Modern Office

from an IT Perspective

Overview of trends that will help reduce costs, improve efficiencies and make your organization more agile

A Senior Management IT Series

From ATS

A webinar presented by:

American Technology Services

• Alex Koludrovic – VP, Internet Services

• Danesh Hussain – Director, Network Services

A Senior Management IT Series

From ATS

• Introduction

• Common IT Issues

• How IT Can Be

• Technology Trends

o Virtualization

o Cloud Computing

o Mobile Workforce

o Managed Services

o DR/Business Continuity

• Summary

• Q&A

Webinar Agenda

Common IT Issues

• Too many physical servers.

• Servers not being utilized

efficiently.

• Approaching costly hardware upgrade cycle.

• Outgrowing your office ‘Server Room.’

• Server room - too hot or power maxed out.

• Power outages occur often.

Common IT Issues (cont’d)

• Mobile users can’t access resources easily.

• Security concerns with mobile workforce.

• Not monitoring or patching systems and applications in a timely manner.

• Can’t provide appropriate support to all users.

• Not ready for a business interruption or a complete disaster!

How IT Can Be

• Server reductions via virtualization

• Cloud computing - public or private

• Using IaaS/SaaS offerings

• Empowering mobile workforce

• Automating regular IT tasks

• Outsourcing the helpdesk

• Implementing business continuity and DR solutions

Technology Trends

• Consolidation through Virtualization

• Implementing Cloud Solutions

• Enabling robust remote access

solutions to support a Mobile Workforce

• Attentive & Responsive IT Support 24/7 using Managed Services

• Preparing for Emergencies and Disasters with Business Continuity and DR Plans

What is Virtualization?

“Server virtualization by definition is a technology for partitioning one physical server into multiple virtual servers. Each of these virtual servers can run its own operating system and applications, and perform as if it is an individual server.”

Benefits of Virtualization

• Lower Costs – Reduce hardware – Reduce energy

consumption – Less maintenance – Lower TCO

• Business Continuity – Hardware

independence – More options for high

availability and DR

• Increased Efficiency

– Faster deployment

– Easier management/ maintenance

– Test environments

– Use of server resources

When to Consider Virtualization

• Hardware refresh cycles

• Increase availability of existing applications

• Reduce the size of your infrastructure

• More efficient use of server resources

• Real-world examples…

What is Cloud Computing?

• Virtualization + Pooling of Resources

– Dynamically provision

– Scale apps

• Cloud Types: Public, Private, and Hybrid

• Technical Benefits:

– Resources, Flexibility, Self-Service

• Business Benefits:

– Agility, Focus, and Economics

What’s Running In The Cloud?

• Email (Gmail, Hotmail, Office 365)

• Online Backups (Mozy, Carbonite)

• General Productivity Apps (Office 365,

• Google Apps)

• CRM (Salesforce, Microsoft CRM)

Our Typical Client Cloud solutions

• Public Cloud

– Office 365

– Online backups

• Private Cloud

– Microsoft Exchange

– Accounting systems

– Association Management Systems

– Custom apps

– File shares

Benefits From The Cloud

• Improved availability of applications

• Scalability factor - greater flexibility to grow

• Focus on your business, not IT infrastructure

• Reduce their capital expenditures (CAPEX)

• Decrease their operating expenses (OPEX)

• Not all about CAPEX vs OPEX – the option values of the Cloud are important too

Getting Ready to Move to

The Cloud

• Prepare IT strategy with budgets

• Understand your current IT spending

• Identify apps that could move to the Cloud

• Consider SLA, recovery and security concerns

• If a Private Cloud is an option – managed by internal resource or use an IT partner

• Test drive to help evaluate internal vs Cloud costs

The Mobility Landscape

• Smartphone & Tablet usage rapidly increasing (Post-PC era?)

• Broadband connectivity everywhere

• Growth in telecommuting

• The need for immediate response

• Flexibility leads to increased productivity and happiness

The Challenges of a Mobile Environment- And

how to overcome

• Security

– Secure connectivity through firewalls and VPN.

– Secure IT assets through hard drive encryption and computrace/device recovery solutions.

– Centralize critical data and implement file level security.

The Challenges of a Mobile Environment- And

how to overcome (cont.)

• Device Management

– Secure mobile devices through a centralized management solution (such as AirWatch)

• Performance

– Thin client technology

– WAN optimization

Characteristic of a Mobile-Ready Organization

• Document sharing and collaboration (example - MS SharePoint)

• Synchronized email on multiple devices

• Access to company applications and files from anywhere

• Extend your company phone extension (VOIP)

• Real-time instant messaging

• Video-conferencing from multiple locations

What is Managed Services?

“By definition Managed services is the practice of outsourcing day-to-day IT management responsibilities as a strategic method for improving operations.”

Some Components of Managed Services

• Server management & maintenance

• Desktop management & maintenance

• Monitoring & alerts

• Patch management & software upgrades

• Helpdesk

• Backup management

• Hardware & software inventory

• Managed firewalls & routers

Benefits of a Managed Services Model

• Less time and energy spent on routine IT issues

• Proactive management – reduction in productivity loss

• Cost effective

• Flexible offerings

• Improved IT support services.

Business Continuity vs Disaster Recovery (DR)

• Business Continuity Plan – allows the

ability to continue operating during a

brief disruption

– Short disruptions from hours to a

couple days

– Redundancy of critical systems, such as

• Redundant internet/network connections

• Failover for email and critical apps

• Key systems backed up for quick recovery

– Should be overall transparent to users

Business Continuity vs Disaster Recovery (DR)

• DR Plan – handles a disruptive event

such as a natural disaster, or even a

man-made disaster

– Could last a week or more

– Usually requires moving offices to a temporary location

– Infrastructure needs to be replaced/rebuilt or be ready at another location/datacenter

– Staff access to systems may change

Determine Mission

Critical Apps

• Email (ongoing, archives/repository)

• Important company files

• Business software (AMS, CRM,

Accounting, etc.)

• Custom apps (desktop or web based)

• Web sites (main site, ecommerce, etc.)

• Phone system

Disaster Recovery Locations

• Datacenter

– Company owned equipment

(co-located)

– Private cloud servers

• Second Business Location

– Leverage existing secondary location

– May require additional infrastructure/bandwidth

Are You Prepared?

• Establish the Budget

– Identify which data and

application are critical

• Create a plan

– Scripted task to be preformed

– Keep plan safe, offsite (multiple locations)

– Cloud based services should be included

• Test

– Test your plan as frequently as possible

• Summary

• Q &A

A Senior Management IT Series

From ATS