Local Vs Hybrid Vs Pure Cloud Computing Solutions

Microsoft online services hit by major failure

 Millions of Microsoft users were left unable to access some online services overnight because of a major service failure. Such a major problem is likely to raise questions about the reliability of cloud computing…Hotmail, Office 365 and Skydrive were among the services affected.
– read the full story here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14851455

As a Cloud Service provider Fifosys understands the dilemma SMBs face when making the decision of whether or not to move to the cloud. Companies need to assess their business needs and infrastructure before making a decision. Every company will have their own set of priorities, points of failure and risks they are willing to accept.

There is risk involved in Cloud solutions – but this is heavily outweighed by the benefits

• Reduced Cost and CAPEX investment
Cloud technology is paid incrementally, saving organizations money.
• Increased Storage
Organizations can store more data than on private computer systems.
• Highly Automated
No longer do IT personnel need to worry about keeping software up to date.
• Flexibility
Cloud computing offers much more flexibility than past computing methods.
• Anywhere anytime access
Employees can access information wherever they are, rather than having to remain at their desks.
• Allows IT to Shift Focus
No longer having to worry about constant server updates and other computing issues, government organizations will be free to concentrate on innovation.

Often businesses face Cloud computing as an ‘all or nothing’ decision but there is a third option – A hybrid model. This needs to be managed by a service provider that is able to manage the integration – allowing the business to focus and drive what differentiates them.

Ask your IT Manager what your current backup strategy is?

As part of an effective data disaster recovery plan, businesses should make provisions for the regular backing up and storage of their data. Thanks to the advances in storage and online backup facilities, it is now possible to store a backup of all mission critical data over the Internet often saving time, money, and resources when compared to tape or disk backup facilities. Whether you choose online data backup as a complement to a physical data backup solution or as a standalone service it can prevent the massive data loss associated with various types of disaster.

Data backup should be considered an essential part of running and maintaining a business. Every company and every organisation has data that cannot be easily or quickly replaced and in the event of data loss this can lead to lost revenue, disgruntled clients, and the loss of staff time during the data retrieval process. As well as information that most businesses would consider mission critical, employee information, client information, and project data can also become irretrievable.

Data loss is one of the most damaging events that can happen to any business and is one of the most common reasons for the failure of new small businesses costing companies millions of pounds every single month. Online data backup can usually be established so that data is stored automatically on a regular basis and should the need arise, this information can be quickly and easily retrieved. With daily backups the most your business stands to lose is a single day’s data – still damaging but less so than losing weeks or months of critical information.

Has Citrix Gained Competitive Edge Through Acquisition of RingCube?

Fifosys partner and virtualisation giants Citrix Systems, today announced its acquisition of RingCube, a leader in user personalisation technology for virtual desktops.

RingCube made their mark in the technology industry when they gave a dramatic performance at the Demo show. (Demo is where start-ups get just 6 minutes to showcase their products and technology.) CTO Michael Larkin appeared to knock his laptop on the floor sending the stage screens dark. He then casually plugged in his iPod into the port of a colleague’s laptop and his desktop loaded into the machine’s memory.

RingCube’s innovative technology takes virtual desktop adoption to the next level by eliminating the trade off between user personalisation and centralised IT management. When combined with a desktop virtualisation product like Citrix XenDesktop, RingCube makes it easier for IT to give each user a personalised virtual desktop. This includes a full operating system and user profile settings, plus all of the applications users require — whether local or streamed.

What does this mean for consumers?

• Dramatically reduced cost of storage
• Simplified transition from physical to virtual desktops.
• Gives end users all the personalisation benefits of a ‘dedicated’ VDI desktop
• Offers IT administrators all the cost benefits of a ‘pooled’ VDI desktop
• Increases deployment of virtual desktops to every user companywide

To learn more about RingCube, you can visit http://www.ringcube.com/.

“The acquisition of RingCube underscores our chief goal of enabling users to access their desktops and applications on any device, and making virtual desktops simple and affordable for IT. As customers take on enterprise-wide desktop transformation initiatives, Citrix is in the best position to provide a broad range of technology delivering multiple types of virtual desktops that satisfy every user in the enterprise. RingCube technology adds a significant capability to provide users and IT flexible, personal VDI desktops at a much lower cost.”
Bob Schults, Group Vice President, Enterprise Desktops and Applications at Citrix

Antivirus Solutions Are A Must For Any Business

All pc’s using the internet, retrieving files or opening attachments are at risk of viruses, but more so are pc’s used in a business environment.

Having a lot of people active on a network increases this risk. Incorporating an antivirus solution will protect computers from dangerous viruses that can delete, modify or steal all information on a system and cause an unnecessary waste of money and time. This is a business’ worse nightmare considering most or all work done is stored on a computer.

Securing PC’s By Using An Antivirus Solution

Internet and e-mail have created such an easy target for the spread of computer viruses and without antivirus software, one will not exactly know that the virus exists until it is too late. The importance of this solution for businesses is that having so much information coming in and out of its network, allows viruses to seep through without anyone even being aware of it.

Viruses are not always visible and an antivirus solutions job is to detect these viruses by scanning a pc’s files and when found, it alerts the user and then takes the steps to remove it.

An antivirus needs to be regularly updated. A good antivirus software will do this automatically or have an option to do so which will allow the software to connect to the internet to the vendors website and download and install the latest updates.

One for the ladies!

‘Women should stay away from IT’ was the title of an article I came across this morning.
As proved by our very own female engineers with the highest levels in technical ability, ranging from the Microsoft MCP qualifications to Apples ACTC certification – this is most definitely not the case!
As well as a career, there are plenty of reasons for us ladies to love technology…

A few of my favourite things!

1. The tweet mirror is the latest innovation to progress from the social media revolution. The huge mirror is found inside the store changing rooms and enables you to take pictures of yourself in your soon to be new outfit! You can then use it to upload the image to twitter or Facebook for your friends to see and give their verdict. You can also use the mirror to get a better view of yourself from different angles, that you wouldn’t be able to see in standard changing cubicle mirrors.

2. You may have already come across scented MP3 players, but now you can also buy your very own fragrant laptop! Do you ever sit in the office and wish you could move your desk outside? Why not bring the outside to you? The Asus F6 scented notebook, both stylish and compact, comes in 4 different designs each with a different smell; The pink designed Floral Blossom, Musky Black which features a motif inspired by graffiti art and sports has a musky tone, The Morning Dew comes in pastel green and the Aqua Ocean model displays a blue sky and breaking waves on the cover.

3. A common debate you may have come across in the office, which usually provokes a battle of the sexes, is room temperature. My favourite girly gadget is the USB foot warmer – which does exactly what it says on the tin. Perfect in the winter after those long commutes in stilettos.

Any other gadgets especially for us girls – do share!

Why Ensure Your IT Infrastructure And IT Systems Are Scalable

Where many new businesses and small businesses fall over is in the rushed forming of an IT infrastructure and IT system. In order to try and ensure that they hit the ground running, many organisations are more concerned with having an IT system up and running and in place as quickly as possible rather than considering the effects that a rigid infrastructure might have on their business in the future.
A successful new business can increase in size very quickly requiring new members of staff, new software and hardware, and even new systems to manage, store, and work with data. It’s during this expansion when the IT infrastructure will first be placed under the kind of stress it hasn’t yet experienced. A scalable infrastructure that was designed and developed with this very situation in mind will be able to cope well under the increased pressure and the IT team will be able to implement the necessary changes without too much additional work.
An IT infrastructure that does not include the provisions for expansion will either require a major redesign or will need scrapping and completely replacing. Both of these outcomes will cost a business money and, perhaps more damagingly under the circumstances, time. The new team members will have no IT access and existing team members will have to find a way to work around the problems that will quickly surface. When considering IT infrastructure design always consider that your business is going to expand in one way or another and make adequate allowances for that expansion.
There are many solutions available that offer scalability – talk to one of our consultants to see which solution is the best fit for your business

Vodafone unveils Facebook phone – the 555 Blue

Vodafone today (27 July) announced its latest own-branded device – the 555 Blue, an entry level, pre-pay smartphone specifically designed to put Facebook at the heart of the device. The handset is aimed at unlocking the as yet largely untapped growth of data in the pre-pay segment.
The 555 Blue will be available in the UK in August. The phone will cost around US$100 and will be available on a Vodafone Freebies pre-pay tariff, according to Patrick Chomet, group terminals director at Vodafone Group.
The device follows on from the Vodafone 858 Smart – an entry level Android smartphone on pre-pay. Chomet described the 555 Blue as being the next level down from the Smart in terms of affordability.
Chomet said: ‘We are not trying to compete with traditional OEMs. We can identify market trends and spot gaps in the market. We can accelerate those trends by putting out our own devices to bridge those gaps in the market. We want to democratise those trends and empower people, especially in developing markets.’
He added: ‘If you are going to produce a feature phone you need to pick your battle, be it a camera, music or social networking. We have concentrated on Facebook, as it has 250 million users worldwide. A third of Facebook transactions are accessed via a mobile phone.’
In the developed world, the handset will be targeted at teenagers, who cannot afford the more expensive smartphones only available on contract. The 555 Blue is designed to appeal to their love of social networking and messaging friends. In the developing world, the phone is targeted at the millions of people who do not have access to the internet, but who want an affordable way to communicate. Both markets are given access to the internet, but only have a light data use requirement.
Facebook is built into the core of the device and is designed to be ready to go, straight out of the box as soon as it turned on. Phone contacts are automatically synchronised with friends’ Facebook profiles. The device has a 2.4-inch landscape display and a QWERTY keyboard designed to make it easy to type chat, email, texts and status updates.
It also features a dedicated Facebook ‘F’ button. The F button is customisable in terms of assigning tasks, such as instantly posting a status update with photos or with links from the browser.
The 555 Blue features a fully integrated messaging service that brings SMS, MMS, email and Facebook together in one place. Photos can be uploaded to Facebook, emailed or Bluetoothed at the click of button. The device updates automatically every 20 minutes, although this can be customised.
The handset was developed by Vodafone in conjunction with Chinese manufacturer TCL. Vodafone developed its own operating system to keep costs down. The chipset is provided by Taiwanese manufacture MTK. The 555 Blue uses the Opera Mini 5 web browser.
(source - mobiletoday.co.uk)

How full proof is your Business Continuity Plan?

Question for your IT manager
Q. In event of a disaster (such as a fire) how quickly can you have us back up and running?
A. If they have considered the above – the answer should be less than 4 hours

The more your business relies on its IT systems, the more you need to consider how unexpected disruptions might affect your business. These disruptions could come in many forms, from fire and floods to theft or malicious attacks on your systems, such as viruses or hacking.
Business continuity planning improves your business’ ability to react to such disruptions. It describes how you will restart your operations in order to meet your business-critical requirements.
The main benefit of business continuity planning is enabling your business to recover quickly from unexpected events that disrupt your IT systems.
A business that can demonstrate an effective business continuity plan has a competitive advantage. For example, if you provide services to customers that are dependent upon your IT systems, like an internet service provider, then evidence of a sound plan can be used to win or retain customers. For instance, if your business is a partner in a supply chain, business continuity planning may well need to be an integral part of your quality assurance.
Your Business Continuity plan should aim to reduce the risks posed by disruption to your business processes. Measures that you need to include:
• A back-up and data recovery strategy, including off-site storage.
• The development of a resilient IT infrastructure with redundancies (spare capacity) in case of failure. For example, mirrored central server computers sited in different locations, each containing the same information, so that if one goes down, the other one is available to ensure continuity of service and alternative storage facilities.
• The elimination of single points of failure, such as a single power supply.

Outsourcing Vs In house for SMEs

Small businesses have as much of a need for good IT infrastructure as large ones, perhaps even more so. The smaller business often has less resource in terms of the preparation and deployment of an effective IT and communications infrastructure. This means that establishing a network, preparing a disaster recovery plan, writing bespoke software, and ensuring that your network is protected from viruses and spyware can sometimes take a back seat to other internal projects. Outsourcing may be the best solution to this unique problem.
Networks, systems, and business software all play an integral role in profitable business. In order to employ a skilled and efficient IT team to perform all of these tasks it would cost a prohibitively large amount of money that very few small businesses can reasonably afford. Once a network has been established, software written, and a disaster recovery plan formulated, you may be left with a large IT team that has very little work on their hands.
IT outsourcing can combat many of the problems associated with establishing a new business or running a small business and meeting its IT needs. Every aspect of the IT Infrastructure from design and development to maintenance and optimisation can be outsourced to a skilled team. In contrast to employing your own extensive IT department this negates the need to pay annual salaries or even to buy the software and hardware that they would require to complete the tasks in the first place. IT outsourcing makes sense to the small business as well as medium to large enterprises.

VMware vSphere 5 will continue to set the standard in virtualization

 The foundation of VMware’s cloud infrastructure suite is VMware vSphere, the most trusted, widely deployed virtualization platform in the world. Architected to support the broadest range of virtual and cloud infrastructure needs, VMware vSphere is broadly utilized by enterprises, small and mid size businesses (SMBs), public cloud service providers and as a foundation for the growing virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) market. An increasing number of customers are standardizing on VMware vSphere as their strategic IT platform. As such, VMware vSphere has attracted a broad ecosystem of industry leaders that support and extend this foundation.
What’s New in VMware vSphere 5?
• Next-generation ESXi hypervisor delivering industry-leading performance and scalability while setting a new bar for reliability, security and management efficiency.
• ‘Super VMs’ with four times more powerful virtual machines to scale and handle the most resource-intensive applications; virtual machines can now scale up to 32 vCPUs and 1 TB of RAM.
• Simplified and more comprehensive high availability and disaster recovery.
• Intelligent policy management of data centre resources to automate previously manual process (e.g. deployment and patching of vSphere hosts, dynamic placement, balancing and service-level agreement-driven profiles for storage).
• Flexible hybrid cloud management from a single pane of glass.
• Broader industry support from software and hardware providers, including more than 1,400 independent software provider (ISV) partners which support running more than 2,500 applications on vSphere.