Tuesday, May 31, 2011

End User Computing – Be More Productive at a Reduced Cost



Your network is only as secure as your end points connected to it. Securing your endpoints is vital and keeping them updated with the right security firewall and patches is important. End-user computing (EUC) is one of the most significant phenomenons to occur in the IT in the last decade.

With the increasing use of IT, end consumers are becoming more demanding, requiring anytime, anywhere access from an ever-growing selection of applications and devices. The support services for end-user form a vital part of Infrastructure Management services and there is need to provide a one point solution for complete management of the computing environment, to secure and manage the end point that people are using from desktop/laptop/Mobile devices and netbooks, balanced by a dedicated service desk.  

Collaborate with the Right Tools
To move businesses forward each person in the organization from customer service executive to CEO need the right tools to help these end users to work efficiently and collaborate effectively. With enterprises having large footprint across the world, with much diversified end user base one will need to deliver a predictive, highly optimized and standardized end-user computing experience. The right tools empower individuals to work efficiently and teams to collaborate effectively, so they can get more done, in less time, at a lower cost. You can boost productivity while protecting the data and the systems. The endpoint management solutions can help IT manage the lifecycle of endpoints automatically and keep everything secure, while making sure IT can meet the high service levels that the business demands.
Thus End-user Computing Management solution allows IT teams to:
  • Provision & deploy desktops rapidly
  • Manage workstation images
  • Deliver virtualized applications to desktop and other mobile devices
There is a synergy between End User Computing services and other IT infrastructure domains, and thus there is need for services like Enterprise Help Desk, Centralized Desktop Management, Application Support and Project Support to its customers.

Enterprise Help Desk –   IT Service Desk and integrated infrastructure and application operations support team should act as one single entity instead of silos which also leads to standardization across enterprise operations. Provides support for logging, tracking, Resolution and reporting of help desk incidents and service requests. 

Centralized Desktop Management - Lowers operational costs and reduces security risk. Network traffic is greatly reduced because it now only needs to provide the changes. Whatever updates are implemented on the parent server can be recreated on to any number of virtual desktops in minutes, greatly simplifying deployment and patches. Backups become efficient and non-intrusive because only the user data is backed up.

Application Support – Application roll out, software distribution, automation, customization, repository building, image building and roll out, patch management ensuring interoperability, performance and availability of the enterprise application and its ecosystem.

The major advantages attribute to end user computing include:
  • Increased productivity
  • Provision user friendly systems
  • Overcome application implementation problems
  • Overcome shortage of qualified personnel’s
  • Secure Network
With End User Computing solutions you can build the strongest possible boundary around your valuable IT assets without compromising user productivity and performance. Thus end user computing delivers a powerful and secure environment that meets quality, risk mitigation and cost objectives of the enterprise.

Related Links: Managed network services
                           Information security 

Monday, May 23, 2011

Benefits of Datacentre Virtualization



In the recent times, there has been an overwhelming increase in the requirement for datacenter virtualization. The question arises is why there has been such a need? In this regard, we need to understand that if the key objective of enterprises today is business continuity, then it means running operations 24 x 7. All the best practices that are in operation, suggests the use of geographic redundancy to set up multiple data centers in various locations, with identical data and applications. Is there a need to duplicate everything here? Certainly, not. This is where datacenter virtualization comes into play.  

Major IT players that deal in datacenter virtualization, offer their clients and users a conventional network of consulting services that effectively virtualizes storage networks, desktops and servers. This is where the client’s hardware assets are taken over, and is virtualized and rented back to them on a per virtual, per month instance basis.  

Effective and efficient datacenter virtualization, results in a host of benefits. From an architectural point of view, the advantages are many. There are significant savings that results from efficient infrastructure use, simplified management, 99.999 per cent availability and better operational efficiency. Service providers offering datacenter virtualization solutions ensure competency in hardware requirements as well. This means, an organization would require lesser hardware or low priced hardware system to carry on the same work. In addition to this, under this system if there is a need to bring down a server without affecting the others in use, it can be done smoothly by taking out or adding in systems that support the underlying architecture.  

There exist other reasons that justify the need of datacenter virtualization. One has to take into consideration the percentage of performance and information at the time of replication procedures. In such a situation, the supreme challenge is not associated with the link capacity or bandwidth. Rather it is the fact, that what amount of data can be transferred simultaneously while doing away with the protocol communication. There have been clients and users with various connectivity’s such as OC-3 connecting data centers, where the process of replication only uses a small fraction of the pipe. With so much data that is there to transfer the replication process takes a long time. Keeping all these in mind there are various modes of datacenter virtualization solutions that put into use a WAN acceleration process to mitigate this issue.  

Benefits of datacenter virtualization are manifold and results advantages such as better architecture availability, performance, security and a reduction in the cost of hardware acquisition.

Other Links: Datacenter hosting

                           

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Accelerate Business Growth with Application Management Services


In the corporate world IT has always been a critical business enabler. Most of the advancements in technology are due to the finesse with which this particular department operates. Today IT infrastructure is critical to business because it helps in seamless integration with customer network and makes information readily available for business leaders to take strategic and informed business decisions.  
Today the role of IT has become more challenging and important – companies depend on it to meet strict international standards/requirements such as USA PATRIOT and Sarbanes-Oxley acts. IT capabilities of a company are crucial in integrating and performing repetitive data management processes. This is where Client Application Management Services pitch in by offering services pertaining to managing and maintaining the end user application environment, one of the costliest activities within IT Infrastructure management. 
By outsourcing non-core functions, companies can better focus on core business competencies; simultaneously, lowering the total cost of ownership as well. In this article, let’s understand some of the client application management services available in the market. 
Application Packaging - This service ideally includes definition of packaging standards, package complexity, categorization, development of packaging standards, package creation, testing and, package conflict detection and resolution. 
Software Distribution – This service usually covers activities such as automated software distribution, deployment process, customization and coordination, distribution to software repositories & workstation clients, pilot testing and implementation of rollback plan. 
Image Management – Starting from establishing common operating environment, through image creation/testing, image release, and maintenance for new platform, security patches, driver updates etc., image management services ensures standardization and accuracy in all phases. 
Patch Management - This service comprises of all the activities starting from assessing threats and vulnerabilities, discovering new updates, obtaining, testing and deploying all the required patches on time. 
Usually, companies offering Application Management Service may also be catering to messaging and collaboration services, asset management, IT infrastructure management etc. The advantage of using these services lies in the fact that they are all cloud-enabled and delivered using business ready platform for enterprise tools.
Companies can now expect to achieve new industry benchmarks aligned to business outcome in less time. An experienced Application Management Service provider can ensure excellence in delivery quality and continuous improvement in the management and optimization of your applications. Such services use innovative tools that help in adopting new technologies for improved end user productivity. Above all companies can expect to enjoy competitive differentiation that will accelerate the ROI curve in no-time. 
                        Managed security services
                        Service desk

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Mining IT Infrastructure Outsourcing Potentials with RIMO


To be saved from the complexities of handling staff issues and for cost-saving purposes many businesses adopted the outsourcing approach for dealing with their IT projects. However, many fumbled and encountered failures. Handling the IT outsourcing process is not an easy job, and without an efficient management system the decisions made can affect a business adversely. IT infrastructure outsourcing requires flexibility and proper communication channels.
 
As time progresses, IT projects are becoming more complex. These projects require in-depth knowledge about new technologies and domains, interfacing applications and highly skilled employees. The traditional approach for IT infrastructure management was based on a generic model that did not have the capabilities to satisfy on-demand application requirements according to individual needs and were ostensibly expensive.
 
As businesses continued their search for an ideal model to pursue their IT ventures in a cost-effective manner, a new model — RIMO (remote infrastructure management outsourcing) — was introduced. RIMO, also known as the ‘asset light’ model, is a cloud based service which provides complete support for remote management of IT infrastructure planning including administration, monitoring and problem solving benefits. With the help of this new model, IT engineers are becoming proficient in remote management of networks, storage, desktop support, help desks, control, security and datacenter hosting services.
 
In the RIMO model, a contract between the client and the service provider is drawn up stating that the provider is responsible for continuous monitoring of the client’s IT infrastructure, identifying the probabilities of any emerging issues, providing corrective solutions and resolving existing issues from a remote location. All these services are provided either on a per device basis, as monthly fees or on the basis of time and materials. This gives businesses the leeway to manage their IT infrastructure in a cost-effective manner.

With this new RIMO model, clients can move their assets easily to other centers according to situational demands, such as growth in business, increase in IT volume or changing technological destinations. Due to its flexible nature, the controlling power is vested with the buyers rather than the owners of desktops, servers, data centers, etc. Competition is evoked based on pricing, competency levels and customization. Customers can judge based on what they are being charged, which facilitates controlling their assets, saving on hiring employees and working on the core areas of their business.

RIMO has delivered an overwhelming response as it leverages enterprise efficiency with streamlined processes. It facilitates customers by taking complete responsibility of IT infrastructure outsourcing management, from planning, evaluation and acquisition to deployment and training cycles, thus providing customers the freedom to concentrate on their core requisites.

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