Platinum Tank Group Scales Design Team and Bounces Back After Cyber Attack
Splashtop Enterprise makes secure flexible work a reality for 3D CAD designers
At a Glance
Challenge
Platinum Tank Group needed to enable flexible work for their 3D CAD designers. They had to find a way to work both in-office and at home from the same workstation, seamlessly.
Solution
Platinum adopted Splashtop Enterprise giving their designers remote access to CAD workstations with 3D mouse redirection and multi-monitor support.
Results
Platinum has been able to support their growing design team without having to expand office space. They also got remote work back on track after a cyber attack thanks to Splashtop’s multi-factor authentication.
The Challenge: Implementing Flexible Work for 3D CAD Designers
Platinum Tank Group (Platinum) specializes in the design and manufacturing of aluminum tank trailers for aircraft refuellers. Based in Chambly, Quebec, they manufacture more than 1,200 units per year. The company relies on its design team to develop innovative new aluminum tank trailers using computer-aided design (CAD).
When the pandemic struck, Platinum’s designers all moved to remote work. As Platinum started planning for a return to the office, they realized there wasn’t enough space to accommodate their growing design department.
Dominic Benoit, Platinum’s Application Specialist, was asked to develop a new flexible work strategy for the department. Whether designers were at home or in the office, they’d need to have one standard way to do all their CAD design work. “We wanted them to remotely access their workstation no matter where they were, only the monitor they used would be different,” said Dominic.
Remote work required access to their in-office workstations and device redirection for a special 3D CAD mouse to work in Solid Edge (CAD software). “Device redirection to 3D CAD mice is critical for our designers as they create models for production,” said Dominic.
Platinum tried multiple solutions, including Chrome Remote Desktop, traditional RDP, and Microsoft Remote Desktop. Unfortunately, none of them fit the bill. “We could have combined all of these solutions, but that still wouldn’t deliver all the functionality our designers needed,” said Dominic.
Dominic was asked to seek a new remote access tool—one that could provide two core capabilities:
Automatic device redirection: for the 3D CAD mouse for designers' use.
Multi-monitor support: for access to the same CAD workstation from different devices.
“If these two features aren’t available for our designers working remotely, they have to completely relearn how to work with the CAD application.”
The Solution: Splashtop Checks All of Platinum’s Boxes for Seamless Flexible Work
After hearing about Splashtop from other 3D CAD designers on the Solid Edge user forum, Platinum tried Splashtop for themselves. “We ran a trial of Splashtop Enterprise, and it checked all our boxes, including device redirection,” said Dominic.
✔ Easy setup
Dominic and his team found Splashtop easy to set up. Within five days, all 20 of Platinum’s CAD designers were performing their work via Splashtop. “Splashtop’s flexibility makes it all so easy. I even use it from my iPhone when I’m on the road.”
✔ Multi-monitor support
The design team has come to rely on Splashtop’s multimonitor support feature as it enables collaboration between two users on the same workstation. “Designers can have varying skill sets. So, it’s really useful when they can help one another from anywhere at any time,” explained Dominic.
✔ Stellar customer support
Dominic only needed assistance with unique user requirements and was very satisfied with the support he received. “Splashtop’s technical support was very responsive. Everyone was ready to go. The time between submitting a ticket and receiving an answer from Splashtop support was very short.”
✔ 3D device redirection
Platinum’s designers need device redirection to work remotely and are thrilled with Splashtop’s performance. They regularly recommend it to other designers in the community. “Splashtop is a valid solution for anyone who’s trying to use 3D device connection remotely. Many CAD users in the community have asked about device redirection since starting remote work in 2020. Now I finally have an answer and can recommend Splashtop,” said Dominic.
Results: Platinum Expands Their Design Team Without Expanding Office Space
Today, Platinum is using Splashtop to provide a consistent experience for their CAD designers to work from anywhere. Each designer has a minicomputer (Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc.) for use at home or in the office. They run Splashtop from these minicomputers wherever and whenever to remotely access their office workstations.
"There’s no keyboard, no mouse, and no screen. It’s just a small box that they plug into a desktop monitor and keyboard wherever they are,” said Dominic. “Splashtop is really the only application that needs to run on their minicomputers.”
With a flexible workstation, Platinum Tank Group can plan for expansion without acquiring extra office space. So far, they’ve provided their expanding design team with 26 machines and plan to add five more. “We’re probably going to be hiring student interns who will be remoting in with Splashtop as well,” added Dominic.
"Splashtop is the perfect tool for remote work and remoting into a workstation from anywhere.”
Dominic also notes that having just one tool to enable and support all CAD designers has impacted his work dramatically. “I am the internal tech support, so Splashtop makes my life much easier.”
Bonus: Platinum Gets Back on Track After a Cyber Attack
After the initial interview, Dominic told us that Platinum fell victim to a cyber attack. He said Splashtop’s multi-factor authentication allowed them to get on their feet faster. The feature was specifically requested by their security department. “We are glad that our work-from-home agreement is back on track. Splashtop is the key to making it possible,” said Dominic.
