Companies who have already implemented the virtualization of their servers have quickly discovered that this form of consolidating their infrastructure can greatly reduce cost and complexity. They've seen the ROI and are eager to achieve more. The speculation begins: how can we squeeze the IT budget further without strangling the IT department? What's the next step?
One solution—the logical progression from virtualizing servers—is Desktop Virtualization. It's another form of consolidation that continues what was already begun. With Virtualized Desktops, more devices can be phased out, leaving less hardware that the IT department has to actively manage and, in many cases, less that might require costly outsourced repairs.
Taking your business to the next level of virtualization can bring you a competitive edge in the market. With the freedom to shed excess hardware and reposition valuable resources, you can ensure your company will continue to grow and prosper. The next step is there—it's [...]

A wise amphibian once said, “it's not easy being green,” but little did he know how true that statement would become! With the constant push for stricter regulations and eco-friendly solutions, it can be difficult and expensive to keep up. Those who can stay ahead, however, are well-rewarded—a smaller carbon footprint and the customers that less eco-savvy companies have lost. Plus, helping to save the world is kind of satisfying.
If you're looking to get on board with the Green movement, you should know that some solutions are easier than others, and some can even save you money, instead of draining your funds. A prime example of this is the Virtualization process we've discussed before. It's not a direct Green Technology, like installing solar panels, but you can't deny the ecological benefits.
First and foremost is the elimination of unnecessary physical devices. All that hardware is contributing to your CO2 emissions in [...]

Have you ever had a crucial software license expire? Or discovered too late that your software maintenance wasn't renewed? On an individual level, this is an inconvenience. On an organization-wide level...it can have serious repercussions. All too commonly, companies find themselves in that position—losing money because of a lapsed license and stuck between their increasingly out-dated software and the expense of replacing it with the newest version.
The trouble is, organizations regularly purchase software at different times, from different suppliers, and through different employees. It's difficult to centralize all these variables and keep track of the various renewal time-frames, which might be one, two, three, or five years. The vendors themselves might try to follow up with you, but after several years they're lucky if they even reach the correct person.
One easy and effective solution to this is Infrastructure as a Service. It's a way to utilize cloud computing and outsource [...]

The desktop PC was once “the old ball and chain” of the office, pinning employees to the one location where they could access the files and applications they needed. To work from home or anywhere else was a hassle of data transfer, redundancy, and sometimes incompatibility. Likewise when they were away from the office, communications might go unanswered or urgent matters might be delayed.
All of that changed with Virtual Desktop Infrastructure. The ball and chain is cast aside and the desktop PC becomes a mere point of access among many. An employee can view and alter the same Virtual Desktop at work, at home, on a tablet or smartphone, or anywhere that they can access the internet from. Files, applications, and communications can be constantly at their fingertips.
For you, that means more productive employees. It means faster response times to your valued customers. It means an overall uptick in efficiency [...]

An interruption to your business doesn’t have to be catastrophic to cause a loss of revenue. Even a power outage can have its consequences. Hitches and hiccups have to be planned for because, when they happen, valuable time is spent finding and fixing the problem. Don’t underestimate the expense of downtime—idle employees and diminished service to customers are high costs. Take a boy scout’s advice, and be prepared.
There are a variety of approaches to business continuance and the one you choose will depend on the size of your company, the type of business you run, and what functions you deem to be essential. The safest solution, if you absolutely can’t afford downtime, might be a fully redundant data center that you can switch to during an interruption. This offers high availability and can practically negate the effects of most hiccups. Smaller businesses, however, often require a more cost-effective answer. To [...]

The phrase, “I wish I had access to that data!” is never a good sign. It might be the final nail in the coffin of a missed opportunity, the lament following a lost sale, or a blow to out-of-office productivity. But there is a solution! Summit Technology helps businesses to establish a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, a form of virtualization that is ideal for remote sales teams and branch offices. It can ensure that they have access to data and applications when they need them, instead of just wishful thinking!
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) refers to the process of employing virtual machines (VMs) to run desktop operating systems and applications. The VMs are centralized on servers in the data center, which allows them to be upgraded, patched, secured, and maintained efficiently and conveniently. Employees are then able to directly access the VMs from existing PCs or from thin clients, even when they’re [...]

Schools, hospitals, hotels, and office buildings all have fire escape plans or emergency exit contingencies. The routes are posted in almost every room, signs caution against using elevators, and smoke detectors are placed to give the most possible warning. Fire drills are conducted regularly to ensure everyone knows where to go and what to do in an emergency. Countless lives have been saved because of these guidelines.
Savvy business leaders and IT professionals know that a disaster can endanger an entire company. Researchers at the University of Texas indicate that, following a calamitous loss of data, 43% of businesses don’t even reopen, 51% shut down within two years, and only 6% survive beyond that. Those are convincing numbers. Is your enterprise willing to gamble on that? If not, then it’s crucial to have a disaster recovery plan in place.
Some small businesses think that “disaster recovery” is just a matter of making [...]

Whether it’s a brand new Ferrari convertible or a 15-year old station wagon, there are two primary ways to maintain your vehicle. You can follow the recommended schedule of oil changes, tune ups, and tire rotations to keep it at peak performance, or you can drive it until it breaks down on the side of the road and have it towed to the shop. The same is true of your computer network. Will you choose the small costs of computer health maintenance, or the price tags and inconvenience of emergency-based service?
If you’re still reading, you probably selected the first option. Summit Technology offers a variety of services and solutions to keep your computers running smoothly, but today we’ll focus on PlateSpin Protect. PlateSpin defends your workloads, both physical and virtual, through live incremental replication, a process that reduces network usage by recognizing and replicating updates, instead of entire databases. There [...]

In 1982, the movie Tron imagined an entire virtual world that existed within our computers. Objects and people could be digitized and sent into this fantastical world of data and energy where computer processes had a form and life of their own. Twenty-nine years later, we may not be able to virtualize ourselves into the computer, but we can virtualize our computers into other computers. Let me clarify: with virtualization, it’s possible to run multiple “computers” (called Virtual Machines or VM’s) off of the same physical hardware and resources, but keep them isolated from a security standpoint. The virtualization technology can boost your server performance from 10% to 70%. It’s all about consolidation and efficiency.
Virtualization can cut your hardware and operating costs by an impressive 50%, but it doesn’t stop there. It can reduce your associated energy expenses by 80%. That’s a huge step in the movement towards greener business [...]

CRASH! BANG! ZOOM! VoIP! …One of these things is not like the others. Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, is a fancy term for a technical process that provides a simple (for you) service: telephone calls through the internet. You may have already used it in the form of Skype. Essentially, a VoIP program digitizes your voice and breaks it up into packets, which are transmitted over a data network (rather than a voice network) and then reassembled. The data network makes it possible to send video or other media simultaneously, expanding the possibilities of what you can achieve with a call.
A major reason that businesses are switching to VoIP is the savings, and Summit Technology wants to help you save, too! Because VoIP technology bypasses the traditional phone network, you can bypass the traditional costs associated with voice plans, thus relocating and consolidating your expenses. VoIP also makes telecommuting [...]