What Mobile Trends Mean to the Financial Services Industry

There is no question that mobile usage within the financial services industry is growing exponentially. Improved networks, increased applications and deployment of multiple smartphone technologies have encouraged quicker adoption by consumers and industry professionals alike. As in many other industries, these technologies have helped blur the lines between personal and professional use.

Banking and financial services business leaders who understand the changing wireless landscape will have an easier time leveraging their web presence and gaining a strategic advantage by deploying applications that support a mobile workforce. Here are a few trends related to mobile deployment and usage to get you started in that analysis:

• Global mobile users are expected to surpass desktop internet users by 2014.
• On average there will be one mobile phone for every person on earth by 2015.
• 41% of U.S. online consumers own a smartphone.
• Sales of tablet PCs are expected to reach 500 million by 2014.
• More than 2 billion people have mobile phones but no bank account (expansion opportunity) 
• M2M generated revenue will triple for businesses by 2015.
• In the past year mobile searches have grown four fold.
• Half of all mobile searches lead to a purchase.

It is critical to optimize your company’s online presence to support the increased number of users browsing and accessing information, possibly on your organization and its services, on their phones. 

You may want to begin by testing your website on multiple mobile devices or with a simulator. Most users now expect their online mobile experience to be on a par with their desktop experience. According to Google about two thirds of mobile users will not re-visit a site if it doesn’t load after two tries. If you find that the site isn’t loading correctly or easy to navigate have your team build out a mobile version of the site or optimize the existing site for mobile viewing.

It is equally as important to provide your employees with secure, remote, mobile access. The number of companies working virtually continues to grow as they interact with customers, conduct business transactions and attract new prospects while away from the office. Employees today want to use their own mobile devices to increase their own productivity. One of our partners, Cisco, has embraced this Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) vision and continues to build solutions to help IT departments who are receiving an increased number of requests to support a wide variety of these technologies. 

Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Solutions is a great place to start for providing secure access to your enterprise. Their Mobility Client now supports the more popular devices used by your organization’s mobile workforce including phones and tablets running on the Android, iOS (Apple), Nokia Symbian and Windows Mobile platforms. To learn more about how these solutions offer a common, predictable user experience while also addressing productivity and security concerns please give us a call and we’ll be happy to provide you with more information.  Our team of consultants and solutions experts is ready to help assist you and your team with gaining insight and developing a roadmap to a more competitive future for your organization.

Building an Environment to Support Scalability and Rapid Deployment

There are three primary factors that define the security of your organization’s applications and information while also enabling quick and reliable transmission of that data over a converged network; the hardware that makes up your technology infrastructure, the network that your data is transmitted over and the people who support it. Having the right balance of these elements will contribute to sales, customer service and innovation. It will also make your business more agile by establishing an environment that supports scalability and rapid deployment.

Here are a few of the other benefits associated with creating this type of ecosystem:

• Provides both employees and customers with the information and support they need when they need and on their preferred devices
• Strengthens connections with customers to increase loyalty and satisfaction
• Connects people in less time and with contextual relevance
• Personalizes the customer experience with voice, web, email, video and social media
• Accelerates time to resolution by using an integrated communications network to identify and resolve customer issues

One of our partners, Cisco, offers a suite of Unified Communications resources to make sure that your data is secure and your apps run effectively over a single converged network. Products like their Virtualization Experience Client, UC Gateway and Business Edition 6000 contribute to an improved customer experience. Their products also help enable collaboration by offering reliable communications support for delivering multiple applications like voice, video and presence services to various types of devices and IP endpoints. Embracing Cisco’s technology allows your IT team to support business-critical apps and data while also providing your organization with interoperable connectivity to your communications provider. 

The right communications partner will allow businesses to access information, strengthen relationships and enable success. They can also provide you with the correct mix of connectivity to match your needs and budget. Find a service provider who can deliver voice and data networking at the best cost per service. This might mean that your information runs on the networks of multiple providers. But companies like IPLogic, who offer carrier solutions, can serve as a single source for billing, customer support and help managing multiple communications services and providers.

Your IT team will appreciate the functionality of the Cisco equipment and management interface. And you will benefit from the purchasing and admin assistance that a third-party communications provider can offer. Engaging a partner allows you to augment your existing team with additional technical expertise and support. Adopting this model can also deliver access to immediate assistance with upgrades and hardware maintenance.

Taking a look at each of these critical components is the first step to improving the experience for both your employees and external stakeholders. Let us know how we can help you identify the right hardware, technology and communications configuration to support your organization’s growth and continued success.

Focus: Managed Services for the Healthcare Industry

Challenges such as constantly shifting government regulations, growing staffing issues, increasing expenses, competition and rapid changes to the economic payment model are driving the need for a review of the industry’s technology needs and assumptions.  Significant change can often be challenging in any industry. But for both patients and providers it can be especially disruptive.  The fact also remains that these changes can also produce tangible benefits for all stakeholders.  Engaging a competent partner to provide assistance and expertise in managing through these changes will help your organization effectively address its technology strategy and navigate many of the potential negative impacts caused by these industry changes.

A competent managed services provider that brings relevant industry experience and expertise will help your organization address the shifting requirements in maintaining and monitoring critical technology platforms responsible for electronic health records (EHRs), lab information systems, patient billing, HIPAA compliance, practice management, HL7 interfacing with clinical devices, storage and physician mobility. They should be expected to help reduce liability associated with regulations impacting the industry by maintaining secure and compliant systems. If you select the right provider to partner with they should also be able to contribute to reduced healthcare costs, decreased downtime and improving the services and experience you provide to your patients.

So, how do you get started? 

Begin by researching a few managed services providers to see what they offer and the industries where they have experience. Their websites are an obvious starting point. Be prepared to also dig a little deeper into the range of technical expertise offered by their employees. This can often be found by the scanning the business partners listed on their website (Cisco, VMware, NetApp, etc.) or the industry / technical certifications they promote (Partner Certification or Specialization level, GOLD Level, CCIE, CCNA, etc.).

The next step, once you have identified a group of possible service providers, is to identify one service that can serve as a starting point to assist with your technology management strategy. For example, below is a list of the typical service offerings:

• Backup and Recovery - Provides redundant access and portability for critical patient information while also reducing exposure to HIPPA violations as outlined in this past blog post.
• Communications - Carrier solutions can address your telecommunications and networking requirements with voice, data and video connectivity built specifically to align with your needs.
• Engineering Support & Maintenance - Skilled technology professionals are available to supplement your internal team by assisting with network, infrastructure and application support as well as performing hardware upgrades and replacements.
• Mobility - Wireless devices are managed and mobile applications are secured and maintained to deliver increased efficiency.
• Network Monitoring and Management – Devices and components that exist on your network to manage communications and applications (e.g. servers, routers, etc.) are proactively monitored 24x7 to deliver the benefits outlined in this past blog post.
• Security - Protects information and applications utilizing technologies ranging from anti-virus software to firewalls and encrypted data transmission.

Limiting the initial interaction to a single service or two gives you the opportunity to begin interacting with a few managed services providers, learn more about their offerings and capabilities and make a more informed decision based on experience.

Simplify Your IT with Network Monitoring and Management

The availability, performance and security of an organization’s IT infrastructure can significantly impact their success. Companies need to be able to monitor their network and make rapid adjustments to their technology infrastructure. In addition, it is important to have access to the expertise needed to support this technology while also having quick access to replacement parts for maintenance.

For small and medium sized organizations it may make sense to have an external partner assist with network monitoring and management. An effective service provider can serve as an extension of your IT team and provide you with access to the technical expertise and resources required to optimize your technology usage. In addition, cost savings can is often a by-product of working with an external provide of IT services.

Companies who don’t have an IT team benefit from a complete suite of services that include strategic planning, budgeting assistance, server administration, user support, network monitoring and hardware maintenance. However, organizations with some IT expertise in-house can benefit as well from services like 24/7 network monitoring, proactive alerts, performance reporting, security updates and tier-2 IT support. Organizations with an IT team will also appreciate the assistance a third party can provide by automating repetitive, simple tasks and identifying and correcting network issues before they cause a work disruption.

Here are a few specific examples of how you can simplify your IT by engaging an outside provider:

• Reduced Downtime - Alerts allow an issue or interruption to be identified and addressed immediately.
• Improved Performance - The framework offers performance management by analyzing usage trends on the network then adjusting accordingly.
• Cost Savings - Expenses associated with recruiting, hiring and employing full-time, specialized IT talent are lowered or completely eliminated.
• Asset Control - A better understanding of your IT resources assists with inventory management of your hardware and software assets.
• Expanded Coverage - A combination of remote and onsite technical support results in better coverage of your IT footprint.
• Understandable Analytics - Regular reports are available that include performance analysis, trends and incident tracking
• Interoperability - Many providers work with hardware and software partners to secure replacement parts under your existing maintenance agreements.

If you decide to consider using a partner for these services it is important to find a company who can supply a small team with the ability to quickly develop in-depth knowledge of your network, employees and business. This will make it easier to build a working relationship that seamlessly integrates with your other business process. But you also want to work with a service provide who is large enough to provide 24x7 coverage and offer access to a pool of superior IT talent and expertise.

IPLogic offers what we call Day 2 Support to ensure your IT investment is managed effectively. We utilize powerful network management tools to monitor and optimize your network. Our team of experts is available to provide around-the-clock support and proactive administration. Connect with us to discuss how you can begin simplifying your IT.

Using Cloud Backup to Protect Patient Information

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires organizations to implement contingency plans for securing their patient information and data. The objectives for the contingency planning include disaster recovery and data storage. These backup requirements are a helpful starting point for health-related organizations to build an cost-effective plan for storing and protecting their patient health information. 

Healthcare providers who engage in electronic transactions must insure privacy while also employing compliant backup methodologies to guarantee the access, portability and confidentiality of patient records. This means that organizations must be able to restore computer records after an emergency situation. They must also provide secure means for protecting patient health information and backup this data real-time on a continuous basis.

One technology that helps the healthcare industry address these HIPAA requirements is cloud-based backup. As we mentioned in an earlier post the cloud refers to technologies that deliver computing over a network as an on-demand service. The model allows for secure sharing of applications, resources and data with computers and mobile devices almost like a utility.

In order to support HIPAA compliance and be a relevant alternative for the healthcare industry  automated solutions must effortlessly and inexpensively achieve very high data reliability and security.  With a well-designed Cloud backup strategy, IT infrastructure can now dynamically change to meet evolving storage needs and security requirements.

Here are a few of the features  that should be included in a properly designed HIPAA compliant healthcare Cloud backup solution:: 

• Fully automated data backups for servers and desktops
• Off-site storage at highly-secured data centers
• Web-based management tools for immediate restoration of damaged or deleted files.
• Long-term storage available in accordance with HIPAA
• Data protection using compression and AES-256 bit encryption
• Integrity controls setup for data
• E-mail Archiving to ensure sensitive data is retained and backed up consistently
• Data availability enhanced with mirroring to secondary secure facilities.

Data loss can result in decreased productivity, patient / customer attrition and revenue loss. Contact IPLogic to discuss how to update your contingency plan and learn about how cloud-based backup and recovery can secure your patient information.

Tips for Securing Your Data

The information stored on you company’s network and computers significantly contribute to your competitive advantage. Data on your employees, finances, customer transactions and product capabilities are just a few of the items that contribute to your growth and success. With so much data being created daily, there is a growing need to be protected from loss or attack.

Network interruptions, cyber attacks and natural disasters can all threaten information security and contribute to data loss for the unprepared. The result is often costly and time-consuming to remedy. While there are plenty of beneficial resources third parties can offer to assist with protecting and backing up your data there are a few first steps you can take on your own.

Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

• Act on Update Reminders - Software updates often contain critical security patches so don’t hit the “remind me later” button. Instead, take the time to install the available updates immediately.
• Adjust Access Rights - You don’t need to provide all employees with the same levels of access. Take time to look at which levels of access are available then limit availability to job-related information and functions.
• Strengthen Passwords and Policy - Make the requirements for your employee’s passwords more complex. In addition, require that they change the passwords regularly.
• Embrace the Cloud - Cloud-based computing provides you with additional levels of redundancy for your data while also delivering IT resources to your employees quickly and reliably.
• Encrypt Your Data - Whether it is the information your employees put on a USB thumb drive or the data transmitted over a wireless access point use encryption to add an extra layer of protection. Use WiFi Protected Access (WPA) to lock down the wireless components of your network when possible.
• Update File / Print Sharing - Keep the File / Print sharing option on your file server. But it can be removed from all desktops and laptops to decrease vulnerabilities.

There are also plenty of free resources available that provide background information on data security as well as alerts related to current threats. Here are a few helpful sites to get you started:

• Cisco Security Advisories & Responses
• Trend Micro Security Intelligence & Current Threats
• CERT Security Publications & Alerts for Business
• Information Systems Security Certification Consortium Cyber Exchange

These are just a few initial steps you can perform on your own to begin to quickly implement a base level of security within your organization while also accessing a few online resources to become aware of existing threats. The next step is to contact us to discuss cost-effective services to protect and backup your data. IPLogic utilizes a combination of industry-leading technologies to offer secure email, web, access, mobility and data center.

How Can “The Cloud” Help Your Business?

There has been plenty of recent buzz about "the cloud". The hype seems to have peaked recently with companies targeting consumers with TV and print ads. For a price you can now store and access all of your personal and work content remotely. Services allow you to easily access applications, critical documents and multimedia like music, photos and video remotely. In addition, you can sync up your information between mobile devices and home based-based networks through intermediary technologies known as the cloud. 

So how can your company benefit from it? First, it is helpful to understand what the cloud actually is. We define cloud-based computing as technologies that deliver computing over a network as an on-demand service. The model allows for sharing of applications, resources and data with computers and mobile devices almost like a utility.  

There are both public clouds and private clouds. Public clouds are accessible in a broad public domain to individual users or multiple organizations. Private clouds are resources shared by one organization.  Clouds have a few distinguishing characteristics; resource pooling, self-service, rapid scalability, measured service and in the case of a public cloud broad network access.

For small and medium businesses the reality is that cloud-based computing is a great opportunity to optimize your IT infrastructure and spending to allow for a renewed focus on revenue-generating opportunities. If implemented correctly private clouds can be used to deliver IT resources to your end users quickly, reliably and at a lower cost. From both a business and technology management perspective these technologies can provide the following benefits: 

• Backup & Disaster Recovery
• Business Continuity
• Cost Savings
• Improved Scalability
• Increased Security
• Rapid Deployment
• Simplified IT Infrastructure

Cloud computing and managed services are no longer just a business advantage for large corporations. Give us a call or visit our cloud & advanced services page to learn about how your organization can benefit from the power of the cloud.

Focus: Managed Services for the Education Industry

It is safe to say the IT landscape is in a constant state of change. New technologies emerge and existing platforms are updated to address the ever changing needs of users. For many organizations an efficient and cost-effective way of coping with the evolving nature of technology is through the use of managed services. 

Within this model a managed service partner provides maintenance, monitoring and ongoing management of an organization’s technology and infrastructure so they can focus on their core business. Large businesses have been quick to adopt managed service solutions however recently, progressive education providers are realizing benefits from these solutions as well. 

An education provider’s technology and support should align with its organizational and educational goals. In order to achieve this synergy, a growing number of institutions  seek external assistance with planning, implementing and managing their technology plan.  As a result they are able to maximize the role technology plays in the success of their students, teachers and employees. 

Here are a few of the specific benefits that managed services offer to the education industry:

• Network monitoring provides 24x7 infrastructure coverage . 
• Enables additional application level security.
• Enhances compliance and addresses risk management.
• Provides proactive maintenance for software and hardware platforms. 
• Fixed fee pricing models make it easier to forecast and control costs.
• Disaster recovery features offer additional layers of data redundancy and risk management for the organization.
• Serves as a dependable extension of the IT team.

Managed services enable all stakeholders to maximize the benefit from each technology investment. The managed service platforms also act as an extension to the IT organization rather than a replacement. Offerings like backup and recovery provide risk avoidance to organizations with critical data to protect, while network monitoring enhances the responsiveness of the IT team, Additionally the technical expertise brought by these providers allows for additional expertise to be immediately available to assist with upgrades and the daily care and feeding of the organizations’ application infrastructure in maintaining a functional and secure environment.

Although every institution’s needs are different, this does not mean the upfront investment needs to be significant  in order to acquire the latest technology and support for academic or administrative needs. An experienced managed service provider will offer an assessment to identify requirements and recommend an appropriate solution to move from current to future state. They can also assist with implementation and rapid scalability if needed.

IPLogic offers a full suite of managed services to assist with IT support, maintenance, monitoring and network management. IPLogic’s consulting team and managed service solutions offer more effective utilization of IT budgets while helping to improve the learning environment. Contact IPLogic to learn more.

Is your healthcare institution doing all it can do to mitigate against sentinel events?

Evan Bossonis

Business Development Leader, Team Lead - Unified Communications

ebossonis@iplogic.com

A sentinel event is defined by The Joint Commission (TJC) as: “any unanticipated event in a healthcare setting resulting in death or serious physical or psychological injury to a patient or patients, not related to the natural course of the patient's illness.”

“Ineffective communication is the most frequently cited root cause for sentinel events. Effective communication that is timely, accurate, complete, unambiguous, and understood by the recipient reduces error and results in improved patient safety.” - 2009 Joint Commission (TJC) - Hospital National Patient Safety Goals.

The Benefits of Implementing Data Recovery

The value of an organization’s data isn’t in question. Information is clearly one of a company’s most strategic assets. And ensuring quick and easy access to that data while also guaranteeing it is protected is critical to your company’s continued growth and success. Cloud computing is emerging as an efficient and cost-effective means of data backup and recovery.

Data backup and recovery refer to the process of first creating a copy your organization’s critical electronic information then being able to easily access it after a data loss, deletion or corruption. Technologies and policies related to data protection enable business continuity by restoring a copy of your data from a point in time.

Specifically, backup allows you to access data for two purposes. The first objective is disaster recovery after a large scale data event or even a complete data center loss. The second objective is to recover data or specific transactions from an earlier time that may need to be accessed In the course of normal business operations by a system administrator or IT manager.

Here are a few of the benefits of implementing data backup and recovery systems based on cloud computing architecture:

• Rapid Scalability - Many vendors offer an environment thatsupports the quick addition of storage capacity based on your changing needs.
• Regulatory Compliance - Having secure and redundant data protection may help your organization comply with regulations like HIPAA, SOX or GLBA.
• Cost Savings - Cloud computing can deliver quicker recovery times and multi-site availability without an investment in your own hardware such as servers or Storage Area Networks (SANs).
• Secure Data Transmissions - Industry-leading encryption is used to prevent unauthorized access to your data.
• Intuitive Interface - Data access and retrieval is often simplified through a user-friendly interface allowing users to browse and recover files on their own.
• Redundancy - Vendors normally utilize geographically dispersed data centers and multiple communications partners to ensure 24 x 7 access to your information without disruption based on factors out of your control.

One of the solutions IPLogic offers for data protection is Net2Vault. They leverage partnerships with both NetApp and SunGard to deliver industry-leading backup and disaster recovery services. Cloud architecture is used to deliver easy online access and lower costs to existing NetApp customers who are looking for a secondary means of back up.

Your IT team will appreciate that Net2Vault’s solution is specifically designed to be an offsite extension of the existing NetApp architecture instead of a stand-alone third-party service. The technology seamlessly integrates with your systems in native NetApp state which protects previous investments while also offering a familiar interface. You can SnapVault your data in native format for quick and easy recovery from what is setup as a node on your network.

Prior to selecting a specific solution for backup and recovery it is important to build a data protection plan. Not only will this provide your organization with a roadmap for identifying the appropriate technologies itwill also help ensure a successful implementation. If you would like help building your data protection plan contact us. IPLogic can help with planning, developing backup policies, reducing administrative costs and choosing a solution that offers your organization the greatest operational efficiencies.

Reduce Telecommunications Costs Without Sacrificing Service

Reduce Telecommunications Costs Without Sacrificing Service

Businesses rely on telecommunications to access information, strengthen relationships and enable success. Voice services, internet connectivity and data networking are critical components for connecting with both internal and external stakeholders. It isn’t a secret that these services normally account for a healthy percentage of a company’s expenses.

There are, however, a few cost-saving strategies that can be performed relatively easily. Here are a few tips savvy companies have used to increase the quality of their communications while also saving money:

• Perform an Audit - An audit of your existing services and expenses can help quickly identify opportunities for savings. There may be rates that have been in place for a few years that can be renegotiated to better reflect market rates. It may also make sense to consider utilizing an external firm to assist with the audit. The right partner can bring expertise from similar projects that can add to your savings.
• Embrace Technology - You may already have existing networking infrastructure in place that can be upgraded to take advantage of Voice Over IP (VoIP) or other emerging technologies. Some of the newer technologies can provide a higher quality of service and cost savings if rolled out strategically.
• Maintain an Accurate Inventory - It is critical to understand which voice, data and internet services your company is actually using. If you take the time to establish then maintain a complete inventory of your lines it will be easier to eliminate underused resources or consolidate services. In addition, this snapshot will help as you renegotiate contracts with your provider.
• Merge Accounts - If you have voice services from one provider and data from another consider moving one of these services to the other provider. Just from a billing perspective using the same carrier will make it easier for your to understand what you’re paying for. In addition, purchasing more services from an existing provider may qualify you for different levels of customer support or discounts.
• Tap Into Buying Power - The more services you use and the more locations you represent the easier it will be to negotiate better rates. Don’t let remote sites or branch offices purchase their telecommunications directly. Centralize the purchasing with a single provider. Having multiple locations use different carriers increases your expenses and is more difficult to manage. This consolidation will also help you eliminate expenses associated with unused resources.
• Consolidate It - This is a little different from the concept of merging accounts mentioned above. Consider instead working with a partner who can offer the best cost per service on the networks of multiple providers. IPLogic’s carrier solutions provides companies with the right mix of data, audio and video connectivity to match their needs and budget. Even if those services are run on the networks of multiple providers you benefit from working with a single vendor for billing, customer support and telecommunications services.

Contact us if you would like to learn more about how to optimize your telecommunications. IPLogic’s team of experts can perform an assessment of your existing service and determine your business needs. We’ll then present a full evaluation consisting of a set of solutions with the carriers to cater to your connectivity and budget needs. No more working with multiple vendors to provide different functions on different physical networks.

Communications efficiency on the hospital floor

Nurses and other HCPs spend too much time waiting for access to specialists – and so do patients

Are your nurses spending too much time waiting for responses?

Evan Bossonis

Business Development Leader – Unified Communications

ebossonis@iplogic.com

 “…the majority of nurses felt that they would save 30–60 minutes per workday - time they could spend caring for patients directly - if they had instant access to experts. Eighty - four percent felt that the time they spent trying to reach people had a direct impact on patient care because of delays and time spent away from patients, while 65 percent estimated that they spent upward of 20 minutes each day trying to contact people, with many spending well over an hour.” This finding is from a study done by Forrester Research and commissioned by Cisco Systems.

Do you find this to be the case on your hospital floor, or in your practice? How much additional revenue could be captured if you could improve productivity by one hour per nurse per shift over a years time? What could be the impact on patient satisfaction?

Data Center Solutions in 2012

Happy holidays to all! Thank you for visiting and reading my first blog post. First off, I would like to outline what to expect to see in my entries over the course of the new year. What are Data Center Solutions and how they can be a business enabler, reduce costs, and increase agility will be the focus while ensuring reliability, availability and serviceability for critical Data Center applications. I will include business case studies, real life scenarios from first-hand experiences and tech tips. I will be sharing my experiences from actual solution designs, product demonstrations, proof of concepts, pilots, implementation engagements and more.

Partners that enable IPLogic to provide validated and proven Data Center solutions include Cisco Systems, NetApp and VMware. IPLogic also utilizes other products and technologies from other key vendors that compliments and completes our Data Center solution offerings. These types of products and solutions include power, cooling, racks and more. I will focus on a different vendor or product for each post unless a specific topic needs to be spread across two or more posts.

Cisco Systems offers various Data Center products and technologies that IPLogic leverages as a value added systems integrator to offer complete solutions for our clients. Some of these products and technologies include Desktop Virtualization, Data Center Security, Unified Computing System (UCS) and more. I will be posting on various topics in the coming months that includes product and technologies from Cisco Systems and our other partners. For now, you can review some of Cisco's Data Center and Virtualization solutions via the URL below:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/netsol/ns340/ns394/ns224/solutions.html

A specific Data Center technology from Cisco Systems that is a true "game changer" is Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS). There are multiple products that make up UCS, but at the heart of the technology are the Fabric Interconnects, which are available in the 6100 and 6200 Series. The Fabric Interconnects provide the core connectivity, intelligence and configuration management via UCS Manager to allow true stateless computing down to the lowest hardware levels with Cisco's B-Series blade servers and chassis. For clarification, the Fabric Interconnects run UCS Manager in its firmware and there exists various models and expansion modules to allow for varying performance and port density of 10Gbps Ethernet, FCOE and Fibre Channel connectivity. In essence, the Fabric Interconnects provides the connectivity and management for a unified fabric in the Data Center. For details on the Fabric Interconnects, B-Series blades, chassis, UCS Manager and other components that comprise of the UCS architecture, please review the following link:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps10265/index.html

I will cover the Fabric Interconnects and UCS Manager in more detail in my next post. I will also discuss some of the benefits of stateless computing with UCS and some tech tips on replacing a Fabric Interconnect that is already in production.

In the meantime, for more information regarding IPLogic's Data Center solutions and ways in which IPLogic can help you meet your business requirements, please visit us at http://www.iplogic.com/virtualization_technology.asp

John D. Moorhead
CCIE #6457
Solution Architect
IPLogic, Inc.

Business Applications

The Growing Demand for Mobile Applications:

Applications; those stylized, customizable user-interfaces to every aspect of our lives. From social media to entertainment and security, we rely on having an app available for everything. In business communications, it’s no different and Cisco recognizes this by delivering a comprehensive tool-set of business-use applications, like voice, video, and web conferencing; messaging; mobile applications; and enterprise social software, to keep you connected and productive.

One of the offerings gaining interest with our client base is Cisco’s Jabber, which is a new unified communications application, that provides a single interface across presence, instant messaging (IM), voice, video, voice messaging, desktop sharing, and conferencing. Very cool. I’ll have more to post on this in the coming months. For now, you can check it out for yourself at: http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac49/ac0/ac1/ac258/JabberInc.html

Another great application, that we use within our organization, is Cisco’s WebEx. IPLogic has been providing business-quality video conferencing for years and we are now seeing increased interest in web-based solutions, like WebEx, over an enterprise deployment. As more of today’s businesses need to support a mobile workforce, while still maintaining a means for voice and video collaboration, Cisco’s web conferencing solution helps reduce the costs associated with travel and makes meetings more efficient. With WebEx Meeting Center you can share documents, collaborate in real-time and have face-to-face meetings, from a boardroom, office or your smart phone and even record the entire meeting for review later. Check out this YouTube video on Webex for your iphone: http://www.youtube.com/user/Cisco?v=Ct0KTSHhhg8&feature=pyv&ad=13548270815&kw=cisco and see how easy it is to maintain a collaborative workforce.

IPLogic provides these solution-sets to address real business challenges. Collaboration, beyond Voice and Video, provides you with the ability to connect whomever to wherever, regardless of endpoints or locations. For more information regarding Collaboration Technologies and ways in which IPLogic can help you meet your communication needs, visit us at www.iplogic.com.

Peter A. Grosskopf

Business Development Leader

Collaboration Solutions

IPLogic, Inc.

Build Your Private Cloud with FlexPod

Please join IPLogic, NetApp, VMware and Cisco for an informative lunch seminar on Thursday, December 15th from 11:00am-1:30pm at Jerome Bettis' Grille 36, Pittsburgh. During this seminar we will show you how you can accelerate your transition to a Private Cloud with the FlexPod data center solution.
Register today and learn how you can:
* Utilize validated designs to speed deployment and time to market
* Reduce business and operational risks with prevalidated architecture for the cloud
* Accelerate IT by reducing complexity and enabling more flexible, agile service delivery
* Achieve unprecedented storage efficiencies, end-to-end integrated data protection and the flexibility to rapidly respond to changing business needs
We invite you to learn how FlexPod can help your organization integrate disparate compute, storage, and network components into a single architecture that scales to fit a variety of environments. You will learn how you can simplify your virtualization journey to the Cloud while protecting your current investment and creating efficiencies for future growth.

Real Business Video Applications

Internal meetings between offices or business-to-business communication needs can be a challenge to manage effectively for any size company. A collaborative communications solution can provide you with the ability to connect your office to anyone, anywhere, via video. The benefits of using this communications technology, whether it’s web-based software or an enterprise service, is recognized first in the immediate return on your investment (ROI). Reducing the inefficiencies of travel, the associated expenses and liability are all priorities to any growing business. Efficient use of time in team collaboration and decision-making equals velocity. Velocity in design and velocity in response-times lead to improved sales and revenue growth.

Video communications has now become an expectation of the globalized marketplace, with companies looking to take advantage of outsourcing and expansion opportunities in order to remain competitive with other companies many times their size.

One of our client partners was looking for ways to raise awareness and promote innovation and entrepreneurship, not for one specific company, but rather for companies throughout their regional area.

IPLogic worked with the City of Hermitage, PA in the development of their Technology Incubator center. A regional facility that provides assistance aimed at the development , management and promotion of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) to businesses throughout the Oh-Penn Region. IPLogic designed a conference room video solution that provides for business-to-business communications and presentations, in a general conference area of the facility.

This easy-to-use system now allows for these companies to collaborate with other business partners, on or off-premises, which in turn, helps them grow and bring real value to the community and its vision.

You can check out the eCenter at LindenPointe at www.ecenterlindenpointe.com to see all the exciting ideas and events that they have going on.

For more information regarding Collaboration Technologies and ways in which IPLogic can help you meet your communication needs, visit us at www.iplogic.com.

Contact:

Peter Grosskopf

Business Development Leader – Collaboration Solutions

pgrosskopf@iplogic.com