AGAR Supply Co. is one of the largest independent food distributors in New England and thirteenth largest in United States. Last year AGAR Supply faced a massive desktop refresh due to its majority hardware nearing end of life. As much of their work depends upon high availability of desktops, they were searching for some software which could increase user productivity with minimal capital expenditure. Hence they selected VMware View and gave the responsibility of designing, testing and deploying the software to ACS Services. To know more about the scope of services of ACS, you can visit http://www.acs.com/
Let us discuss about some of the main features of VMware and how was it helpful for AGAR Supply:
• Simplified desktop management: As all work of AGAR is dependent on desktop availability, this feature helped their users to access their desktops from anywhere at any point of time regardless of hardware.
• Superior End User Experience: It has a wide range of deployment options which ACS Services worked with, and due to this it provided the end users a high-performance desktop experience even with high latency and low bandwidth connections.
• Built-in Security: End users of AGAR were able to access their personalized desktop, complete with applications and data, from any location, at any time without jeopardizing the corporate security policies. VMware View helps to secure the datacenter.
• Availability: VMware View delivers high availability, with no single point of failure. It helped them to protect their desktop environment cost-effectively.
• Offline Desktop: Offline Desktop, an experimental feature in VMware View 4, increases productivity by allowing you to run managed virtual desktops locally or in the datacenter through the same administration framework. Simply download a virtual desktop onto your local client device. All existing security policies for that virtual desktop continue to be applied and enforced. Later, you can check the desktop back into the datacenter for resynchronization.
VMware View helps AGAR save their time, money (Up to $135,000 annually), energy and resources. It also helped them with smoother business continuity. “The implementation went smoothly and over 250 users are now leveraging VMware View desktops.” says Steve Weber, Network Administrator at AGAR Supply. Weber and his team worked closely with ACS Services, Inc. to design, test, and deploy VMware View. “We are extremely happy with the results”, he signs off.
ACS Services is an IT outsourcing firm based in Boston. ACS is a leading provider of Small Business IT Support in Boston and the surrounding areas. Since 1985, ACS has prided itself on being a leader in Small Business IT Support, IT Managed Services and Data Protection, and has gained a reputation of providing outstanding services to our clients. ACS partners with top hardware and software vendors to provide our clients with effective and time-tested solutions for all of their Managed Services needs. With over 100 years of combined technology experience including Small Business IT Support, IT Managed Services, Network Support, Server Support, Disaster Recovery, and IT Consultation, you can rest assured that your every technology need will be met with ACS.
Sources of information:
http://www.vmware.com/a/customers/customer/567/AGAR+Supply
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VMware_View
http://www.agarsupply.com/
http://www.acs.com/
- Brian Kingsley, Director of Technical Services, ACS Services, Boston
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Blackberry Internet Service (BIS) Vs Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES)
Blackberry is a wide range of mobile devices owned by a Canadian company, ‘Research In Motion’ (RIM). Blackberry’s main targets are people whose internet usage is high. These are generally businessmen, corporate executives, professionals, lawyers, etc.
BIS stand for Blackberry Internet Service and it is offered free when you purchase a data plan of any blackberry phone. BIS facilitates a blackberry customer with internet browsing, e-mail checking, online chatting, etc. A BIS account is created for you where you can integrate up to 10 e-mail accounts. You can visit the following websites to create an account for yourself if you have purchased a new blackberry phone:
AT&T: https://bis.na.blackberry.com/html?brand=mycingular
Nextel: https://bis.na.blackberry.com/html?brand=nextel
Sprint: https://bis.na.blackberry.com/html?brand=sprint
T-Mobile: https://my.t-mobile.com/Login/Default.aspx
Verizon: https://bis.na.blackberry.com/html?brand=vzw
Optus (Australia): https://bis.na.blackberry.com/html?brand=vzw
Telstra (Australia): https://bis.ap.blackberry.com/html/?brand=telstra
Three (Australia): https://bis.ap.blackberry.com/html/?brand=three
All you need to do is create an account and attach it to your webmail site and mailbox. This process does not take more than 15 minutes. It is basically a free version of blackberry software and has no centralized management. Each device needs to be managed individually.
People generally get confused between BIS and BIS. Let me explain what BES is, to make things clear.
BES or Blackberry Enterprise Server is a software package that operates as a centralized link between wireless mobile devices, enterprise applications and wireless networks. This is mainly designed to meet the needs of enterprise. With this software you can have access to all your e-mails, contacts, calendar, memo, schedules, tasks, etc. It is costlier than BIS but management will be much easier. Companies are advised to purchase this software if there are at least 10 blackberries in the office. This device helps to include wipe and lock command in case your phone gets stolen. Let me brief you up with some of the key feature of BES:
• Forwards e-mail from your corporate ID
• Compatible with Microsoft® exchange, IBM® Lotus® Domino®, Novell® GroupWise®
• You can view your MS office attachment
• Browse your websites as per corporate policy.
• Provides access to personal information management tools such as calendar and address book.
• It contains Integrated Security Triple Data Encryption Standard (DES) or Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) to protect confidentiality of data.
• You can instantly synchronize data and organize and update your calendar.
• Wireless automatic backup to BlackBerry 8830 device setting and preferences over the wireless network.
Even though you have hosted BIS on your own BES server, RIM receive all communications as it is a centralized delivery. This has led to security issues as RIM is a Canadian company and US government feels that important and sensitive messages are going out of the country. However, RIM issues security patches for Blackberry phones for higher security. It asked corporate customers to install an interim patch for the BlackBerry Enterprise Server and an interim patch for the BlackBerry Professional Software. RIM also advised BlackBerry users to open PDF attachments only from "trusted sources”.
- Brian Kingsley, Director of Technical Services, ACS Services, Boston
http://www.acs.com/
BIS stand for Blackberry Internet Service and it is offered free when you purchase a data plan of any blackberry phone. BIS facilitates a blackberry customer with internet browsing, e-mail checking, online chatting, etc. A BIS account is created for you where you can integrate up to 10 e-mail accounts. You can visit the following websites to create an account for yourself if you have purchased a new blackberry phone:
AT&T: https://bis.na.blackberry.com/html?brand=mycingular
Nextel: https://bis.na.blackberry.com/html?brand=nextel
Sprint: https://bis.na.blackberry.com/html?brand=sprint
T-Mobile: https://my.t-mobile.com/Login/Default.aspx
Verizon: https://bis.na.blackberry.com/html?brand=vzw
Optus (Australia): https://bis.na.blackberry.com/html?brand=vzw
Telstra (Australia): https://bis.ap.blackberry.com/html/?brand=telstra
Three (Australia): https://bis.ap.blackberry.com/html/?brand=three
All you need to do is create an account and attach it to your webmail site and mailbox. This process does not take more than 15 minutes. It is basically a free version of blackberry software and has no centralized management. Each device needs to be managed individually.
People generally get confused between BIS and BIS. Let me explain what BES is, to make things clear.
BES or Blackberry Enterprise Server is a software package that operates as a centralized link between wireless mobile devices, enterprise applications and wireless networks. This is mainly designed to meet the needs of enterprise. With this software you can have access to all your e-mails, contacts, calendar, memo, schedules, tasks, etc. It is costlier than BIS but management will be much easier. Companies are advised to purchase this software if there are at least 10 blackberries in the office. This device helps to include wipe and lock command in case your phone gets stolen. Let me brief you up with some of the key feature of BES:
• Forwards e-mail from your corporate ID
• Compatible with Microsoft® exchange, IBM® Lotus® Domino®, Novell® GroupWise®
• You can view your MS office attachment
• Browse your websites as per corporate policy.
• Provides access to personal information management tools such as calendar and address book.
• It contains Integrated Security Triple Data Encryption Standard (DES) or Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) to protect confidentiality of data.
• You can instantly synchronize data and organize and update your calendar.
• Wireless automatic backup to BlackBerry 8830 device setting and preferences over the wireless network.
Even though you have hosted BIS on your own BES server, RIM receive all communications as it is a centralized delivery. This has led to security issues as RIM is a Canadian company and US government feels that important and sensitive messages are going out of the country. However, RIM issues security patches for Blackberry phones for higher security. It asked corporate customers to install an interim patch for the BlackBerry Enterprise Server and an interim patch for the BlackBerry Professional Software. RIM also advised BlackBerry users to open PDF attachments only from "trusted sources”.
- Brian Kingsley, Director of Technical Services, ACS Services, Boston
http://www.acs.com/
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
How to cut costs in 2010
In today’s Business Environment there are two key ways to increase profits. One way is to sell more of your product. This is always the primary goal and should be for good reason. The second way to increase profits is to trim expenses. This is a common practice for most Business Owner/C-Level employees, but there is an area that is overlooked by many.
Where, you ask, is an area that you can cut expenses without harming the output of the department? This is a tough question. What you’re asking is to dedicate less resource and grow output. In most areas of the business this is impossible, that is except for one key area. The IT Department.
The most common area money is wasted in business today is the practice of hiring full time, internal IT people. The perception is that you need to have an in-house IT person or even a team of technical people. Aside from giving yourself a sense of security by having that person sitting across the hall, you have actually achieved nothing, in fact you're most likely overspending and receiving a lower level of service than you should.
Here is the common scenario. Management will recruit and hire what they consider a technical expert. More than not this person is not an expert, but merely a technical professional that knows more than management in regards to technology. They come into an environment and make changes based on their vision of how things “should be”. This vision was created from how they were trained at their last position. The training was built around the previous employer’s budget for purchasing solutions, i.e. the person only knows what they needed to know about their former employer’s infrastructure.
As time goes on, not only is this person stuck on what their own vision of IT, but he also doesn't have hands on access to the latest tools and technologies that the industry has to offer, they are stuck in the fishbowl that is your infrastructure which again is based on what he was trained in prior to coming aboard or on what you could afford to purchase for him.
ACS Services Inc, a provider of IT Services, touches hundreds of unique clients per year. This gives our team hands on working knowledge of best in class solutions, both large and small. Our staff is trained, by the top Vendors, to be experts in the latest solutions, so that they will sell the solutions for the vendor. ACS is given bonuses in the way of back end rebates and commissions to become knowledgeable, to achieve expert status, and continue their training so they know the products and solutions inside and out. When u measure the knowledge of the average "full time" IT employee vs. that of an Engineer employed by a Service Provider, it’s an unfair comparison.
The nature of an “IT Person” is to have access to the latest and greatest technology. When you (the client) recruits and hires your “Expert” you will find one of two people.
• One person who will crave the latest toys the industry has to offer and once your budget cannot deliver, will grow stale and will move on to greener pastures.
• The other person who is ok working on yesterday’s technology, because your budget doesn’t allow for major upgrades every six months, which by definition is not a quality Technology professional.Your “Expert” is now in charge of stretching your Technology budget as far as they can vs. thinking out of the box and giving your organization a competitive advantage, which is the underlying reason all employees are ultimately hired.
Assuming you are the exception to the rule and do find that Key Person to man your staff, how do you manage him or her?
Most C-level/Business Owners know very little about technology, which gives two options:
• Hire a business minded IT professional, either at the C level or upper management level, to hold the IT staff accountable.
• Assume the job is getting done.
Would you hire a sales team without a VP of sales? Would you hire an accounting team without a CFO/Controller? How can you hire an IT person/Team without a CTO/Dir of IT? Your investment in an expert just became greater.
Lets again assume that you hired this Key Person and have also, without breaking the bank, have a way to manage this person, you need to provide them with the tools required to complete the task at hand, which is manage your Technology Infrastructure.
Do you own a ticketing system/Crm to handle support issues? Were you able to dedicate 6 months to train your team on the package? Did you purchase a monitoring system? Did your team spend the months required to become experts with the system so they can effectively run it? This is an average of $150k+ in tools alone, that are an absolute necessity in order to support an SMB's network.
I could go on but I think the information above gives a clear enough picture that Technology is an area where you can spend less (in some cases 50% less) and receive a greater level of support, in turn gaining a competitive leg up on the competition.
If you’re looking for a competitive advantage in 2010, please feel free to contact me, I would be glad to discuss with you how your business could benefit.
Thank you, I hope you found this information helpful.
William Adams Jr.
wjajr@acs.com
508-238-6334
Where, you ask, is an area that you can cut expenses without harming the output of the department? This is a tough question. What you’re asking is to dedicate less resource and grow output. In most areas of the business this is impossible, that is except for one key area. The IT Department.
The most common area money is wasted in business today is the practice of hiring full time, internal IT people. The perception is that you need to have an in-house IT person or even a team of technical people. Aside from giving yourself a sense of security by having that person sitting across the hall, you have actually achieved nothing, in fact you're most likely overspending and receiving a lower level of service than you should.
Here is the common scenario. Management will recruit and hire what they consider a technical expert. More than not this person is not an expert, but merely a technical professional that knows more than management in regards to technology. They come into an environment and make changes based on their vision of how things “should be”. This vision was created from how they were trained at their last position. The training was built around the previous employer’s budget for purchasing solutions, i.e. the person only knows what they needed to know about their former employer’s infrastructure.
As time goes on, not only is this person stuck on what their own vision of IT, but he also doesn't have hands on access to the latest tools and technologies that the industry has to offer, they are stuck in the fishbowl that is your infrastructure which again is based on what he was trained in prior to coming aboard or on what you could afford to purchase for him.
ACS Services Inc, a provider of IT Services, touches hundreds of unique clients per year. This gives our team hands on working knowledge of best in class solutions, both large and small. Our staff is trained, by the top Vendors, to be experts in the latest solutions, so that they will sell the solutions for the vendor. ACS is given bonuses in the way of back end rebates and commissions to become knowledgeable, to achieve expert status, and continue their training so they know the products and solutions inside and out. When u measure the knowledge of the average "full time" IT employee vs. that of an Engineer employed by a Service Provider, it’s an unfair comparison.
The nature of an “IT Person” is to have access to the latest and greatest technology. When you (the client) recruits and hires your “Expert” you will find one of two people.
• One person who will crave the latest toys the industry has to offer and once your budget cannot deliver, will grow stale and will move on to greener pastures.
• The other person who is ok working on yesterday’s technology, because your budget doesn’t allow for major upgrades every six months, which by definition is not a quality Technology professional.Your “Expert” is now in charge of stretching your Technology budget as far as they can vs. thinking out of the box and giving your organization a competitive advantage, which is the underlying reason all employees are ultimately hired.
Assuming you are the exception to the rule and do find that Key Person to man your staff, how do you manage him or her?
Most C-level/Business Owners know very little about technology, which gives two options:
• Hire a business minded IT professional, either at the C level or upper management level, to hold the IT staff accountable.
• Assume the job is getting done.
Would you hire a sales team without a VP of sales? Would you hire an accounting team without a CFO/Controller? How can you hire an IT person/Team without a CTO/Dir of IT? Your investment in an expert just became greater.
Lets again assume that you hired this Key Person and have also, without breaking the bank, have a way to manage this person, you need to provide them with the tools required to complete the task at hand, which is manage your Technology Infrastructure.
Do you own a ticketing system/Crm to handle support issues? Were you able to dedicate 6 months to train your team on the package? Did you purchase a monitoring system? Did your team spend the months required to become experts with the system so they can effectively run it? This is an average of $150k+ in tools alone, that are an absolute necessity in order to support an SMB's network.
I could go on but I think the information above gives a clear enough picture that Technology is an area where you can spend less (in some cases 50% less) and receive a greater level of support, in turn gaining a competitive leg up on the competition.
If you’re looking for a competitive advantage in 2010, please feel free to contact me, I would be glad to discuss with you how your business could benefit.
Thank you, I hope you found this information helpful.
William Adams Jr.
wjajr@acs.com
508-238-6334
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