| + | The three Cs in today's business world are consolidation, centralization, and conservation. The focus is to create a harmoniously designed network that efficiently and economically meets all of a business' desired goals. Businesses are seeking the three Cs in the areas of network storage, virtualization, and remote access: 1. Virtual NAS/SAN In today's economy, businesses are reevaluating their infrastructure; thus, the evolution of the virtual NAS/SAN. Hypervisors like VMware and Citrix can now take advantage of these virtual NAS/SAN technologies with little-to-no impact on performance or functionality from a virtualization perspective. If a company only needs to provide live VM migration capabilities, a virtual NAS/SAN is highly beneficial. In cases where the storage is being provisioned for other purposes or the need for performance outweighs the need for cost savings, then hardware-based network storage is sensible.
Another surfacing trend is the conservation of storage by reprovisioning testing environments and non-critical servers to virtual SANs, thereby achieving a higher ROI and TCO.
Published on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT by By Scott Brousseau, CTO PBG, Inc. |
| + | The IT industry is about to go through a metamorphosis in the coming decade, and technicians and engineers need to be prepared. Research is showing a 75% reduction in the work force needed in the next decade, and a 50% reduction in the next five years for the traditional company IT staff. This will occur at all levels, and the numbers presented will bear this out. Despite the recession, IT staffing added 40,000 jobs during the worst quarter of the recession in 2009. It is expected to continue to grow in the short term. So, how do we get from a growth industry to one where massive amounts of people will be out of work?
Published on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT by Robert McMillen, All Tech 1 Computer Consulting Services |
| + | Pre-register now for this informative session! Having inventory control issues? Looking for better efficiency in your warehouse operations? With IT departments expected to do more with less resources, many companies are turning to the software as a service (SaaS) model as a means for purchasing enterprise software applications. Learn best practices for implementing warehouse management software on a cloud computing platform. Join this free webinar and learn about the 6 advantages a hosted WMS can provide for your warehouse or distribution center. The benefits of a SaaS Warehouse Management System include: - No large, upfront investment
- Access anytime, anywhere
- Deploy in weeks not months
- Integration into ERP/Accounting
- Scalable to fit any size business
- Realize ROI monthly!
Published on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT by Presented by Miles Technologies |
| + | A Look At Countermeasures IT Should Take Key Points
Web 2.0 and social networking sites have changed the nature of Internet usage from mere information consumption to bidirectional information sharing by end users-a transformation that renders traditional enterprise Web-filtering solutions obsolete.
Social networks create new avenues for data loss from malware infections, targeted phishing attacks, or data leakage from employees posting sensitive information.
User awareness to new attack methods and security vulnerabilities posed by social networks is the first line of defense. However, IT should redouble efforts to ensure proper PC and Internet hygiene. Social networks and other collaborative Web 2.0 sites illustrate an interesting case of cognitive dissonance within today's business community. Many IT executives view them as just another time-wasting Internet pariah like shopping, sports, or video streaming sites. In fact, a survey last fall by Robert Half Technology of more than 1,400 CIOs found that 54% don't allow employees to visit social networking sites at work for any reason. Bolstering this response, Cisco's ( www.cisco.com) ScanSafe Web content filtering unit found a 20% increase, to 76% of their customers, in the number of companies blocking social networking sites, which was the highest level for any filtering category.
Published on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT by Kurt Marko, Processor.com |
| + | The Energizer Bunny infects PCs with backdoor malware, the Department of Homeland Security's US-CERT said Friday. According to researchers at US-CERT (United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team), software that accompanies the Energizer DUO USB battery charger contains a Trojan horse that gives hackers total access to a Windows PC The Energizer DUO, a USB-powered nickel-metal hydride battery recharger, has been discontinued, said Energizer Holdings, which late Friday confirmed that the software contains malicious code. The company has not said how the Trojan made its way into the software, however. "Energizer is currently working with both CERT and U.S. government officials to understand how the code was inserted in the software," Energizer said in a statement.
Published on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT by Gregg Keizer, InfoWorld.com |
| + | Plans For Moving To The Cloud Are Not Complete Without Thorough Assessment & Examination Key Points Although cloud computing serves a huge number of enterprise needs, managers must still determine whether cloud services will in fact meet their particular requirements. Without availability, any cloud foundation can crumble, so look closely at a potential provider's physical infrastructure to ensure it can deliver on its promises. Cloud considerations should include examination of support and extensibility options offered by cloud providers, similar to considerations involved with evaluations for internal IT deployments. Cloud computing has gradually transformed from a niche option into a full-bore opportunity for organizations to offload nearly every element of their data center infrastructures. But jumping into the cloud without a solid perspective on the key issues around the concept can be a perilous experience, particularly if you choose to rely on the cloud for business-critical applications. "While cloud computing poses new challenges to IT managers and data center providers, it also throws up interesting opportunities," says Sanjay Vyas, vice president and general manager of managed services for Arcot Systems ( www.arcot.com). "By carefully framing requirements, designing the system, choosing vendors, and deploying, you can leverage the cloud to achieve lower costs for you with better availability than usually possible with internal IT deployments."
Published on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT by Christian Perry, Processor.com |