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The 10 most important lessons IT learned in 2015

Every year brings with it new challenges, and new lessons, for IT in the enterprise. Here are 10 of the lessons IT learned this past year.

IT lessons

 

The end of a year is always a good time for reflection, especially so if you’re evaluating what your business did right and what you can improve upon. In an increasingly digital world, IT has quickly become one of, if not the most, important aspects of an organization. So, it should be with great care that executives and admins look back on their year and try to glean some wisdom about what can be done differently in the year to come.

Here are 10 of the most important lessons that IT learned in 2015.

1. BYOX is here to stay

As smartphone use grew to near ubiquity in the enterprise, it brought with it the trend of BYOD, or, bring your own device. While that originally referred to mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, it spawned as host of “bring your own” everything else.

“BYOX is the new mantra with consumers bringing their own applications, cloud sharing tools, social media into the enterprise; essentially bringing their own expectations of which technology they want to use and how and where they want to work in a corporate environment,” said Chuck Pol, president of Vodafone Americas.

2. DevOps is no longer just a buzzword

The term “DevOps” gained huge popularity in 2015 as a reference to an agile method that stresses the collaboration of development and operations. The goal is to connect the writers of the code with those who maintain the systems that run it. However, DevOps continues to evolve and, although it has its own set of challenges, it could be poised to become the method of choice for enterprise IT starting in 2016.

3. Data is currency

Data, especially as it relates to big data has been steadily growing in value but 2015 felt like a tipping point. Tools for both structured and unstructured data exploded in popularity and major data service providers went public, adding credibility to the field and likely creating a better inroad into the enterprise. Also, businesses got better at distinguishing between relevant and irrelevant data.

“It is no longer credible to look at data as big static objects in a deep lake, but rather be considered a set of fast moving assets in a raging river,” said Neil Jarvis, CIO of Fujitsu America. “In 2016 and beyond, companies need to look at the data that creates business-relevant information for today and tomorrow.”

4. Finding talent is problematic

Talent shortages don’t just affect startups on the West Coast. CompTIA CIO Randy Gross said that current estimates suggest there are more than one million IT job opening across the US alone, ranging across skill level from support specialists to network admins. Enterprises are going to have to work harder to attract and retain talent.

“Wise employers with IT jobs to fill have engaged in a self-examination of the tactics and strategies they’re using to attract new talent—and adjusting accordingly,” Gross said. “For some companies, new telecommuting and remote work options have helped them fill their talent gaps.”

5. SMAC is still relevant

The SMAC stack, which stands for social, mobile, analytics, and cloud, is also known by some as the “third platform.” As all of these individual components continue to grow and thrive in the workplace, their interdependencies will grow along with them.

“Senior management must become well versed about these technologies and their possibilities to create new value and new competitive advantages in their own business and markets,” Pol said.

6. Cloud lost its fear factor

Cloud acceptance was a mixed bag for a long time, but 2015 brought a more widespread embrace of cloud technologies and services in the enterprise. In fact, some trends are making it almost a necessity.

“The complete adoption of virtualization, as well as investigation into cloud and other strategies, is far more advanced than expected—particularly amongst SMBs,” said Patrick Hubbard, technical product marketing director at SolarWinds. “Making operating systems and applications truly mobile is redefining how companies think about their IT infrastructure.”

7. The security mindset is changing

Anthem BlueCross BlueShield and Harvard University were among the major organizations that dealt with a public security breach in 2015. With today’s social media, you can almost guarantee any data breach that occurs in the enterprise won’t stay a secret. And, with the risk of a breach high, Intel Security CTO Steve Grobman said that teams must adopt a new way of thinking.

“IT must embrace the mindset that they have already been breached, now how do you protect your environment with this new default outlook?,” Grobman said.

8. Shadow IT is a line item

Shadow IT carries nowhere near the same amount of scorn it once did in the enterprise. Some organizations are even openly embracing it, and making it a foundational part of their IT strategy. And, as shadow IT continues to grow, Pol said, it needs to be properly accounted for in the budget.

“As technology continues to transform business, IT infrastructure will become more complex and more difficult to have a complete view of technology across the business,” Pol said. “The role of IT will need to become more strategic and set clear lines of accountability between IT and line of business budget holders.”

9. Employees are the biggest security risk

When most people think about security risks to their organization, the image of the hooded hacker furiously typing away in a dark room. However, employees themselves pose a real threat to the security of an organization as well. Issues such as poor password practices and using unsecured networks with company devices are a real problem. Kelly Ricker, senior vice president of events and education at CompTIA, said mobile, while helping with agility and productivity, is a cybersecurity nightmare.IT

“Every device that employees use to conduct business—smartphones and smartwatches, tablets and laptops—is a potential security vulnerability,” Ricker said. “Companies that fail to acknowledge and address this fact face the very real risk of becoming a victim of cyber criminals and hackers.”

10. Commoditization is a threat

With the plethora of tools available to build and replicate popular tech, it is increasingly important for organizations to guard against the threat of commoditization.

“As development cycles become shorter and the potential for intellectual property to be recreated and copied increases, it is becoming more difficult to create a sustainable competitive advantage for your products and services,” Pol said.

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Win10 Available Starting July 29

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From today, Windows users will be able to reserve their upgrade to the new operating system, which has seen its icons revamped by Microsoft.

Microsoft’s next operating system will be available for PCs and tablets from 29th July – with existing Windows users able to reserve their upgrade from today.

Windows 10 will be available both on new PCs and as a free upgrade for those running Windows 7 and 8.1. Owners of these operating systems will see a Windows icon in their taskbar that will allow them to “reserve” their upgrade. The 3GB file can be downloaded from 29th July.

The free upgrade will be available until July next year and those choosing to switch to Windows 10 can cancel their reservations at “at any time”, according to Microsoft.

While Windows 7 Enterprise, Windows 8/8.1 Enterprise and Windows RT/RT 8.1 releases can’t be upgraded in this way, Microsoft has said that “Active Software Assurance customers in volume licensing” will be able to “upgrade to Windows 10 enterprise offerings outside of this offer”. Microsoft are yet to clarify when users of Enterprise versions of Windows will be able to move to Windows 10 Enterprise.

Microsoft is betting Windows 10 will win over users with its ability to run on a variety of platforms, allowing users to use the same cloud services and software as they swap between fixed and mobile computers.

“We designed Windows 10 to run our broadest device family ever, including Windows PCs, Windows tablets, Windows phones, Windows for the Internet of Things, Microsoft Surface Hub, Xbox One and Microsoft HoloLens-all working together to empower you to do great things,” said Terry Myerson, VP of Microsoft’s operating systems group in a blog post.

Features such as Continuum mode will detect when mobile Windows 10 devices are docked with a mouse, keyboard and monitor and reorient the UI to suit – for example switching from tap-friendly tiles to smaller icons suited to a mouse pointer – whileUniversal Apps will tailor their interface to the device they are being used on.

Myerson is keen to stress that “Windows 10 brings back the Start menu” familiar to Windows 7 users, following the backlash against Windows 8’s fullscreen Start menu.

Microsoft is also hoping users will take to Cortana, the built-in virtual assistant that users can talk to in order to set appointments, search for information and answer rudimentary queries, and which should become more capable as it learns more about you.

Windows 10 will include the free anti-malware software Windows Defender, which will have free updates for the lifetime of the OS, as well as its new faster and more capable Edge web browser.

While the operating system will launch on PCs and tablets in July, it is expected tolaunch on phones, small tablets, Xbox, and Hololens at unspecified later dates.

Microsoft said it had refined the OS using feedback from more than four million Windows Insiders testing early builds of the OS.

The firm revealed a new, or at least slightly tweaked, look for Windows 10, in its latest Build 10130, which has just been made available via the Windows Insider programme.

The update overhauls the rather plain icons present in earlier builds and replaces them with what Microsoft describes as “more modern and lightweight” alternatives. The revamp means that app icons will also be more consistent between desktop and mobile in apps such as Word and Excel.

While the new icons may not look vastly different, Microsoft said extensive work had gone into the redesign.

“Between the legacy aero-style icons and new app icons, several thousand icons were designed and redesigned. We explored Swiss graphic design, Dutch product design, and modern architecture (among other design fields and styles) to inform and inspire the design process. The icon evolution will continue as we push more consistency and better functionality,” according to a blog post.

Other improvements in the latest build include the ability to customise the Start menu, a new look for Jump Lists on the Taskbar, new swipe shortcuts for Tablet mode, the addition of a Favorites pane and other features to the Edge browser, Taskbar settings for Virtual Desktops, a Cortana keyboard shortcut, Print to PDF feature and fullscreen playback for the Movies & TV app.

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Google Apps or Office 365: What’s Best?

Microsoft took the beta label off of Office 365 last week, and many consider the cloud-based productivity suite a potshot at Google and Google Apps. Office 365 may offer cloud-based document, storage, and collaboration services that look like Google Apps, but the user experience and price tag are very different. Here’s a look at the major differences between them.

User Experience

The way the user interacts with the application suite may be the biggest difference between Google Apps and Office 365. When you use Google Apps, you live in your Web browser. You edit documents and spreadsheets in Google Docs through your browser, you get your email through Gmail, and you chat with colleagues using Google Talk – all in your browser.

Conversely, Office 365 requires you download a plug-in that will link your desktop with the cloud-based service. You’ll need Microsoft Office installed on your desktop already (to make use of offline and cloud-based features as opposed to webapps,) and you’ll need the .NET framework installed. You’ll also need Lync installed on your system as well if your organization will leverage instant messaging and chat. It’s a hefty list of system requirements you’ll need just to get started, especially compared to Google Apps’ requirements: a supported browser.

Document Collaboration

Microsoft Office documents are the de-facto standard in office environments, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Office 365 has an easier time with advanced formatting in Microsoft Word documents and Excel spreadsheets than Google Apps does. Microsoft has put a lot of time and effort into making sure the polish in Microsoft Office made it to Office 365. Office 365 users get the same templates, formatting features, and tools that desktop users get, and since the two services connect, you can create a slideshow in PowerPoint and upload it to Office 365 for editing later without worrying you’ll lose the formatting or images.

If your organization already makes heavy use of Microsoft Exchange for mail and Microsoft Office for productivity, Office 365 will appeal to those who want a familiar, robust tool. Google Apps, and specifically Google Docs, feels barren and plain by comparison, even if it’s more accessible and open.

Google Docs, on the other hand, does a solid job of importing most Microsoft Office documents, auto-saving them, and giving groups a way to all work in and on the same documents and files at the same time without stepping on each other. It’s definitely more bare-bones than Office 365, but it works seamlessly and without the need for desktop software.

Microsoft rolls in Sharepoint to handle document sharing and management, and depending on your opinion, it can be a good or a bad thing. Sharepoint adds a layer of complexity where Google allows more openness. While you do get the benefit of revision history, check-in/check-out, integration with Microsoft Office on the desktop, and integration with Sharepoint Web services with Office 365, Google Docs offers much of the same and lets you and others work in the same document at the same time and see who’s viewing and who edited last, all without the need for another platform.

Chat and Communication

Office 365’s presence tools, including Lync (formerly known as Office Communication Server) integrates with other Microsoft Office and Office 365 products so you can always see if someone is available for chat or a VoIP call, or who’s editing your document or viewing the same files that you are.

Google, on the other hand, already offers this with Google Talk and Google Voice. They’re not as tightly integrated with Google Docs as Lync is with Office 365, but they’re all there.

The only area where Office 365 and Lync outshine Google Talk and Google Voice is in screen-sharing and white-boarding, which Lync has natively but Google Talk does not. Again, Microsoft has more polish and shine on their applications, but feature-for-feature, they’re largely matched. Google Talk and Google Voice may be more Spartan, but they do have broader reach, especially for users who already have large contact lists.

Price

Google Apps Standard for your domain is free. Google Apps for Business offers two pricing plans: a flexible $5/user per month where you can add or remove users at will and pay the difference, and a $50/user per year plan where you commit for a year to get a discounted rate.

Office 365 requires the initial investment in Microsoft Office on your user desktops (as noted above: for use with some enterprise-level features,) some Microsoft Office Servers and services in your environment (like Active Directory if you plan to use those features,) but after that you’ll pay $6/user per month for the small business plan. If you don’t have Microsoft Office on your users’ desktops, you can pay another $12/user per month to get each one of them a copy of Microsoft Office Professional Plus.

Larger enterprises can choose tiered pricing plans that run from $10/user per month up to $27/user per month depending on how many services that want hosted in the cloud versus in their own environments. There’s no two ways about it: Office 365 will be more expensive for almost every business, but Microsoft thinks they have the feature depth to justify the price.

Which One’s Better?

The jury is still out, and even though Office 365 has been in beta for months, Microsoft has a lot of catching up to do if they want to win back enterprises that are looking for affordable cloud-based collaboration products. The familiarity that almost every business has with Microsoft Office may play a big role going forward, but the price tag will be something else they’ll have to overcome.

Feature-for-feature though, the two services offer the same basic functionality, although it can be said that Office 365 shines with polish and flare where Google Apps offers affordability and accessibility.

 

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How Cloud Tech Affects IT Careers

Takeaway: As adoption of cloud computing services takes off, some argue demand for certain IT jobs will all but disappear.

Just as manual labourers were replaced by the machines of industry in the 19th century so certain IT roles will be swept away by cloud computing services.

That’s the argument put forward by Gartner research director Gregor Petri – who believes that many roles managing IT infrastructure will all but disappear.

Manual management of IT infrastructure – for instance provisioning additional storage, servers or network capacity for a particular application – will increasingly be automated as software layers in the cloud automatically divert IT resources to where they are needed, he said.

“It is very much like industrialisation,” he said.

“Take the very old example given by Adam Smith of the pin makers who used to take a day to make four pins, then a factory is built that can make 10,000 pins in an hour.

“That is what cloud computing services is making possible: you can carry out these computing tasks on an industrial scale.”

Petri said that just as people no longer make pins manually, so in general people won’t perform tasks like monitoring an app’s storage demands and purchasing and installing new storage for it.

“The cloud computing app is already programmed in a way that allows the application to access additional storage when it is needed, as a result nobody is needed to do that anymore,”  he said.

“Cloud is allowing the industrialisation of IT, that is why to some people it is very scary.”

While Petri believes that traditional IT infrastructure management roles will become all but defunct, allowing IT systems to be run with fewer people, he said it doesn’t necessarily mean the individuals who carried out those roles will find themselves out of the job.

Instead he sees new roles being created that use that individuals’ technical skills to add value to the business, for instance working with managers in other departments to make company IT systems better fit the needs of staff or customers. “People in those roles need to flexible in the idea of what their role is,” he said.

The changing landscape of computing – for instance real-time big data analytics or the provision of scalable cloud services to always connected mobile computers – will also create new roles, he said.

When will it happen?

While today’s cloud platforms are already automatically provision these resources today, Petri said that the effect of this industrialisation of computing will not be felt until more applications are shifted to the cloud.

That could be some time off. Although adoption of cloud services is growing rapidly – Gartner predicts that the market for cloud compute services will grow 48.7 per cent in 2012 to $5bn, up from $3.4 billion in 2011 – spend on cloud computing services is still only a fraction of global IT spend. However, by 2020 the majority of organisations will rely on the cloud for more than half of their IT services, according to Gartner’s 2011 CIO Agenda Survey.

Will jobs really disappear?

Not everyone is convinced that cloud computing services will have such a profound effect on the IT jobs landscape.

Some believe that while roles will likely transition from in-house IT teams to cloud providers as companies consume more cloud services, the roles and demand for skills will remain.

As a TechRepublic reader who works for a large cloud provider pointed out: “I still deal with the daily hands on from thousands of customers / clients, some pretty huge ones at that. Between dealing with their AD, LDAP, Windows / Linux deployments, configuration and code issues, I can say that server administrators will still be needed in fact more than ever.”

Other readers have pointed out that IT roles tend to endure far longer than expected and certain technical skills remain in demand. Old programming languages never die, as another reader points out:”Back in 1977 I attended a COBOL Summer class in my university. The first thing the instructor told us was that it was dead language, as new technologies were pushing it to extinction… Guess what, early this morning I reviewed (part of my duties as a DBA) some SQL embedded in a COBOL program to run in the z196 Mainframe”.

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Cloud Computing: Companies Stay Cautious

In a new report from SolarWinds, 92% of companies say adopting cloud is critical to long-term success. But, most don’t think they’ll ever be fully cloud.

On March 29, IT management software provider SolarWinds released its annual report titled IT Trends Report 2016: The Hybrid IT Evolution, detailing some interesting trends around cloud adoption in the enterprise and the rise of hybrid IT.

First off, according to the results of the report, cloud adoption is a foregone conclusion for most businesses. The report found that 92% of the IT professionals who were surveyed said adopting cloud was important to long-term success in their business. Nearly 30% labeled it extremely important.

However, despite this widespread adoption, most organizations aren’t fully embracing the cloud within the whole of their organization. Joel Dolisy, CIO of SolarWinds, said that is because the cloud isn’t the best option for all workloads.

“The findings of this year’s study paint a clear picture: Cloud adoption is nearly ubiquitous, but it’s not now and will not in the foreseeable future be suitable for all workloads, and even if it were, very few if any companies would convert all of their existing applications to run in the cloud,” Dolisy said in a press release.

The data to support Dolisy’s statement came from the report as well. Only 43% of respondents said that half or more of their IT infrastructure will make it to the cloud over the next 3-5 years. And, 60% said it is unlikely that their entire infrastructure will ever be fully cloud-based. Additionally, 9% said they hadn’t migrated any piece of their infrastructure to the cloud.

Dolisy called the resulting dynamic hybrid IT, where an organization blends critical on-premises tools with cloud-based technologies. This affects IT as well, he said, because it shifts the dynamic of the corporate IT professional to one who can guarantee always-on performance regardless of where he or she is based. Additionally, these professionals need new skills and tools to effectively deploy and manage these environments.

Basically, the rise of this hybrid IT means that IT professionals are faced with two key tasks: Leveraging the cloud to increase efficiency and performance, while maintaining security of critical systems.

So, what are the benefits of this hybrid IT infrastructure? The SolarWinds report listed three in ranked order:

  1. Infrastructure cost-reduction
  2. Increased infrastructure flexibility/agility
  3. Relieving internal IT personnel of day-to-day management of some infrastructure

However, there are some challenges to managing this type of infrastructure as well. Of the respondents, 62% listed security as the top challenge within these type of environments.

Then, of course, there are also inherent challenges to encouraging cloud adoption as well. SolarWinds pegged the top three barriers to overall cloud adoption (which, in turn, affects hybrid IT) as follows:

  1. Security/compliance concerns
  2. Legacy system support
  3. Budget limitations

Nearly 70% have migrated their applications to the cloud, almost 50% have migrated their storage, and 33% have moved their databases.

So, how does this affect your organization? Well, new trends in infrastructure often require new skills to support them.

According to the survey, only 27% are convinced that their IT department has the skills needed to fully support a hybrid IT environment. To succeed in hybrid IT, respondents said they needed better monitoring tools, application migration support, distributed architectures, service-oriented architectures, and automation or vendor management tools.

Hybrid IT also require support from leadership as well. Of those surveyed, 56% felt that they had the support needed to do hybrid IT right.

“In short, IT is everywhere,” Dolisy said. “Effectively managing and monitoring the new environment—from on-premises to the cloud with multiplying endpoints—to be able to act when needed is more critical now than ever.”

The 3 big takeaways for readers

1. Hybrid IT, a mix of cloud and on-premises solutions, is growing as the prevailing trend in IT architecture. Almost all respondents said cloud was critical to future growth, but many felt that their organization would never be fully cloud.

2. Hybrid IT can offer cost reduction, increased agility, and management relief. But, it also brings security challenges, issues with legacy systems, and budget challenges.

3. If your organization is engaging hybrid IT, your IT professionals need the proper tools and skills to stay on top of it. Look into monitoring, different architectures, and automation to help support your staff.

Have questions?

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South Jersey Techies, LL C is a full Managed Web and Technology Services Company providing IT Services, Website Design Services, Server Support, Network Consulting, Internet Phones, Cloud Solutions Provider and much more. Contact for More Information.

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40+ Cloud Terms You Must Know

A familiarity with cloud computing terminology will help you follow the industry’s developments. This glossary offers a rundown of more than 40 cloud terms.

 

CloudSolutions

Advertising-based pricing model

A pricing model whereby services are offered to customers at low or no cost, with the service provider being compensated by advertisers whose ads are delivered to the consumer along with the service.

Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2)

Part of Amazon Web Services (AWS), EC2 provides scalable computing capacity in the cloud, which developers can use to deploy scalable applications.

Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3)

Part of AWS, S3 allows for the storage and retrieval of data. It can also be used to host static websites.

Apache Hadoop

An open-source software framework for distributed storage and processing of large sets of data.

AWS

The organizational unit of Amazon that provides a variety of cloud services. AWS operates from 11 physical locations across North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

Content delivery network (CDN)

A distributed system consisting of servers in discrete physical locations, configured in a way that clients can access the server closest to them on the network, thereby improving speeds.

Cloud

A metaphor for a global network, first used in reference to the telephone network and now commonly used to represent the internet.

Cloud portability

The ability to move applications and data from one cloud provider to another. See also Vendor lock-in.

Cloud provider

A company that provides cloud-based platform, infrastructure, application, or storage services to other organizations and/or individuals, usually for a fee.

Cloudsourcing

Replacing traditional IT operations with lower-cost, outsourced cloud services.

Cloud storage

A service that allows customers to save data by transferring it over the internet or another network to an offsite storage system maintained by a third party.

Cloudware

Software that enables creating, deploying, running, or managing applications in the cloud.

Cluster

A group of linked computers that work together as if they were a single computer, for high availability and/or load balancing.

Consumer cloud

Cloud computing offerings targeted toward individuals for personal use, such as Dropbox or iCloud.

Consumption-based pricing model

A pricing model whereby the service provider charges its customers based on the amount of the service the customer consumes, rather than a time-based fee. For example, a cloud storage provider might charge per gigabyte of information stored. See also Subscription-based pricing model.

Content Management Interoperability Services (CMIS)

An open standard for controlling content and document management systems and repositories using web protocols.

Customer self-service

A feature that allows customers to provision, manage, and terminate services themselves, without involving the service provider, via a web interface or programmatic calls to service APIs.

Disruptive technology

A business term that describes innovations that improve products or services in unexpected ways. These innovations change the methods used to accomplish a task, and re-shape the market for that task. Cloud computing is considered a disruptive technology because of its elasticity, flexible pricing models, and maintenance cost compared to traditional IT service provisioning.

Docker

Open-source software that automates the deployment of applications inside virtualized software containers.

Elastic computing

The ability to dynamically provision and deprovision computing and storage resources to stretch to the demands of peak usage, without the need to worry about capacity planning and engineering around uneven usage patterns.

External cloud

Public or private cloud services that are provided by a third party outside the organization.

Google App Engine

A service that enables developers to create and run web applications on Google’s infrastructure and share their applications via a pay-as-you-go, consumption-based plan with no setup costs or recurring fees.

Google Apps

Google’s Software as a Service (SaaS) product includes an office productivity suite, email, calendar, and file storage and sharing. Google Apps for Businessincludes an enterprise administration interface and archiving tools, and support for legal holds document discovery compliance. Google Apps for Education includes additional collaboration and reporting tools for classroom environments.

Hardware as a Service (HaaS)

Also see IaaS.

Hosted application

An internet-based or web-based application software program that runs on a remote server and can be accessed via an internet-connected PC or thin client. See also SaaS.

Hybrid cloud

The combination of a public cloud provider (such as AWS) with a private cloud platform. The public and private cloud infrastructures operate independently of each other, and integrate using software and processes that allow for the portability of data and applications.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

Cloud infrastructure services in which a virtualized environment is delivered as a service by the cloud provider. This infrastructure can include servers, network equipment, and software, including a complete desktop environment such as Windows or Linux.

Internal cloud

A private cloud instance provided and supported by an IT department for internal use.

Microsoft Azure

Microsoft’s cloud platform that provides a myriad of Platform as a Service (PaaS) and IaaS offerings, including Microsoft-specific and third-party standards, for developers to deploy cloud applications and services.

Microsoft Office 365

Microsoft’s software plus services model that offers Microsoft Office on a subscription-based pricing model, with cloud storage abilities. For business and enterprise use, Office 365 includes email and SNS, with cloud-hosted instances of Exchange Server and Skype for Business, among others.

Middleware

Software that sits between applications and operating systems, consisting of a set of services that enable interoperability in support of distributed architectures by passing data between applications. So, for example, the data in one database can be accessed through another database.

Multitenancy

The existence of multiple clients sharing resources (services or applications) on distinct physical hardware. Due to the on-demand nature of cloud, most services are multi tenant.

On-demand service

A model by which a customer can purchase cloud services as needed; for instance, if customers need to utilize additional servers for the duration of a project, they can do so and then drop back to the previous level after the project is completed.

OpenStack

A free and open-source cloud computing software platform used to control pools of processing, storage, and networking resources in a datacenter.

PaaS

Cloud platform services, whereby the computing platform (operating system and associated services) is delivered as a service over the internet by the provider.

Pay as you go

A cost model for cloud services that encompasses both subscription-based and consumption-based models, in contrast to the traditional IT cost model that requires up-front capital expenditures for hardware and software.

Private cloud

Services offered over the internet or over a private internal network to select users. These services are not available to the general public.

Public cloud

Services offered over the public internet. These services are available to anyone who wants to purchase the service.

Software as a Service (SaaS)

Cloud application services, whereby applications are delivered over the internet by the provider so the applications don’t have to be purchased, installed, and run on the customer’s computers. SaaS providers were previously referred to as application service providers.

Salesforce

An online SaaS company that is best known for delivering customer relationship management (CRM) software to companies over the internet.

Service migration

The act of moving from one cloud service or vendor to another.

Service provider

The company or organization that provides a public or private cloud service.

Service level agreement (SLA)

A contractual agreement by which a service provider defines the level of service, responsibilities, priorities, and guarantees regarding availability, performance, and other aspects of the service.

Social networking service (SNS)

Used in enterprises for collaboration, file sharing, and knowledge transfer; among the most common platforms are Microsoft’s Yammer, and Salesforce’s Chatter. Often called enterprise social software to differentiate between “traditional” SNS platforms such as Facebook or LinkedIn.

Software plus services

The combination of cloud-hosted services with locally running software. This method allows for using the local system for processing power while relying on cloud operations for software license verification, portable identities, syncing between devices, and file storage.

Subscription-based pricing model

A pricing model that lets customers pay a fee to use the service for a particular time period, often used for SaaS services. See also Consumption-based pricing model.

Utility computing

A provisioning model in which services are available as needed, and users are charged for specific usage, in a manner similar to municipal utilities such as electricity or water.

Vendor lock-in

Dependency upon a particular cloud vendor and low ability to migrate between vendors due to an absence of support for standardized protocols, APIs, data structures (schema), and/or service models.

Vertical cloud

A cloud computing environment optimized for use and built around the compliance needs of specialized industries, such as healthcare, financial services, and government operations.

Virtual private data center

Resources grouped according to specific business objectives.

Virtual private cloud (VPC)

A private cloud that exists within a shared or public cloud, e.g., the Amazon VPC that allows Amazon EC2 to connect to legacy infrastructure on an IPsec VPN.

Have questions?

Get answers from Microsofts Cloud Solutions Partner!
Call us at: 856-745-9990 or visit: https://southjerseytechies.net/

South Jersey Techies, LL C is a full Managed Web and Technology Services Company providing IT Services, Website Design Services, Server Support, Network Consulting, Internet Phones, Cloud Solutions Provider and much more. Contact for More Information.

To read this article in its entirety click here.

10 Must-Have Purchases for SMBs

Saving-Money

Small and Medium-Size Businesses (SMBs) will often take shortcuts to cut costs when purchasing.  To avoid disasters such as a loss of data or work, SMBs are strongly suggested to focus on the ten points below.

Hardware

Considering the rapid change of technology requirements, a pro-active approach for replacing desktops, laptops, servers, and networking hardware is to look five years into the future.

Backup Software

Although built-in backup software and Windows Server backup are adequate, purchasing a third-party backup solution will have the ability to recover from an image.

Internet Connection

Providing your SMB with a consumer-grade DSL line would not be an efficient business plan. Setting up a network that provides your business with more bandwidth than required will prevent a network bottleneck from occuring.

Firewall

Securing your business with only Windows built-in firewall is not ideal.  Configuring a Cisco, Fortinet, or Sonicwall is more secure, reliable and flexible in a SMB environment.

Cloud Storage

Cloud storage provides scalability, reliability and portability.  Cloud storage is divided into three categories:  Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).  Many companies are transferring to Cloud services for access to data outside the network.

Website

Online presence has become an important key for all businesses.  A solid solution is to have a strong website, blogging and effectively using social media.

Redundancy

Redundancy is an appropriate investment towards ensuring that your SMBs network does not go down.  Similar to backups, redundancy does not affect everyday business but should an incident arise, you’ll be glad it’s there.

Support

IT Support is a necessity, whether it’s an in-house department, third-party service provider, or support for software.

Mobile Devices

The ability to work from outside the office and accessing data from anywhere  is now an important key for businesses.  Setting up a virtual private network enables laptops, tablets and smartphones to connect and work from anywhere.

Printers

Supply your SMB with a printer that has the sustainability and features required for business use.

 

Preparing Your IT Network For A Severe Storm

South Jersey Techies wanted to provide you with some suggested preparations to safely secure your workstations and networks from any storm damage.

Suggestions for Storm Preparations in Your Office:

  • Time to do backups of all data: Make back-ups of all data processing software, files, records, etc.  and transport back-ups off-site, via disk, USB drive or in the cloud.
  • Document the layout: Get all of the network addresses, the router and firewall configurations.
  • Shut off all sensitive electrical equipment, such as computers.
  • Ideally all electronic devices should be unplugged or plugged into surge protectors.
  • Review inside storage arrangements and relocate all important materials and equipment to safe areas away from windows.
  • Update call lists and contact info: All key personnel need to register their updated cell numbers, home email addresses, and physical addresses.
  • Leave before you need to: Don’t get stuck in traffic, airports, train stations and in queues. Give yourself ample time.

If you need your data backed up or are unsure as to the last time a backup occurred, please contact our Support Team.  We are here to help ensure that your data is safe and that you are able to be up and operating as soon as the storm passes. Our Support Team can be reached at (856) 745-9990 or by emailing us at support@sjtechies.com.

Suggestions for Storm Preparations in Your Home:

  • Monitor National Weather Service forecasts at http://weather.gov .
  • Bring outdoor objects, such as lawn furniture, garbage cans and other loose items, inside the house or tie them down securely.
  • Make backups of computer data (consider storing in the cloud or on a USB drive), keep computers or other sensitive electronic devises plugged into a surge protector or unplug entirely.
  • If you have a sump pump for your basement, make sure it’s working.
  • If the power goes off, unplug appliances like refrigerators and freezers and sensitive electronic equipment like TVs and computers so that they won’t overload when power is restored.
  • Keep family supplies on hand, such as:
    • Water, one gallon per day, per person
    • Food, non-perishable food (keep a manual can opener handy) and pet supplies, if needed
    • Medications, contact lenses, glasses and first aid kit
    • Batteries, flashlights and battery operated radios
  • Keep cell phones charged while possible, and if possible, have extra charged cell phone batteries.
  • Keep copies of any important documents either scanned or digitally saved on a USB drive, off-site or in a plastic bag.
  • Car filled up with gas; keep some water, food, first aid kits, contacts, blankets and pet supplies in the car as well.

If you have any issues or questions, please feel free to contact our support team by email at support@sjtechies.com or telephone at (856) 745-9990.

Trump administration to move all federal IT into the cloud: Is it realistic?

US president Donald Trump recently signed an executive order on cyber-security that mandated federal systems move to the cloud. But, questions remain on the feasibility of that goal.

On Thursday, US President Donald Trump signed his long-awaited executive order on cyber-security, laying out his plans for addressing security in federal IT and across US infrastructure. The most ambitious mandate was that all federal IT systems move to the cloud.

President Trump’s homeland security adviser, Tom Bossert, said in a announcement that the government had spent too much time and money “protecting antiquated and outdated systems.” Bossert cited the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) hack as evidence of failing legacy systems.

Bossert said, “From this point forward, the President has issued a preference in federal procurement in federal IT for shared systems. We’ve got to move to the cloud and try to protect ourselves instead of fracturing our security posture.”

The executive order officially states: “Agency heads shall show preference in their procurement for shared IT services, to the extent permitted by law, including email, cloud, and cyber-security services.” It also calls for a report to be completed within 90 days describing the legal, budgetary, technical considerations for “shared IT services, including email, cloud, and cyber-security services,” along with a timeline for the initiatives and their potential cost-effectiveness.

Peter Tran, the senior director of worldwide advanced cyber defense practice at RSA and former US Department of Defense employee, said the anchor for the executive order will initially be the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF), to both assess current risk gaps and determine a strategy moving forward. This will be the pacesetter by which all building blocks will either rise or fall specifically on the call to action to go cloud in an expedited manner…..security being a forethought,” Tran said.

However, the effectiveness of a move to the cloud to improve security among these federal systems remains up to debate. John Pironti, cyber-security expert and president of IP Architects, said that it could create a double-edged sword.

“The idea of standardization of security controls and capabilities through a cloud-only mandate in theory may make sense to establish an enhanced baseline for security, but at the same time creates a central target and common set of controls and capabilities that adversaries can then focus their attention on in order to be successful in their attacks,” Pironti said.

Following a central set of control standards and common technology platforms, combined with the centralized nature of the cloud, could actually make the federal IT systems weaker than their current iteration, Pironti said, which utilizes “distributed and varied computing assets and security controls.” And if hackers can find and exploit a weakness in this kind of system, it could lead to a bigger impact.

Pironti said that he believes the mandate will start out with the proper intentions, but if the affected government agencies simply follow the prescribed behaviors with no deviation, they may not be able to keep up with the changing threat landscape. While Pironti said that he’s in favor of accountability, he believes that the approach should be risk-based instead of mandated.

“I do not believe all agencies should be forced into a cloud model or required to follow the same set of prescriptive security controls,” Pironti said. “If an agency can prove that they are effectively operating in a reliable, available, and secure fashion then they should be allowed to continue to do so.”

Another question raised by the mandate is the feasibility of moving these systems to the cloud. Tran said that the executive order builds on an existing foundation, but the “proof is in the pudding.” The order, like other security plans, must be executed in a timely manner and show clear improvements in boosting security visibility and early threat detection, but it also must clearly show what “good” and “bad” security looks like in cloud infrastructure, Tran said.

“That’s really hard to do under an average planning and deployment timeline. Your compass needs to be ‘dead on,'” Tran said.

The impact of the executive order could also be seen in the private sector, Tran said, driving the growth of stronger policy, compliance, and governance around cybersecurity.

“The unique aspect of this current environment is security can’t effectively operate in a ‘de-regulated’ fashion by the mere nature that it’s security… Imagine if the TSA and FAA had no security protocols and structure?” Tran said. “Cybersecurity is no different whether it’s brick-and-mortar or click-and-mortar.”

The 3 big takeaways for readers

  1. Trump recently signed an executive order on cybersecurity mandating all federal IT systems move to the cloud, but questions remain about the feasibility and effectiveness of such a mandate.
  2. The move to the cloud could help modernize the systems’ approach to security, but it could also create a central point of attack for hackers, an expert said.
  3. The executive order could also impact the private sector, leading to more regulation and compliance around cyber-security initiatives, an expert said.

Have questions?

Get answers from Microsofts Cloud Solutions Partner!
Call us at: 856-745-9990 or visit: https://southjerseytechies.net/

South Jersey Techies, LL C is a full Managed Web and Technology Services Company providing IT Services, Website Design Services, Server Support, Network Consulting, Internet Phones, Cloud Solutions Provider and much more. Contact for More Information.

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