining security oversight, thanks to detailed logging. This not only boosted employee productivity but also reduced the administrative burden on the IT team.
“Lastly by enhancing the power of SCCM, the delivery and removal of software is speeded up, reducing license costs, IMACs, and costs to 3rd party managed service providers,” Danny concluded.
