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3 Steps to Makeover Your Desktop into a Virtual Workspace

Often the consumer market drives technology adoption in business as is the case with virtual desktop deployment in the workplace. The PC is no longer center stage. Whether corporate assets or personal property; smart phones, tablets, laptops and other portable devices are being used at home and work. Employees are working differently and IT needs to be able to adapt to these users. A makeover of your desktops and the ability to provide secure access to various endpoints will provide that virtual workspace that your end-users demand.

Step 1. Modernize Your Current Architecture
The first step to providing a virtual workspace is to modernize your current architecture to make it virtual desktop-ready. Products such as the Cisco Unified Computing System integrate the compute, virtualization hypervisor, fabric interconnect and storage functions usually found in separate platforms. VMware vSphere is an integral part of this virtualized architecture that enables the abstraction of the physical processor, memory, storage and networking resources into multiple virtual machines. It also provides the means to create, manage, optimize, and migrate virtual machines from a centralized management interface. The third essential component of a virtualized architecture is unified storage from manufacturers such as EMC. Unified storage allows for resource sharing and supports VMware’s vMotion. EMC’s unified storage solution provides advanced failover and fully automated storage tiering to virtual desktop environments.

Step 2. Integrate Virtual Desktops
With a virtualized architecture in place, virtualizing desktops with VMware View, Citrix XenDesktop or other desktop virtualization software is the next step to providing your end-users a virtual workspace. These solutions provide the platform to create, administer, and deliver virtual desktops. They enable the delivery of secure desktop services so that users can access data, applications and other network services. 

To provide a consistent user experience from a variety of devices from anywhere, IT must improve performance and security controls. Cisco WAAS application aware DRE enhances virtual desktop user experience and improves efficiency across the WAN. Products such as Cisco’s policy based Network Access Control uses Identity Services Engine (ISE) to provide user-based security on any device therefore enabling a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) model to the workplace.

Step 3: Migrate to Integrated Voice and Video Thin Clients
Thin clients, software thin clients or Zero client devices that attach to the back of an IP phone integrate the virtual desktop with voice and video capabilities. These types of devices optimize processing to use network and data center CPU resources more efficiently. HD delivers quality graphics and provides a high quality user experience.

Makeover your desktop environment and provide your customers, the end-users, with a virtual workspace that supports their need for anytime, anywhere access from a variety of devices while maintaining control and security. Give your customers the workspace that they demand!

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The 5 Musts of a Borderless Network to Support BYOD

We recently blogged about how VDI can support the rise in tablets and mobile devices and the BYOD model being adopted by many organizations. In addition to extending virtual desktops to personal devices, an organization must provide a mobile or borderless network infrastructure. Consider these questions: Can your wireless network handle the wave of mobile devices that are brought onto campus? Do you provide secure access and support of these various devices? There are 5 essential features of a Borderless Network that are necessary to effectively provide access, support and security of these BYOD devices.

1. Transparent mobility for anytime, anywhere, any device access
Network connection should be consistent whether connecting to a LAN or via wireless. Users are increasingly mobile and the network should support access to critical applications whether they are in the field, a guest in a meeting room or roaming the office. Considerations should be made as to the number of wireless access points, the bandwidth, frequencies and so on. Cisco’s Borderless Networks provides the framework to provide mobility and wireless access and performance management across any device. 

2. Security to enforce corporate policy and meet regulatory requirements
An integrated security solution including VPNs, firewalls, intrusion detection systems and access control lists provides tighter security than point product solutions. Cisco’s Borderless Network solution provides context-aware policy with distributed enforcement delivered through the Cisco ISE. This solution also enables segmentation of the network into logical domains which allows tighter security for compliance requirements or added security. IT organizations maintain visibility and control whether you are connecting at headquarters, a branch office or are a remote worker using wired or wireless.

3. Optimized performance to support real-time collaboration experiences
Mobile devices on a borderless network utilizing 802.11n networks can offer 5-10 times the bandwidth to support collaboration and high-definition video. Cisco’s Medianet technology understands the common types of video and can prioritize video flows for the optimal experience.

4. Provide remote and mobile employees with a LAN-like experience
Adding WAAS onto the network, improves application performance and access to network resources providing a LAN-like experience wherever you are located. Headquarter employees benefit from a better user experience with business applications and remote or mobile workers have the connection and experience as if they were working from headquarters.

5. Bandwidth maximization
By maximizing bandwidth with WAAS solutions, organizations can often extend the time until bandwidth expansion is necessary. With the WAAS compression techniques, policies and controls of applications and content, organizations are able to make better use of their existing bandwidth therefore postponing or avoiding upgrades in circuits.

Providing mobility and wireless access to support the BYOD model requires a well thought out and architected borderless network. Cisco’s Borderless Network comprises of integrated hardware and software technologies that provide transparent, secure and optimal user experience. Partners such as AMS.NET can help determine your business requirements and architect a solution that provides true mobility anytime, anywhere from any device.

Top 3 Storage Musts to Boost IT Efficiency

Organizations of all sizes are experiencing ever-increasing data growth and a growing demand for storage. Increased use of video conferencing and video surveillance in the workplace along with government compliance requirements have resulted in an overwhelming amount of data that must be organized, protected and archived. IT is tasked to manage this storage demand with limited IT staff and budgets. Unified storage as a part of a virtualized infrastructure has been significant to enabling IT organizations to accommodate this growth. In addition to consolidation, organizations demand that their storage solutions be flexible, efficient and easy to use. 

1. Flexibility
   Organizations run many different applications with various network protocols that require storage including iSCSI, FCoE, NFS, and more. Unified storage consolidates legacy block storage, file servers and direct-attached application storage and enables organizations to cost-effectively manage multi-protocol file systems and multi-protocol block storage access. Flash-optimized solutions deliver the highest system performance and the lowest storage cost with auto-tiering. With Unified Storage, IT managers don’t need to decide between cost and performance.
2. Efficiency
   IT managers require that their storage solutions are efficient and support virtualization features such as thin provisioning and automated data movement. Block compression and file-level deduplication are important to reducing disk space and allowing IT to regain capacity for the most efficient use of storage resources.
3. Easy To Use
   Storage solutions must have a centralized, simple to use management interface to setup and manage storage pools. Unified storage solutions deliver snapshot capabilities, replication and wizard-based management tools for provisioning. Unified storage solutions must integrate with VMware or other virtualization software to ensure an efficient server and storage virtualized infrastructure. Application administrators or generalists can manage storage pools.

Storage used to be a balancing act between performance and cost. Today, IT efficiency is a top priority and is solved with a unified storage solution. Unified storage solutions have the flexibility to support all types of applications, the efficiency to make the most efficient use of resources and an easy to use management interface to simplify storage management.

Why move from Telephony to Unified Communications?

As we dive into the year 2012, is increasing performance and productivity top of mind? If the answer is yes, you are not alone. Each year, businesses of all types and sizes strive to increase productivity in order to gain a competitive edge. A unified communications system does more than just provide call connectivity; it can be a valuable tool to enable employees to increase productivity. Unified communications provides features to speed up decisions, reduce response times and improve cross-department communication all resulting in increased productivity.

According to Aberdeen Research, businesses achieve the greatest value from a unified communication solution through mobility, presence, web conferencing among other integrated communication features.

Mobility
Mobility refers to providing a single business voice mailbox and a single-number-reach application that intelligently manages, filters, routes and connects calls between a worker’s IP desk phone and mobile cellular or home phone. Users can transition active calls between their IP phone and mobile phone without interruption. Employees can originate enterprise calls from a mobile or other remote phone as if they were calling from their desk IP phone. With mobility, remote workers have the same directories and call resources as headquarter-based employees and users can provide more responsive service with no additional effort.

• Give callers one number to dial
• Remain mobile by moving active calls between desk and mobile phone
• Direct unanswered calls to a single voicemail box

Presence
Presence allows employees to easily communicate regardless of their physical location. Presence indicators show the availability of colleagues based on the desktop, mobile, telephony and calendar information to reduce communication delays. They also indicate the most appropriate communication method such as phone or instant messaging. Presence can also facilitate instant messaging between Cisco Unified Communications and other applications.

• Speed up decisions by viewing availability information prior to making a call
• Increase first-call resolution by quickly reaching appropriate resource
• Improve customer satisfaction with proper call routing

Web Conferencing
Web Conferencing allows employees to simultaneously speak to each other and customers while sharing content. Web conferencing is available on-premise, off-premise or a hybrid solution that takes advantage of on-premise audio conferencing with off-premise web conferencing. These tools allow remote or distributed employees to easily communicate face-to-face without travel costs. Employees can also increase customer face-time with web conferencing tools.

• Improve meeting effectiveness with audio and content sharing
• Increase customer face-to-face time without travel costs
• Support sales meetings, marketing events or corporate announcements

Businesses large or small benefit from an integrated Unified Communications solution. Small to mid-size businesses need to scale and work more efficiently to stay competitive. With mobility features and conferencing, employees can frequently stay in contact with employees and customers wherever they are located. Large businesses with a distributed workforce can improve communications and speed up decisions with mobility and presence information. Upgrading to a unified communications solution can give your business the tools to increase productivity and gain a competitive edge.

Come to work and BYOD!

A new trend has emerged in business; BYOD or bring your own device to work. With the increase in remote and mobile workers and the rise of mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets in the consumer market, workers expect these tools and access in the workplace. One way organizations are providing these tools is through BYOD programs that subsidize the cost of the device and service plans. With these programs in place, businesses can allow employees to pick their device of choice and eliminate some of the maintenance and desktop management headaches of maintaining PCs and other devices.

Security, management and device ownership should be carefully considered with this model. Employees using a subsidized laptop, smart phone or tablet will undoubtedly be using the device for work and personal use putting the device and corporate intellectual property at risk. If IT manages these devices, maintenance becomes more complex when mixing different types of devices. If employees use a subsidized service plan, IT steps away from the desktop management and at the same time gives up some control and security.

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, VDI, allows you to provide a BYOD program and retain control and more importantly provide secure access from many types of devices. With a VPN connection and a browser, users can securely access company resources from anywhere, using any device.

In a VDI environment, data and applications reside in the data center and users are provided a centrally controlled desktop image on demand. Employees can work from home, in the field or from a hotel room. Contract workers or visitors can gain temporary access without sacrificing security.

In the event of a security breach, the VDI session is ended and upon login a new clean VDI session is initiated. Instead of focusing on a long recovery process, the focus is on productivity and getting the user quickly back to work.

Centralized management tools allow IT to setup profiles based on user type and security requirements to ensure the appropriate rights and access. Virtual desktops can always be reached for software maintenance activities such as patches, upgrades, and removal of unsupported software to further enhance security.

VDI not only supports the BYOD model, it provides increased security and minimizes desktop management for both BYOD users and organizations with traditional PCs or thin clients.

 

Public or Private Cloud Computing? You don't have to decide.

When we talk to our customers about virtualization or cloud computing, their answers to the question, “private or public?” are somewhat cloudy.  Public clouds have raised some security and compliance concerns while private clouds often require new operational processes. Both cloud computing models have their strengths and weaknesses therefore most organizations will likely use both or a hybrid cloud architecture.

Private Cloud
Private clouds or virtualized data centers reside on-premise or virtually outside of the enterprise data center. Users can access the private cloud via a secure HTTP browser or if outside the firewall via VPN.  Private clouds are inherently more secure than other models because data resides in the enterprise data center. IT remains in control and can maintain regulatory compliance. There are some operational process changes that can be challenging. With the integration of server and network operations in data center, the distinct roles of a server administrator and an IT administrator now overlap.

Public Cloud
A public cloud is a model where a service provider makes resources, infrastructure and applications, available to one or more organizations over the Internet for a fee. This model allows an organization to handle resource peaks and valleys but security and control become concerns with critical data being transmitted over the internet into the cloud.

Hybrid Cloud
The hybrid cloud takes advantage of both models and allows organizations to maintain secure sensitive or critical applications on their private cloud and utilize the public cloud for additional resources in high peak periods. While a hybrid cloud sounds ideal, there are still challenges with interoperability and with management that can monitor both platforms. Many organizations are waiting until standards are developed before embracing a truly hybrid cloud infrastructure. 

There are many considerations when deciding whether a private cloud, a public cloud or a hybrid cloud best fit your organization. Building a cloud infrastructure is a journey and often an organizations first step is virtualizing the enterprise data center and building a private cloud infrastructure. AMS.NET can help you evaluate your current infrastructure, discuss your applications and business challenges and help recommend a solution that will meet your current needs and allow for an integrated hybrid cloud in the future.

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Top 5 VoIP Implementation Triggers

Technology runs business and some may argue runs the world! Organizations large or small invest in computers, data networks, applications and other technology to run their business. A communication system is also a critical component of business operations. Just as you refresh computers and servers or upgrade applications, you should assess and upgrade your voice and phone system to support scalability and worker productivity.

Companies upgrade their phone system to a VoIP or Unified Communications solution for a variety of reasons including mobility features to support remote and mobile workers, presence and single number reach to improve productivity, call center, web conferencing and more. In addition to communication and productivity reasons, there are 5 main triggers that prompt organizations to move to a VoIP phone system.

1. Upgrading Your Data Network
   VoIP (Voice-over-Internet Protocol) is the transmission of voice traffic over the data network. If an organization is upgrading their data network with new routers, switches or upgrading their ISP connection, they may want to consider moving to a VoIP phone system. By coordinating these projects, you can ensure that your network equipment has the proper QoS and your pipe is sufficient to handle both data and voice traffic.
2. Moving Locations
   During a move, network cabling has to be coordinated, ISP service need to be ordered among other technology considerations. Coordinating these services and making these decisions once makes your VoIP implementation easier.
3. Merger or Acquisition
   Often one of the biggest challenges in a merger or acquisition is merging the two companies resources including employees, locations and technology. Consideration of a VoIP system makes sense at a time when you are replacing equipment and making technology investments.
4. Obsolete Equipment
   One of the most common triggers to moving to a VoIP system is existing equipment reaching end-of-life, end-of-support and becoming obsolete. Keeping outdated equipment that is no longer supported by the manufacturer becomes a costly prospect.
5. Business Communication Problems
   If an organization is experiencing call overload, an increase in contact center wait times, missed calls or employees are playing phone tag, a VoIP communication system might be warranted. In addition to solving business communication programs, a new system improves communication, streamlines processes and increases productivity.

If you haven’t already upgraded your traditional phone system to a VoIP system, it’s likely one of these trigger events will cause you to make the move in the near future. As you look for tools to get a competitive edge, existing equipment becomes obsolete or you experience one of the other VoIP implementation triggers, you’ll find that upgrading to a VoIP phone solution will allow you to run your business more efficiently.

 

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