"With Parallels RAS up and running, we have seen measurable results in the form of time savings, easy implementation, and cost savings."

Protime, an independent software vendor (ISV), is all about helping human resources (HR) organizations throughout Europe. Global companies must adhere to different national legislation depending on where their offices are located, which makes it difficult to implement a common HR policy across Europe. That’s where Protime comes in—they excel at building software to help customers combat this issue.

Their software is easy to use and customizable for every specific national legislation. This means that even if companies and their subsidiaries have a large internal HR team, Protime’s solutions can be extremely beneficial.

The primary applications used by Protime clients include time and attendance and workforce management. These solutions are all available as Software-as-a-service (SaaS).

More specifically, Protime builds software that performs calculations for absences, holiday requests, and cost center management. It also exports data, reports data, and allocates costs.

Additionally, Protime partners with various hardware companies to provide them with workforce management terminals. These terminals include clocks that enable employees to clock in and out and help improve business efficiency and monitor employee productivity. Protime offers hardware and support to maximize efficiency and reduce costs within any organization.

The ChallengeThe need for a more cost-effective solution

Protime needed a solution that would improve their HR tools so they can:

  • Eliminate their third-party provider
  • A cost-effective and easy-to-manage solution
  • Increase security

The SolutionParallels RAS chosen for affordability, security, and ease of use

Protime used Citrix Xen App as their main software until around 2020. At that point, someone within the organization recommended switching to Parallels® Remote Application Server (RAS) as a replacement option to better serve their needs, so the company requested proof of concept (POC).

Protime ultimately decided to switch to Parallels RAS in May 2020, and became a Parallels partner. This decision was based on several reasons, including:

  1. Improved cost-effectiveness. Protime was paying more than they would have liked to for Citrix and wanted a more affordable solution. Parallels RAS is well-known for its lower total cost of ownership (TCO) than similar products on the market.
  2. Increased security. Protime users were worried about Citrix vulnerabilities that they were hearing about on the news.
  3. Easy installation. All users had to install the Citrix client before use. With Parallels RAS, customers can take advantage of the HTML5 gateway to gain access through their browser, without having to install anything.

Thanks to Parallels RAS, Protime can access their internal developed applications through different types of devices. They can then publish their developed applications to their customers. In addition, Parallels RAS enabled Protime to make their applications cloud and mobile ready without requiring them to undergo further development to their solution.

All Protime’s customers were transitioned to Parallels RAS from Citrix. This included 2,000 customers and 30,000 users.

The ResultTime savings, easy implementation, and cost-savings

Protime has Parallels RAS set up on-premises in their Belgian datacenter. As it stands, they currently only use Parallels RAS for their HR tool. This tool is used for many HR functions, including:

  1. Time registration. Time and attendance, cost accounting, and employee self-service where users can take care of tasks on their own, such as managing absences.
  2. Access. Visitor management, access for users to provide their Covid vaccine status, and access to company hardware.
  3. Planning. Team planning and career planning.
  4. Services. Training center offerings, data services, and managed services.

With Parallels RAS up and running, Protime has seen measurable results in the form of time savings, easy implementation, and cost savings.

Parallels RAS Console Is Easier to Access and Manage

As mentioned, with Citrix, employees of Protime’s customers had to install the Citrix client before they could use it, which consumed valuable time. With Parallels RAS, customers can take advantage of the HTML5 gateway without having to install anything.

Parallels HTML5 Client is a RAS client application that runs in a web browser. End users can use it to view, launch, and work with remote applications and desktop in a web browser. Parallels HTML5 Client does not require end users to install additional software on their computers or mobile devices.

The Parallels RAS console is also much easier for Protime to manage compared to Citrix. This saves their clients’ employees a lot of time, as just upgrading the Citrix workspace was time-consuming for users. It took IT administrators just 15 minutes to get up and running with Parallels RAS.

Ability to Eliminate Third-Party Provider Saves Time and Money

When Protime was using Citrix, they had to use a third-party service provider to maintain their Citrix environment. With Parallels RAS, the company was able to eliminate the use of this provider, which helped significantly reduce costs. When users use Parallels RAS to access the HR application, startup time is also much faster since they don’t need to log in to the Citrix client.

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