Fulton Financial Corporation has a long and storied history that began in 1882 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where local merchants and farmers organized Fulton National Bank. The bank’s name was chosen to honor Lancaster County native Robert Fulton, the inventor and artist best known for designing and building the first successful steamboat, the Clermont.

From the very beginning, Fulton has built a strong reputation its keen understanding and servicing of agricultural and business accounts, in addition to personal banking. The bank’s conservative management has been the key to its survival during some of the United States’ most challenging periods, including the Great Depression.

In 1948, Fulton Bank began to acquire other local banks, eventually becoming the largest bank in Lancaster County. During the 1970s and 1980s it rededicated itself to providing superior service to its retail customers, aggressively pursuing branch expansion; extending business hours; installing 24-hour ATMs; and launching consumer-oriented credit programs and pay-by-phone service. In 1982, in addition to celebrating its 100th anniversary, Fulton Bank formed a holding company, thus becoming a wholly owned subsidiary and the flagship bank of Fulton Financial Corporation.

Throughout all the growth, progress and changes, Fulton has never lost sight of the spark that inspires and powers all of its work: people.

Endpoint Upgrades Needed to Support Citrix Virtualization Infrastructure

In an effort to optimize the productivity of its employees and enable them to have more time to focus on their customers, Fulton sought to upgrade the endpoints for its Citrix application virtualization infrastructure, with the help of its Citrix partner and IGEL Platinum Partner, Plan B Technologies, Inc. “While implementing Citrix virtualization solutions at Fulton, we tested and validated them with the IGEL endpoints and found that together they make for a powerful combination, providing a robust end user experience that is both secure and easy to manage,” said Donnie Downs, President & CEO of Plan B.

“Over the last several years, the multimedia needs of our employees have increased dramatically as our organization finds more ways to leverage audio and video technologies to deliver training programs and messages from our leadership and corporate communications teams,” said Marc Dell, Engineering Manager, Fulton Financial Corp. “This was the primary driver for our endpoint product selection. We needed to identify a robust desktop computing solution that could deliver the rich multimedia experience we desired for our end users. ”

Wanted: A Windows PC Experience Without a Windows PC

In selecting a desktop computing solution to support its Citrix application virtualization infrastructure, Fulton had one unique business requirement, “We were looking for a solution that would mirror the experience provided by a Windows PC, without actually being a Windows PC,” said Dell.

During the evaluation process, Fulton looked at endpoints from IGEL and another leading manufacturer, conducting a “bake-off” of several models including the IGEL Universal Desktop (UD6).

“We did a pretty extensive test, looking at performance, functionality and ease-of-use,” said Dell. “IGEL passed with flying colors. ”

Fulton also appreciated the fact that IGEL is forward-thinking in designing its desktop computing solutions. “We looked at the IGEL roadmap and really liked what we saw,” continued Dell. “Not only did they understand the challenges we face, they were already working hard to address concerns that are most near and dear to us, including computing power and graphic offload.”

IGEL Endpoint Solution Saves Time and Reduces Costs

Fulton began its IGEL roll-out by purchasing 2,300 IGEL UD6 endpoints in 2016 for its headquarters and branch offices, and plans to complete the roll out of IGEL endpoints to the remainder of its 3,700 employees in the coming months.

The bank is also leveraging the IGEL Universal Management Suite (UMS) to manage its fleet of IGEL endpoints. “We like the IGEL UMS because it is easy to configure and makes the management of the IGEL endpoints virtually hands-free for our IT team,” said Dell. “Previous to IGEL, some of our processes were manual, and often required an on-site technician to troubleshoot or configure desktop clients. Now we can do this from one central location, which saves time and reduces costs. ”

Fulton also likes the customer service it has received from IGEL. “The pre-sales support was very good and they are always quick to respond whenever we have a question or a need arises,” said Dell.

The bank is so pleased with IGEL that it is also looking into some of the other endpoint computing solutions it offers. “We tried out the recently announced IGEL UD Pocket, and believe that it holds a lot of promise,” concluded Dell.