Your cloud requirements?

Microsoft recently partnered with WIRED magazine to ask the WIRED.com community what they think is important when looking at cloud solutions. The answers are below and shouldn't come as a surprise:

• High security standards.
• A familiar experience regardless of the device you're working on.
• Compatibility with the systems you already have in place.
• The ability to work where and how you want.

These are all things that you should not just expect but demand from your cloud solution.

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If you take a look at Office 365 you will see some similarities:

• Multiple security levels that meet leading EU and US standards, the highest level of privacy, plus built-in anti-virus and anti-spam
• The Office experience no matter whether you're using your phone, PC, or web browser
• Ability to work on- and off-line
• Email, calendars, shared document editing, creation, and storage, web conferencing.

Naturally this is a cut down version with lots of other capability listed here: if you need help with your cloud strategy talk to us.

Symantec Backup Just Got Better

A number of Equanet staff were lucky enough to attend a technical portfolio review with Symantec UK last week and boy was that an eye opener. I knew they had been buying companies and moulding their portfolio over the years and on the surface it looked disjointed, but when you get chance to review it and their strategy it quickly crystallises into a cohesive strategy. One area that we were lucky enough to discuss was backup and where it is going. This week Symantec have come to the table with yet another ground breaking advancement in their backup exec solution - Backup Exec 2012.


Backup Exec 2012 is focused on three key themes: Eliminating complexity; providing virtualisation-centric protection; one product, any recovery. As these themes are an essential component to the product, it makes sense to expand on each of them.

Eliminate Complexity

Flexible delivery models were needed in the form of software, appliances and cloud-based backup solutions. In addition, small businesses have some unique needs that should be accounted for. So, in addition to completely reworking thousands of lines of code, Symantec have provided Backup Exec in four standard editions:

Backup Exec V-Ray Edition for customers with 100 percent virtualised environments that don’t want to pay for a separate product.

Backup Exec Small Business Edition for small businesses with limited IT experience that want to protect their data with ease.

Backup Exec.cloud for customers who want simple off-premise data protection through a fully secure cloud-based service that is easy to setup, manage and configure.

Backup Exec 360 appliance for customers who want an all-in-one, affordable data protection solution for physical or virtual environments that reduces backup windows and storage and management costs.

In addition to the new editions above, Symantec have completed reworked the user interface that allows customers to focus on the resources they are protecting, rather than solely on the status of jobs. Administrators can monitor the backup status of critical application servers, see issues and performance over the last seven days and view other key indicators that allow them to make important decisions about how to properly protect their environment.

Virtualisation-Centric Protection

Symantec has listened to their customers who told them that they want one product to backup their physical and virtual infrastructure to reduce costs as well as increased visibility across their infrastructure.

While Backup Exec 2012 provides the best technology for physical and virtual infrastructures, the new offering Backup Exec 2012 V-Ray edition is focused on the 100 percent virtual environment. This product supports both VMware and Hyper-V environments. It also provides all of the benefits of V-Ray technology to Backup Exec customers.

One Product, Any Recovery

SMBs want complete recovery but it should be seamless as well as cost-effective to implement. Backup Exec 2012 simplifies bare-metal disaster recovery for servers. It provides hardware-free recovery with physical-to-virtual and backup-to-virtual conversions for instant restore in a virtual environment. And, recovery to the cloud makes it easy and inexpensive for SMB customers to integrate to their cloud environments.

A pretty good move from Symantec we are sure you will agree. If you need to know more or need help with your backup strategy you need to talk to Equanet.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Important Microsoft Announcement: Changes to Pricing Policy

Starting July 1st, 2012 Microsoft will unify their pricing policy across volume licensing programs in the EU/EFTA region. As a consequence UK licensing pricing could increase by around 20% in real terms due to sterling/euro fluctuations but the exact figure is not yet known.

Why are Microsoft adjusting pricing EU/EFTA region now?

Microsoft are looking to stabilise their pricing policy and address the localised differences between currencies in theEU/EFTA. In doing so they will normalise their pricing against the Euro, meaning all customers will have the choice of being billed in their local currency or Euros. Based on current exchange rates this will mean an increase for customers billed in GBP. We estimate this to be around 20% but exact pricing will be published by Microsoft on the 1st of June, 30 days prior to the change.

Which programs will be impacted?

All volume licensing programs except for Academic programs will be affected, meaning any new program signed or any transactional purchases after the 1st July will be affected. The products listed on existing contractual agreements with Microsoft will not be affected. However, any new products added to these agreements will be affected. Fully Packed Product (FPP) and pre-installed software (OEM) are out of scope at this time.

Can I protect my Microsoft pricing?

Yes, as existing customers have price protection on products with SA during the term of their agreement; you can freeze your pricing for 3 years by evaluating your software estate with Equanet today. Whether you are already on a program or not, Equanet can help you. Call your Account Manager for a software review.

Microsoft unveils its cloud management bundle

It was expected that Microsoft would unveil it’s cloud management bundle (System Center 2012) details yesterday and that is exactly what they did into two editions: Standard and Datacentre.  It had been rumored that Microsoft would take this move rather than sell individual products. 

The announcements from Microsoft positioned System Center 2012 as a public and private cloud management platform with a number of new additions to the bundle.

There will be two System Center 2012 SKUs: Standard and Datacenter. Each includes the same group of eight point products, but with only two “operating system environments” (OSEs) supported for Standard, and an unlimited number supported for Datacenter. (OSEs can be physical and/or virtual machines).

Microsoft didn’t officially name a RTM date for the final version of System Center, but it is expected that this will be announced sometime in April.

So what is in the System Center 2012 bundle?  Those in italics are new additions for 2012.

• App Controller – This is a new addition to System Center and provides a single management portal showing both public and private cloud resources providing administrators with a single view of their private and public cloud resources.
• EndPoint Protection: The security client formerly known as Forefront EndPoint Protection is now part of System Center and is integrated with Configuration Manager.
• Orchestrator (Was Opalis): Adds workflow automation and third-party integration with the 2012 release.
• Virtual Machine Manager: The 2012 release can now manage even more hypervisors from not just Microsoft, but also additional third parties.  Microsoft have also got the market pretty excited over the last year around server application virtualisation and this is the edition that supports that vision.
• Configuration Manager: Has more valuable features such as settings management with remediation and also provides integration with System Center Endpoint Protection.
• Service Manager: Adds more self-service management capabilities and new data warehousing and reporting features.
• Operations Manager: There is more support for Unix/Linux management functionality, customisable dashboards and more app-performance management and network monitoring.
• Data Protection Manager: New in this release is new role-based administration and item-level recovery for VMs which is a big requirement for virtualisation administrators.

So all in all some long awaited functionality and yet more additional value added by Microsoft and should help you make the move to a private cloud and any subsequent public cloud simpler.

Microsoft to increase it’s Office365 Basic Offering

Microsoft is adding some new capabilities such as Exchange ActiveSync support to its lowest K-plan service.

In a post to his “The Office 365 Display Board” blog, Microsoft Senior Partner Technology Advisor Jesper Osgaard described some of the tweaks the Softies are making to the Office 365 K-plan:

Exchange Online Kiosk Plan: Microsoft is adding Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) support for mobile devices to the current Exchange Online Kiosk plan. Currently, users with that plan only have POP mail capabilities. “With this change, we will enable all smartphones that support EAS, including iPhone, Android phones, Nokia phones (Symbian), and Windows phones,” Osgaard blogged.

EAS is designed for the synchronisation of email, contacts, calendar, tasks and notes from a messaging server to a mobile device, where as POP is limited to e-mail only.

E-mail storage: Microsoft is doubling e-mail storage for K plan users from 500 MB to 1 GB.

Exchange Online Archiving: Microsoft will be enabling “Exchange Online Archiving (EOA) including legal hold and unlimited storage, to be offered as an add-on to any Exchange Online plan, including Kiosk and Exchange Plan 1,” they said.

When the new capabilities will be available was not disclosed but it is expected it will be within Q1/Q2 2012.

For workers on the road most of their day  the above changes obviously will add a lot of increased functionality if they have a smart device, e.g. being able maintain to an updated schedule in their calendars, set reminders via tasks etc.

Citrix Releases CloudGateway 1.0

Citrix spoke about CloudBridge and CloudGateway during 2011 and at last Cloud Gateway 1.0 is available for use.  CloudGateway Enterprise is a single point of control for enterprise delivery of Windows, Web and SaaS applications.  Architecturally it looks like this:

CloudGateway Enterprise comprises of three key components:

1. StoreFront services - The Windows component allowing the various Citrix Receivers to connect to the enterprise store, and deliver Windows, Web and SaaS applications to users, with a follow-me subscription and launch experience.
2. AppController - A linux based virtual machine available for both XenServer and VMware based hosts, providing the central administrative point for configuration of all enterprise Web and SaaS applications, to be delivered to end users, with a single sign-on federation and consolidated provisioning capabilities
3. Gateway services - Delivered through the Access Gateway component, either standalone, or as a feature of the NetScaler MPX, VPX and SDX platforms.

In addition to the above components CloudGateway Enterprise will also consist of regular AppConnector update packs, which will include new connectors for applications, that will keep increasing the number of applications supported for both federation and user account provisioning support within the AppController.

Citrix XenApp Mobility Pack

Got a tablet?  Running Citrix?  Then you might just want to take a look at this.  We  all know that one of the key uses of tablet computers is the integration into the enterprise which poses a problem for many businesses when it comes to addressing access to Windows based applications to ensure the tablet truly delivers a valid ROI. 

Citrix is one way of doing this using it’s Citrix Receiver technology and recently they have expanded this capability with the Mobility Pack.  With this pack, XenApp can intelligently recognize an Android or iOS tablet as the endpoint and render Tablet Optimised Desktops. For published apps, the pack provides a true Native Device Experience, allowing mobile devices with the latest Citrix Receiver for Android (Receiver for iOS coming soon) to interact with apps in the data center.

Now, mobile device specific features such as auto keyboard popup, local selector controls, and auto scrolling are enabled, giving users get the best possible experience with on-demand Windows apps on their mobile device.  It can transform your desktop from this:

to this:

So if you are planning your tablet deployment and are wondering how and when to tackle those Windows applications you now have a better Citrix experience to look at to increase your time to value.  Need help with your tablet deployment, then I suggest you look here.

VMware View for Mac OS X

VMware has released a View Client with PCoIP for Mac OS X. You can download a Tech Preview now. Some of the features include:

• Support for Intel-based Macs
• PCoIP protocol optimised for VMware View 5
• Full screen support for Mac OS X Lion users
• Copy and Paste plain text between View 4.x virtual machines and Mac
• Copy and Paste text, formatted text, and graphics between View 5.x virtual machines and Mac
• Support optional RSA authentication
• Enhanced certificate checking
• Add up to 4 VMware View server shortcuts in VMware View Client.

To download the Mac client tech preview, you will need a VMware.com login and go to the following URL:

http://downloads.vmware.com/d/details/crt_macosx_tp_dec2011/dCV0YnRAd3BidGVkdA==

What technology should be in your top drawer this year?

So 2012 is upon us and that brings with it a plethora of roadmaps from tier one enterprise technology vendors mixed with the continuing march of consumerisation of IT.  So given the hype, hysteria and trends presented in 2011 we thought a list of technologies to look at within this year might be useful:

1. Tablets – No surprise here they have gained momentum over 2011 and lets face it I bet a number were shifted over the Christmas period and are now sitting on the desks of your colleagues.  From a business perspective, replacing notebook computers with much lower-cost tablets may have a double benefit of reducing capital expenditures as well as increasing user satisfaction.  Getting the devices to add value and match business requirements can be a challenge but defining your tablet strategy should overcome many of the hurdles that will present themselves.
2. Windows 8 – The combination of both Server 8 and Windows 8 both laptop and mobile with a fully capable unified communications environment -- could mean rapid adoption for mobile organisations that can benefit from the access-anywhere model.
3. Cloud Backups – Cloud will continue to be used for areas of the business that makes sense, one of those is backup and recovery. Because backups are secondary or tertiary copy of your data, cloud backups can more affordably fulfill archiving or disaster recovery than with moving tapes around.
4. Storage Virtualisation - Putting a layer of virtualisation between the servers allows for thin provisioning, automatic tiering of storage, instant snapshots, and de-duplication.
5. Cloud Applications – Again nothing new in concept but we believe that businesses will continue to explore smart utilisation of cloud services that are right for your business model.  Microsoft are touted to launch Dynamics into the cloud this year and we will continue to see broader adoption of Office365 and InTune.  The real trick is to use the cloud effectively while retaining data security and availability  -- no easy task.

Microsoft Technology in 2012

Should Microsoft meet their roadmap plans for 2012 there should be a number of business products and technologies that should be on your own roadmap for evaluation.  Some of those technologies rumored for release are listed below and we think should be firmly on your radar.

1. Windows Server 8: Windows Server 8 has hundreds of new features as you would expect with a strong play with Hyper-V.  Windows Server 8 includes improvements in storage, virtualisation, networking and clustering to name but a few.

2. Windows 8 client: A lot of interest around the Windows 8 client is focused on the tablet experience and the ability to roam across tablet and traditional operating systems, making the move into consumerisation a lot slicker for many businesses.  The noise around Windows 8 client so far has been pretty positive.

3. Office 2012 servers: New versions of on-premises Exchange, SharePoint and Lync  are all in development as part of Office 15.  Businesses continue to hear Microsoft will ship them before the end of calendar 2012.

4. Identity management: We’re talking Active Directory Services; Active Directory Federation Services; Certificate Services/PKI; Active Directory Rights Management Services and Forefront Identity Manager. This provides the foundation of the single sign on experience for Microsoft’s public and private cloud technologies.

5. System Center 2012: Microsoft will launch in the first half of 2012 its full suite of 10-plus systems management offerings. Some of these products will be able to manage non-Microsoft mobile devices for the first time. Some of the advancements in SCCM and SCOM are very compelling for businesses.

6. Skype and Lync/Outlook Integration: The $8.5bn acquisition of Skype should start to show integration this year across the business landscape including Skype integration with Lync, Skype integration with Exchange/Outlook and maybe even built-in Skype integration with Windows.

7. ERP in the cloud: Microsoft Dynamics NAV, will be the first cloud-enabled ERP solution from Microsoft. Microsoft officials have said they  plan to move all four of their ERP products to the cloud.

So looks like a lot of activity for Microsoft this year and a lot of value for businesses looking to upgrade and migrate to the latest product editions.

Need help with your plans?  Contact us to see how we can help you.