New Support Platform
by Tom Berryman [Profile] | Tuesday, April 24th, 2012
On Tuesday May 1, we will launch our new support platform.
The new platform will enable us to further reduce our support times and improve our communications. One of the new features will enable clients (you) to directly log into our HelpDesk and access your support cases. Ultimately this will enable you to make support requests and requests for escalation as well as view your invoices and monthly statements.
We are all very excited about launching this platform and looking forward to the improvements we can bring to you.
Permalink: http://www.connectivityit.com.au/2012/04/24/new-support-platform/
Cloud Computing
by Connectivity I.T. [Profile] | Tuesday, June 21st, 2011
The ‘cloud’ as a technology term refers to the internet. Cloud computing refers to the delivery of computing applications through the use of web technology. But it does mean different things to different people. It encompasses a range of technologies including:
SaaS (Software as a Service) refers to applications you use being hosted on a remote server.
Utility Computing is the provision of services such as storage, computational capability or backup ‘in the cloud’.
Web Services is the integration of applications to a web delivery mechanism.
In a way, cloud computing is infrastructure outsourcing. Your data is no longer held within the confines of your network. Moving your infrastructure to the cloud does have some great economic benefits, it’s pay as you go without an infrastructure cost, its scalable on demand so the performance is there when you need it, its flexible in that it can be access anywhere by many methods and it’s also very easy to deliver to the user.
Another approach to cloud computing is the private cloud, delivering client flexibility with the security and peace of mind of your data safe behind your firewalls. Unfortunately this negates a large part of the economic benefit.
At Connectivity IT we have found that although cloud technologies have their place in our solutions, they are not the solution to every challenge. In some form almost all our clients have adopted cloud computing in some way.
One particular scenario where cloud computing is the solution is for our own technicians on the road. We can securely deliver all the resources and documentation we have in our data centre to all our consultants and technicians with nothing more than an internet connection. Microsoft technologies such as Forefront Threat Management Gateway and SharePoint comprise the core of our private cloud infrastructure.
As part of our adoption of cloud technologies we also host full server solutions for our clients on our hardware in our data centre. On a pay as you go model our clients own the Microsoft licence for their server; we host it and deliver its services via the cloud without the client ever purchasing server hardware. Should the client outgrow the capacity of this cloud solution we leverage the portability of Hyper-V virtual servers to move the client’s data to their own infrastructure. This is an ideal scenario for start-up companies without the capital to invest in infrastructure though their growth phase.
Currently a major limiting factor in our ability to deliver cloud computing in Australia is bandwidth. We simply do not have a sufficient and affordable internet service to support it. Partnering with internet providers we have been able to overcome bandwidth challenges to deliver excellent cloud based solutions in Gippsland.
Permalink: http://www.connectivityit.com.au/2011/06/21/cloud-computing/
Virtualization
by Connectivity I.T. [Profile] | Tuesday, June 21st, 2011
Virtualisation in business technology today can mean several things, server virtualisation, desktop virtualisation or application virtualisation. Server virtualisation refers to combining network services that would ordinarily be placed on separate servers onto a single physical server. The previously independent servers are each referred to as virtual machines and each has its own virtual hardware. This process is known as consolidation and can reduce your outlay on server hardware significantly. Server virtualisation dramatically increases the efficiency of a data centre. With the average server using 5% of its processing capacity throughout the day a 6:1 consolidation would reduce your processor cost to one sixth and generate an average CPU load of 30%. This is a better return on your investment. Desktop virtualisation refers to PC users utilising a shared set of resources on a Remote Desktop Server.
This can significantly reduce cost of desktop hardware and extend the life of existing desktop hardware. It also allows users access to far more powerful hardware for day to day operations and places the applications closer to the data resulting in performance advantages in most cases. Desktop virtualisation can reduce I.T management overhead significantly. Application virtualisation is a stream of desktop virtualisation, instead of presenting a virtual desktop, only an application is presented to the user. This can allow software packages that would ordinarily not operate on the same system to work together in perfect harmony. It also has fantastic opportunities for remote users.
Although virtualisation in any form can significantly reduce hardware costs, this brings with it increased risk. With all your critical services on fewer servers, even a small problem can have a huge impact on your business. This alone puts greater pressure on the quality of hardware and its maintenance. But it also creates an opportunity for those who wish to be clever about it; a virtual server or virtual desktop is no longer tied to any specific hardware – it is now portable. It presents us with the ability for a user to change locations and have their desktop up to the second move with them; it allows us to move servers across hardware with zero interruption to users. There is no doubt that virtualisation will be a core technology in the modern data centre or small business server environment, but it is a journey to be taken cautiously. Something to always remember is saving money on technology will more often than not increase your risk. However a well-designed and managed virtualised environment can be the most resilient and robust solution.
Virtualisation in business technology today can mean several things, server virtualisation, desktop virtualisation or application virtualisation.
Server virtualisation refers to combining network services that would ordinarily be placed on separate servers onto a single physical server. The previously independent servers are each referred to as virtual machines and each has its own virtual hardware. This process is known as consolidation and can reduce your outlay on server hardware significantly. Server virtualisation dramatically increases the efficiency of a data centre. With the average server using 5% of its processing capacity throughout the day a 6:1 consolidation would reduce your processor cost to one sixth and generate an average CPU load of 30%. This is a better return on your investment.
Desktop virtualisation refers to PC users utilising a shared set of resources on a Remote Desktop Server. This can significantly reduce cost of desktop hardware and extend the life of existing desktop hardware. It also allows users access to far more powerful hardware for day to day operations and places the applications closer to the data resulting in performance advantages in most cases. Desktop virtualisation can reduce I.T management overhead significantly.
Application virtualisation is a stream of desktop virtualisation, instead of presenting a virtual desktop, only an application is presented to the user. This can allow software packages that would ordinarily not operate on the same system to work together in perfect harmony. It also has fantastic opportunities for remote users.
Although virtualisation in any form can significantly reduce hardware costs, this brings with it increased risk. With all your critical services on fewer servers, even a small problem can have a huge impact on your business. This alone puts greater pressure on the quality of hardware and its maintenance. But it also creates an opportunity for those who wish to be clever about it; a virtual server or virtual desktop is no longer tied to any specific hardware – it is now portable. It presents us with the ability for a user to change locations and have their desktop up to the second move with them; it allows us to move servers across hardware with zero interruption to users.
There is no doubt that virtualisation will be a core technology in the modern data centre or small business server environment, but it is a journey to be taken cautiously. Something to always remember is saving money on technology will more often than not increase your risk. However a well-designed and managed virtualised environment can be the most resilient and robust solution.
Permalink: http://www.connectivityit.com.au/2011/06/21/virtualization/
Economics of I.T.
by Connectivity I.T. [Profile] | Tuesday, June 21st, 2011
The general attitude to I.T in a business is an expense. In today’s digital world I.T is no longer an expense but a new way of doing business. It’s a way to save time, to save money, to do things differently. So the question really is; how much is inferior technology costing you?
To determine this we need to ask, what is the efficiency of your existing I.T solution? Assume for a moment that you had a perfect system, no downtime, no double data handling and things happen instantly when you hit the mouse. This system is 100% efficient. In most organisations this is not the case, users don’t share information, hardware failures cause downtime and data loss, service failures result in no access to required resources and slow system performance means users wait after every click for their computer to respond. This costs you time and in the end money. So what is the typical solution to improve an inefficient system? Invest in faster PCs, faster internet and network connections and more servers. Is this expensive? Yes.
Without a technology plan there is no benefit to gain from simply investing more money into your I.T services. A technology plan needs to be business orientated in that your technology needs to support you in achieving you business goals. In developing a technology plan you may discover that you simply have an inefficient design and no amount of investment will mask that inefficiency.
So how do you design and efficient I.T solution? There is no magic design that suits every organisation or even every organisation in any industry. But there are a few key components that are fundamental to an efficient design. Reliability is the first place to start, if you can ensure the availability of services to users then you can determine how efficient the network design is. Moving data closer to the users or in fact allowing users to be closer to the data is a sure way of improving the efficiency of a network; it reduces overhead and travel time for data. But today we are becoming more mobile, doing more from outside the office. It’s very hard to ‘be close to your data’ when you are in another state. Perhaps the interface you are using to reach your data needs to be redesigned; a new method for accessing your data needs to be discovered. Are you able to change the way you access your business critical services depending on where you are? Are you able rapidly provision new features or services to your staff? The agility of your technology design can save you huge amounts of time when training new staff or mixing staff roles.
So the fundamental design features of an efficient I.T solution are:
- Reliability – Downtime is wasted money
- Performance – Closer to the data is fast and efficient
- Agility – Deploying new solutions or staff in minimum time
Evaluate how efficient your organisation is, how much do you think your technology is holding you back?
Permalink: http://www.connectivityit.com.au/2011/06/21/economics-of-i-t/