Works the way you want

Windows 7

Customer Solution Case Study

Travel Agency Saves Hours per Week with

Notebook PCs and Robust Operating System

Overview Country or Region: United States

Industry: Hospitality—Travel services

Customer Profile

Borton creates custom travel packages

for individual and corporate clients

across North America. The company was

launched in 1894 and currently has 15

dedicated employees.

Business Situation

Borton needed more responsive systems

that were easier to use, so employees

could get more done in less time and

improve client satisfaction.

Solution

Together, Windows 7 Professional and

the ThinkPad SL Series give employees a

more powerful, responsive, and easy-to-

use system that helps them work more

efficiently and effectively.

Benefits

Increased productivity

Faster network connections

Enhanced efficiency

Improved communication

“The ThinkPad SL running Windows 7 Professional

combines power with intuitive features, and

performance with lightning-fast speeds. We are more

than impressed—we’re blown away.”

Jody Schuster, Africa Specialist, Borton Overseas

For more than a century, Borton Overseas has been driven by its

spirit of innovation and commitment to providing quality

services that deliver unsurpassed experiences to its customers.

Part of its offerings includes custom travel packages such as

Viking Line cruises and African Safari adventures. Consistently

delivering the highest quality services to its growing client base

is always top-of-mind for Borton leaders, who seek out

technologies that can best support its employees’ ability to get

more done in less time. When the company turned to the

Lenovo ThinkPad SL running Windows 7 Professional, it found

the solution it needed to succeed.

Works the way you want

Situation Borton employees noted that waiting for

systems to start up and resume impeded

productivity. Plus, finding everyday files

took longer than they would like, and

connecting to new networks in varying

working environments was tedious and

frustrating.

In addition, employees wanted an easier

way to quickly share pertinent travel

information with their clients. And company

leaders needed faster, easier ways to help

employees learn and master business-

related software programs and resolve IT

issues.

Solution To overcome these challenges, Borton

leaders turned to the Lenovo ThinkPad SL

running the Windows 7 Professional

operating system.* This combination

provided a more powerful, responsive, and

easy-to-use system that helped employees

work more efficiently and effectively.

“The ThinkPad SL running Windows 7

Professional combines power with intuitive

features, and performance with lightning-

fast speeds,” says Jody Schuster, Africa

Specialist for Borton. “We are more than

impressed—we’re blown away.”

Benefits Increased Productivity

The faster startup and resume capabilities

of Windows 7 increases system

responsiveness significantly. For Kenneth

Steinhoven, Scandinavian Department

Coordinator at Borton Overseas, this speed

and responsiveness prompted him to

obtain the operating system for his

personal PC. “After seeing the power,

performance, and speed of Windows 7

Professional, I ran out and bought it for my

home PC,” he says.

The ThinkPad SL enhances this time-

savings with integrated Lenovo

ThinkVantage Technologies (TVT), which is

optimized for use with Windows 7 and uses

the basic input/output system (BIOS)

tuning to start up in under 35 seconds and

shut down in as little as 6 seconds. As

Shuster puts it, “Our systems start faster

than ever, and are more responsive than

any we’ve ever used before.”

Enhanced Efficiency

Windows Search helps employees find

folders, files, and even email messages

almost instantly. As soon as people begin

typing a search phrase or term, the search

engine automatically populates with

relevant suggestions.

“The Instant Search Suggestions is unlike

any other solution,” says Schuster. “There’s

no need to hunt for information because it

generates an immediate response. It’s

saving me an hour every week.”

The ThinkPad SL integrates ergonomic

design features with powerful technologies,

such as a finely tuned touchpad and a fast

Intel Core 2 duo CPU and DDR3 memory.

Borton notes that this combination helps

boost efficiency and productivity. “Not only

does Windows 7 Professional help us find

what we need faster, but the Lenovo

ThinkPad SL includes a fantastic touchpad

that makes working easier,” Steinhoven

remarks.

With Windows 7 Network Connection

Wizard, employees can connect to

networks with ease, as the feature

automatically detects and connects to the

right network in any location. “Switching

between networks is no longer a hassle

with Windows 7 Professional,” Steinhoven

says. “The Network Connection Wizard

knows where you are and connects

automatically.”

“Not only does Windows

7 Professional help us

find what we need faster,

but the Lenovo ThinkPad

SL includes a fantastic

touchpad that makes

working easier." Kenneth Steinhoven, Scandinavian

Department Coordinator, Borton

Overseas

Works the way you want

Improved Communication

Borton employees use the power of the

Windows 7 Snipping Tool to improve the

way they communicate with clients. With

this tool, employees can snip a portion of a

document or web page, paste it into an

email message or file, and send it to third

parties.

“I absolutely love the Snipping Tool,”

Schuster says. “To be able to snip out a

pertinent section of a document rather

than send the whole file to clients improves

our communication—and our

relationships.”

The Problem Steps Recorder feature in

Windows 7 Professional has helped Borton

employees to improve communication in

even more ways. Employees simply launch

the tool, click Record to capture their

interactions with applications and

programs in real time, and send it off to

colleagues or IT support teams.

As Shuster indicates, “Problem Steps

Recorder is wonderful. It helps us

communicate not just how to use complex

programs with each other, but also helps us

resolve IT issues.”

Steinhoven is equally enthusiastic about

this feature, noting that it will eliminate the

frustration of having to walk through IT

challenges over the phone. “With Problem

Steps Recorder, it’s so easy to explain how

to use a program or resolve challenges—

you can just record it, watch it, share it, and

know exactly what’s happening or what do

to.”

*As part of the solution deployment through the

Windows 7 SMB Evidence Program, the customer

received complimentary notebooks and technical

support from Microsoft and Lenovo.

“With Problem Steps

Recorder, it’s so easy to

explain how to use a

program or resolve

challenges—you can just

record it, watch it, share

it, and know exactly

what’s happening."

Kenneth Steinhoven, Scandinavian

Department Coordinator, Borton Overseas

Works the way you want

Windows 7

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 Windows 7, go

to:

www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7

For More Information For more information about Microsoft

products and services, call the Microsoft

Sales Information Center at (800) 426-

9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft

Canada Information Centre at (877) 568-

2495. 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

For more information about Lenovo SL

Series products and services, call (866)96-

THINK or visit the website at:

www.lenovo.com

For more information about Borton

Overseas products and services, call (612)

822-4640 or visit the website at:

www.bortonoverseas.com

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Document published September 2010

Software and Services Windows 7 Professional

Hardware Lenovo ThinkPad SL Series

Partner Lenovo