Just Think Back Then Imagine…

The years are 2008 and 2009, may they forever be remembered for what they were. A lesson in showing us how resilient we can be, and how we can make the best of a bad situation.  We are now stronger because of it and we are ready to take on the new emerging economic factors and to do this we must use the strength that we have acquired over the past two yeas, along with the skills and the mindset to take our companies to a level of survival that will allow us to see brighter days. Those times are coming to an end as all things  must, eventually.

In 2010 a new era will be ushered in, many will rise from the proverbial ashes to reclaim their names, their rights, their legend. Many decisions were made in the last two years that caused companies to have to wait out the years with their fingers crossed. Their hopes and dreams were sent to the grave or put on hold. Many lost and some won the battles before them, but the playing field was not even. Those who had the means to make it happen did and  some of them did not, with the fear of losing those their financial ground. Then there was those who just did not have the means to get it done. They had to wait  it out until the bank was a little less on the empty end and more towards filling up. We watched lay offs and old computers stretched beyond their life cycles and it seemed as there was not end in sight to the recessions grip on our actions, our production.

Now the year is 2010 and all of our planning, researching, and in my case working with IT Masterminds within their respective companies, see the light at the end of the tunnel. The chance to show what they have been cooking up with their collected knowledge from IT Consultants. They have reviewed white papers, case studies, done the diagnostics, etc., and now is that time. They may have feared in the past that the solutions that will create a more efficient work enviroment, raise productivity, conquer downtime, eradicate threats, eliminate internal and external threats, etc. They do not fear bringing that any longer to the team who has the final say.

Simply put they see it from the decision chair and the result is, IT budgets are going up. This translate to two things, or one of the two depending on your strategy.

The new era of doing business has come.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.

Microsoft Entering The Cloud With The Recent Purchase Of Opalis?

Cloud computing is on everyones mind. From Google being a front runner in the cloud computing arena to Microsoft wanting a piece of it and potentially knocking out any contenders and title holders. Microsoft is not going to watch the cloud they are going to jump right in. They want piece of the action and this is clear with their recent acquisition of OPALIS Software. CRN

Here are just a few words on what is going on:

Customers are looking for increased operations automation as they build out highly automated and scalable virtual environments in order to not only reduce costs but also to ensure the “services that drive their business are always available,” Anderson wrote.

The Opalis software is easy to use and quick to deploy, Anderson wrote. It also integrates out of the box with System Center to allow it to “integrate with otherinfrastructure software from CA, BMC (NYSE:BMC), HP (NYSE:HPQ) and others to integrate across an IT organization,” he wrote.

Todd DeLaughter, president and CEO of Opalis and a former manager of Hewlett-Packard’s OpenView management software business, wrote in a separate blog post that automated response is a core building block for IT, and is the foundation for cloud computing, which he defined as self-adjusting pools of computing resources that can be tuned based on real-time events.

“This is actually possible today with virtualization software, such as Microsoft Hyper-V Server, and automation tools, like Opalis and Microsoft System Center. The vendor who pulls this together with the cleanest, simplest approach will bring cloud computing to the masses,” DeLaughter wrote.

I think this is great to kick up the competition, all the while offering Medium – Large enterprise businesses more options to do business-as usual. Or need I say it, better than ever.

So where does this leave Google? What is next for us all consumer and Enterprise Techies?

Microsoft Buys Opalis Software

Link Drop : IE8 Security vunerability/Microsoft On Their Cloud intent

Their is a major flaw in IE8 that may deem safe site unsafe Read More

Microsoft begins paving path for IT, Cloud integration Read More

3 Reason Azzure will Succeed  Read More

Link Drop :Virtualization Revolution

Floating around the net today I found a great piece on virtualization that I just had to share.’

I think this guy Brian Madden has his eyes on what is going on with technology. Virtualization has many key components that can work best for those who consider and use it full potential.

Video of the discussion at Forbes

http://video.forbes.com/fvn/virtualization-09/virtualization-revolution?partner=embed

Link Drop: AMD’s 6 Core Domination and Win 7/Windows 2008 server R2

Microsoft warns of zero day flaw in Windows 7 and Windows server R2 -Channel Web

AMD currently holds the crown at least until Intel responds with a chip of their own. Most powerful Super Computer in the world – Period powered by AMD 6 Core – AMD

This will be in interesting year in computing. If you think otherwise you are living off the land, eating shrubs and dancing with Wolves while singing your scouts anthem.

 

I Love IT: Planning To Win With Your Infrastructure.

Are you sitting in a hole, deep below the IT sea level, attempting daily to swim against the competition both internally and externally? If the fear of an efficient IT Eco System is prevalent in your mind but you are not getting the budget needed to bring your projects to life. Then now is the time to take a different approach and come out the hero for your organization.

Whatever the case may be, the time is now. You are the integral part that holds it all together. In order for you and your company to remain in the race, it has to grow. Since you have working knowledge of the bones and gristle of the operation it is time to look at this you are one of the teammates and not just the hired gun to handle the dirty work with the Data. Let me ask you this. Are you responsible when something goes wrong with the computers?  Then why not be responsible for taking an active approach in making sure that it never goes wrong?

Quite frankly for those that I have the pleasure of working with, they are taking very active roles to ensure that their organizations are on the forefront of technology usage.  If all 100 of the fortune 100 can adopt technology( Virtualization), that will make them move in the right direction and reduce long-term cost, then why not you?

I know that this is not simple. I know that there are many challenges, both financial and sorry to say emotional. For some companies that I work with, I am aware of the problems that they face and some I may not know what it is entirely. However we must begin, to work together, to figure out, the path least taken.  By beginning now, instead of waiting for the moment the exercise will become easy, and your thinking will become stronger…So to speak. Because from what I have experienced thus far, there is no short cut to the build you are looking for. You have to get down and dirty and feel the initial pain to form the body that produces the results on the court, field, and in this case in your company’s IT infrastructure.

So what is this approach you ask? It is not a simple one, but it can be simplified and broken into task. When you take the approach of attacking small pieces of it and sharing your midnight gripes with a trusted advisor you can become the champion. However you have to team up with your VAR and put aside the thinking that they are the item of the day shops.

I have the privilege to work with an industry leader that not only adds value to the IT industry; we stand behind it for the entire life of the solution. You can bet your bottom on that. Shameless plug and all, I say that to say this. It is important to take a different approach and spend a little more time. You will be lucky to find out what we can offer at CDW. To understand our partnerships with the leading IT brands is work itself, which is our job. I work with you, to understand your goals, to lay each brick one at a time right alongside you; I have a battalion of specialist that are certified to handle the grit of your goals. We handle the complex simplicities to maximize your time. So you can handle the hands on part of your deployments with accuracy.

So I will stop here to say. We work for you even when you cannot see IT. IT is our business, IT is my goal.

In The Details : XP Mode/Windows 7

What you need to know!

I am going to keep it short and sweet. When it comes to Windows 7 the new Hardware,old hardware that is within your IT environment, there is something you may want to know. If you are a loyal XP user and you want to run the legendary XP OS in the Windows 7 OS. Some chips will not run X P Mode. Gadgetell

I spoke with a few contacts as of late over at Intel and a close buddy, it has been brought to my attention that there is one component on your motherboard that is needed in order to run XP mode off of the Windows 7 platform. It is a VT chip from Intel. It is that Simple. So look into this right away.

If you have an office refresh coming up, and you would like to have your end users running XP this is important or you can loose much time in the implementation stages. Keep in mind that, there is no software alternative at this time. Your best bet is to plan with the VT chip in mind and its relationship to the virtual software technology embedded in Windows 7.

Here are some links in which you can do your homework.

Wikipedia

Intel

Processors that Support ( information to be verified)

I will have more on this as I am updated.

What Is Your BI Plan?

There are many challenges within the IT realm. These challenges keep us up at night and we have taken on the strategy of hope….Hope that the problem will go away or the issues these challenges pose will not affect us, by coming in our direction. Is the way that we should go about taking care of our businesses?

There are far to many companies taking on this mind set. This thought process has been and is being used often and I see it to be a patchwork mentality. Pseudo methodical I would like to call it. Let’s visit…A method of Hope in some cases, get many to move on to bigger and better things in life. Hope is the key, but when hope is successful in many cases, it is due to a very active individual(s) on the part of the person(s) who put in place goals and actions that are redeemable, in the form of initiatives to implementation ratios being realized. The key to successful hope is actions. So in contradiction hope is a strategy when you have actions behind the hopes that exist.

With rampant attacks on networks across the country and loss of data. This is something many companies should take serious. Those who do, are the ones who have been hit or suffered loss due to power outage, virus/Trojan security breaches, etc., this should not be the case. Active approach by active speculation allows one to create a safeguard to prevent and/or attack any threats posed to their system(s).

Don’t go to war without your shield, swinging a sword when attacked will put you in the wrong position and leave you on the defense. Always have a protected offense with a hardcore defense strategy. Actively engage in protective measures and you success in the battle has a higher probability of meeting challenges with a positive outcome.

What this means to a company varies in range…Anywhere from the loss of 20 minutes of successful work on any one desktop to stored information stolen from ones database. Business continuity in my eyes consist of so much more than the every day thought of Storage and Backup, as separate but as a part of a whole. Although you must attack them as separate conversations when dealing with a Vendor, they come together as one piece of a whole when fully implemented into your infrastructure.

So what is that thought you ask?  Well first lets graze over the three main components of DR; Backup, Archiving, and Disaster Recovery. Personally in order to fit into full continuous uninterrupted flow, I think  security fits well into the scheme of things. Am I wrong? How much expanding do I need to do. The question is really with you. Are you open to really looking at creating a true system of BI? A flexible fortress I like to call it. Your network, database, etc. Should be flexible enough to stop the threats that are out there.

I did not come here to push any one product or expand on any one area. My goal today was to share with you my thoughts on continuous process protection and what I think it entails. For me it is that simple. Did I make it complex…I highly doubt it and if I did, ping me and let me know what you think. It is as simple as leaving a comment.

IT’s ALive – How Fit Is Your Network

Gradually with trial and error we all get it correct eventually or so we would like to believe. What is true is that we must continue to grow, thinking of new ways to manifest a core infrastructure that evolves as we do, having the ability to scale as we grow alongside the organizations that we work with. It is crucial to nourish change and growth. Without it we are stuck and therefore our roles are hindered and our company’s bottom line is affected by this.

For example I have been with my organization going on 16 months now. I must say that is one great ride with its ups and downs. For me this works, it provides challenges that I would not have otherwise been faced or  introduced to on my own terms. I have learned many ways to implement solutions to problems and keep a close eye on what needs to be done.

How does this translate you ask? Simple, all things that require attention are those that have the ability to grow.  I was given that attention by my peers  and my strong management team. Our IT infrastructures are living, shall I say it synthetic organism that require the best care and fitness program to keep them running at optimum performance. They are players on our team whether we realize it or not. In today’s business climate, our personal lives, and random moments we are all affected if not directed by something that has  mainframe and program behind it.

For all the IT Managers, CIO’s, CTO’s, IT Directors, Admins, Etc., there is a problem to be handled, a fire to put out if you will. Yes there will always be fires to put out but you must take into account that the best fire is the one that never happens. With the right Security products, Network management tools, productivity software, Network infrastructure, efficient Hardware designs, infrastructure architecture, and so much more to mention, you are positioned to be in a winning scenario.

In the coming months I am going to give you a look into what is on my mind, sharing with you what I have witnessed in the past year. I now have a strong sense of what needs to be done. I am focused on my partners, internal and external, which includes strong manufacturer relationships, internal team connections with specialist, etc., and the last piece of the puzzle those I work for and with, you may call them clients I call them partners.

In the end we are all partners and if we see it any other way they we are not positioned mentally to bring about the change. I work the same way that the network should, as a unit. Keeping an eye on myself and those around me, in a positive way of course.

Before I run along I want to leave a crumb of information. Ipswitch has something that you may have heard of…Goes by the name of Whats up Gold Network Management Software.

“At work in over 100,000 networks just like yours, WhatsUp Gold provides intelligent and easy to use, extensive network management that goes beyond simple device availability and delivers comprehensive troubleshooting.Your job just got easier.”

I would like to add you just became a bit smarter. Keep and eye on it and grow with it, and the chances of  maintaining a tight infrastructure increases. This in turns benefits all that use the systems to bring  and maintain business performance.

How’s Traffic

Recently I sat through an awesome meeting. Somewhere between the muffin I consumed and me day dreaming about the calories that I have  now burn off.  The meeting presentor stated something that I could not forget. The words fell from his in your face speaking style, ” Accelerate  Business Performance While Cutting IT Cost.” My ears perked up. He begin to talk about what they do, and I began to realize what separates them from the rest and the most known.

I have spent the last few months looking at every option that would work for each individual organization that I work with. Cutting cost is at the top of the list, but performance ranks up there with keeping the business profitable. So this is a no brain-er or is it not? You decide.

“Riverbed Technology is
the IT infrastructure performance company for networks, applications and storage. The Riverbed family of WAN optimizationsolutions liberates businesses by increasingapplication acceleration, enabling IT consolidation, and providing enterprise-wide network and application visibility – all while eliminating the need to increase bandwidth, storage or servers. Thousands of companies trust Riverbed to delivergreater productivity and cost savings by making their IT infrastructure faster, less expensive and more responsive.”

How is your traffic?

See what’s going on around the globe with Riverbed : IT News Africa

More to come as I engage my Riverbed team.