I’m so proud of my team at ANALYSYS.  We didn’t skip a beat during Snowmageddon 2010, and quite frankly, we shouldn’t have.  There’s a couple of reasons why.  First, we are expanding from a regional Washington-Baltimore (or Baltimore-Washington depending upon where you hail from) footprint into a national one.  We have national and multinational clients on the books that expect service continuity from us.  Second, the Computing as a Service (CaaS or Cloud Computing) and data center technologies we offer involve a strong resiliency message, and a blizzard of historic proportion is the perfect example of a disaster we say our solutions protect against.  Therefore, it would be hypocrisy if our team wasn’t able to get work done.  Third, we prepared in advance.  Long ago, we developed plans to accommodate unplanned circumstances such as power loss, theft, vandalism, and of course natural disasters… and we keep them up to date.

Now seems to be a perfect time to share some of these practices which made last week a success.  In my opinion, it’s a great case study on what any small business out there should be doing to protect themselves.  To put things in perspective, remember that this storm was so bad that nobody could get into work.  This meant all of us had to work from home and still meet our goal of transparency in the experience ANALYSYS clients received.

Secure Remote Access - Every day ANALYSYS is at work, we are operating remotely.  That’s right, when we are

ANALYSYS Data Center Operations in Baltimore

sitting at our desk on a normal day, the data we work with exists somewhere else – not in our office.  So, from a computing standpoint, even though our team worked from home, they didn’t need to change anything.  Fast?  There’s a local server (some file sharing, print, and Active Directory) in our office plus fast internet access to accommodate the demand and keep things speedy.  Secure?  From a physical standpoint, the data center in which we placed our systems is incredibly secure (SAS 70 Type II certified), more secure than things would ever be in our office.  From a networking standpoint, we use the same firewalls and security practices we would use if our systems were connected to the internet in our office.  Reliable?  There’s redundant internet access from our office in case there’s an outage, the data center has a multi-million dollar investment in battery, HVAC, generator technology.

What steps can small business DIYers take to emulate this type of solution?

• Partner with a data center and move your systems off-site.  Go take a tour of the facility prior to signing up.  Yes, that means doing business with someone local.  You don’t want to hop on a plane every time you need to your servers, nor do you want to pay a data center help desk technician $200 per hour every time you need hands on-site.
• Install connectivity, such as a point-to-point T1.  If your needs are modest you might also get by with a Verizon FIOS or Comcast connection.  Try to ensure you have at least two in case one fails.  Internet connectivity is your weakest link in the chain between users and their data.
• Implement the routing.  Check out SonicWALL’s SSL-VPN product.  It’s a simple, affordable solution for small businesses that want to do remote access themselves.
• If you want to institute desktop virtualization, take a look at Microsoft’s Small Business Server Remote Web Workplace, or for a slightly more robust solution, check out Citrix XenDesktop.

Voice Over IP Telephony (VOIP) – Much of the public believes that VOIP phone systems will operate anywhere.  That’s not necessarily the full truth.  VOIP by its very definition means a phone system that operates over an IP (computer) network.  However, depending upon the make/model of the phone system these may or may not offer functionality beyond one network segment (one physical location).  Furthermore, the way VOIP systems define the anywhere, or remote, capability, critically depends upon how it’s set up.  As for us, our phones work anywhere we take them, in the office or out of the office.  In order for someone to work from home, they simply pick up their phone, take it home, and plug it in to a connection with internet access.  As a backup, we can also have our phone system forward calls to different extensions, and even home phone numbers if necessary.

So, what do we look for in a VOIP solution?

• Before you begin your research or call anyone, define your expectations clearly.  Unlike computer networks and remote access VOIP requires involvement from a blend of service providers and equipment that is exceedingly complex and perpetually in a process of innovation.  Once you have your goals outlined, consider retaining the assistance of a qualified telephone system installer.
• Explore redundancy thoroughly.  Many phone lines are digital these days.  This adds a tremendous amount of potential but also adds complexity, where something as simple as a power outage or a cut wire to a box somewhere in the closet could mean an entire system outage.  Implement a second technology as a backup plan and ensure your systems automatically fail over.  Technologies to look at combining are traditional copper (aka Plain Old Telephone Service or POTS), SIP trunking, shared data/voice over a T1, cellular backup, and ISDN.
• Save money!  Companies that have not changed their phone systems in more than three years, may be able to reduce their recurring costs of phone service by switching to newer technology.  As opposed to contacting the telephone companies themselves, consider retaining the services of a consultant that specializes in this area.  You’ll have an expert in your corner who will advocate before the service providers that want your business.
• Monitor your systems for outages.  As opposed to waiting for someone on your team, or worse, a customer, to note a service problem, get out in front of a service outage with tools that send you an email, text, page, or telephone call when there’s a problem.  These tools are easy to use and come in the form of software or appliances you can own, or even can be purchased as a service from a third-party.  Ipswitch’s WhatsUp Gold or GFI’s Network Server Monitor are great tools for small businesses.  Solarwinds offers solutions for more demanding environments.

Battery Power & Generator Backup - Nothing is more frustrating than losing work from a momentary power outage.  A longer term outage can be crippling.  For how expensive a power outage can become, not to mention the unplanned impairment to team efficiency, batteries and generators are tremendously low cost and respond to the most frequent unplanned disaster businesses suffer.  So, although battery backup and generator systems didn’t play a role in our response to Snowmageddon, I felt that it was an important detail to include.

• Protect workstations.  A $40 per seat investment in a workstation battery backup enables our folks to save their work if the power goes out, renders blips irrelevant, and gives the backup generators time to come online.  We use APC BackUPS for this purpose.
• Protect infrastructure equipment.  Just like momentary coverage for desktops, if you want a fully functional network, you’ll need battery backups for everything else, including firewalls, routers, switches, wireless access points, etc.
• Install backup generators.  These aren’t expensive, and surprisingly many landlords welcome the improvement if the tenant is willing to contribute the capital.  Within the electrical contracting community, specialists exist who focus on implementing backup generators.  Contact one and have them help with this initiative.
• Go green.  Do you own your own property?  Great!  While they are installing your backup generator, save on your power bill by engaging your electrical contractor for help with improvements that reduce power consumption.  For a more modest step, consider implementing smart surge suppressors and power saving measures on your network that shut systems down automatically when not in use.  Does the landlord pay the power bill?  Beware – with the cost of energy spiraling upward, many rental agreements are now being renewed net of power costs.  So, how does this relate to backup power?  Remember, if you manage the technology that’s running to keep it to a minimum, that’s less chance you have of an overload.

Well-Defined & Communicated HR Practices – No amount of technology, however elegant, will deliver results if the team is not prepared beforehand.  There are four places in time that we look at.  First, there is strategy which is ongoing and evolutionary.  We want to ensure that our practices are relevant to the business we presently are.  Second, there is planning related to a specific disaster we can forecast.  A snowstorm is definitely a place where we can engage in substantial advance planning.  Third, there is management of the disaster as it happens.  Our goal is to remain prepared, flexing our planning to respond to circumstances which we did not foresee.  And, finally, there is a retrospective on the disaster, as a means of understanding how we can improve.  Substantial content could be devoted to this topic, making it a great opportunity for another post.  For now, I’ll share some of the key areas that helped us through Snowmageddon.

• Work at home policy.  Define in advance the expectations for work performed from the home.  Who will be authorized to perform work from the home?  If there will be only certain individuals allowed to work from home, how is the approval process applied, and applied fairly?  How are hours worked recorded?  What outputs are expected?  Will the company compensate for any costs such as telephone or internet access?
• Leave time approval.  How does the decision to implement a liberal leave policy or to close the company impact your employees pay?  Will employees be paid, or will they have the opportunity to use personal leave time?  Equally as important, how will team members register whether they are in or out for the day.  ANALYSYS has a inclement weather line which is updated with our decision to open or have a liberal leave day.  If team members can’t make it in, they register their status on our company intranet prior to the start of the day, making it easy for supervisors to plan accordingly.
• Points of contact and availability.  It’s easy to create a one size fits all policy that covers what to do in the case of inclement weather, where staff contact their supervisor for instructions.  What happens when members of the management team can’t make it in, but their departments must continue to function efficiently?  Resources must remain flexible and highly communicative.
• Be proactive!  Let’s imagine in this disaster that HR has a question.  With advisors such as HR consultants and legal counsel and government agencies closed for business, the questions end up going unanswered.

Centralization, and in some cases outsourcing to off-site hosted facilities, is a current trend that continues to unfold in response to the 2008/2009 recession.

This centralization has placed a tremendous focus on the construction of new, more reliable, and more redundant infrastructure than ever before.

Did you catch the operative words there? “New” and “More” … Yes, as this centralization brings a greater amount of technology closer together physically, so too does it centralize the consumption of power … and naturally the generation of heat.

It’s easy to take data center HVAC systems for granted. They operate with little ongoing maintenance and accommodate modest ongoing growth without upgrade or change.

Many existing data center HVAC systems, however, may not incorporate the level of scalability demanded by the times. This is especially true for managers of small and medium-sized business server rooms and private, corporate data centers where the HVAC systems were designed around the narrow scope of a traditional client/server environment.

All of this makes now a good time to proactively look at data center HVAC systems to determine the level of upward mobility available.

Christian Perry of Processor Magazine offers a great story with tips like using temperature monitors strategically positioned throughout the data center to monitor temperatures over time and implementing power management systems that reduce the stress placed upon HVAC systems.

Remember, infrastructure projects like these should take a well-planned and methodical approach. Allow a few months to track and develop metrics before doing anything. This also gives your team ample time to carefully analyze the alternatives, reach out to specialists, and determine the degree of future expandability to build in to any upgrades.

In cases where improvements are being made to systems already in place, Eric Silva of E&S Construction Engineers in Maryland recommends taking an integrated approach.

Simply implementing a patch to fix a heating problem or otherwise making an improvement without proper planning, he says, “will cause the system to compensate in some other area.”

Silva also reminds that engineers who engage regularly in developing HVAC systems in data centers have a broad base of proven expertise they use to routinely develop the most cost effective solution possible.

Silva writes:

Stand-alone solutions are tools that a mechanical engineer would use to create an integrated solution to the problem of a hot spot.

By using these tools, an engineer could rebalance a duct system to eliminate the hot spot, determine whether a hot spot can be allowed in a certain area, or pick a location for a new piece of cooling equipment that could be integrated into a data center’s chilled water system.

It is also possible that the engineer could determine that there are simpler devices that could be used, such as cold-aisle containment, which could be implemented at a lower cost.

Let’s take a look at adding a new duct to bring cooling to a hot spot. We’ll make the assumption that cool air flows through a ducted system (not an open raised floor) for clarity. Duct systems are designed to deliver cool air from the AC unit to the space to satisfy the cooling load. Once the duct system is designed, the fan and motor are selected to move the required amount of cool air through the system. Therefore, ductwork is an integrated system with a limited amount of cool air flowing through it.

If one were to add a new duct to the system, the existing system would become unbalanced. Namely, the existing system would deliver some of its cool air to the new duct, would not supply enough cool air to other areas served by the same duct system, where temperatures would increase.

While it is possible to force more air through the duct system to accommodate additional loads, it would require an increase in fan power, therefore increasing the Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE), and would not provide a directly proportional amount of additional cooling. Even so, the drive for energy and cooling efficiency within the data center has caused modern design to limit the factor of safety (spare capacity) of fans and motors that are selected for AC units and there may not be sufficient power available.

Why?  As decision makers assess ways to right-size their operations, technology, a cost center, is frequently near the top of the list for budget modification.  This spotlight on technology budgets creates pressure on vendors to make their products and services more effective.  Therefore, as opposed to simple cut-backs, savvy leaders and technology professionals demand investments in new processes and technologies to create the savings necessary, while increasing efficiency and performance.

Let’s frame this by looking at the recession of 2001.  Arguably THE most important information technology innovation that occurred during these years related to remote support and connectivity.  The outcome?  Technologies like Voice Over IP (VOIP) telephony substantially reduced the costs associated with calling, particularly overseas.  Remote connectivity software empowered IT support departments to resolve issues without leaving the desk, reducing overhead and resolution times to a fraction of what they previously had been.  These innovations spurred the wide scale adoption of the overseas call center, and although controversial, the result without a doubt achieves the objective of a reduced cost of operating and a sustained level of service to the consumer.

Ask a technology professional today what major innovation of the 2008-2009 recession will be remembered as the most important, and you will get a variety of answers.  Let’s take a brief look at two such innovations with great potential and what these can do for your business.

Cloud Computing - Cloud computing involves the migration of computer networks, into a centralized location, called a data center.  The investment in a centralized infrastructure allows businesses to acquire higher power, more reliable, and more redundant systems.  Also, outsourcing the network in its entirety to a third party presents a unique opportunity to normalize costs.

Sustainability - For most businesses, computers and the associated technologies that support them are one of the greatest consumers of power, along with lighting and HVAC systems.  Improvements in low power devices and power management systems enable business to cut power consumption substantially.  Don’t pay your own power bill?  Watch out – with the escalating cost of power and immanent potential for regulation, some landlords are renewing rental agreements net of power costs.

Even though we are technology consultants, ANALYSYS engages in an annual evaluation of how we employ technology for ourselves, and we look at how we can improve.  In 2009, we engaged in both the Cloud Computing and Sustainability initiatives and experienced tremendous success.  The result was a 50% reduction in internal IT support staff, allowing those personnel to be repurposed to technology consulting initiatives, and a 52% reduction in power consumption.

With New Year planning in full swing and an added glimmer of hope that the worst of the recession may be behind us, many companies are looking at smart investments in technology that offer a big, positive impact.  According to Gartner Research, Windows 7 deployments are poised to be one of these focal points for early 2010.

Why Windows 7?  It’s the perfect storm.  While Vista has been widely regarded as a failure in the marketplace and continues to lag in market share against XP, Microsoft has placed the aging Windows XP in a category of discontinued software which is no longer for sale, and no longer fully supported.  Windows 7 on the other hand has been accepted with enthusiasm by early adopters, with some IT departments even upgrading production machines to Win 7 Release Candidate prior to the October 22, 2009 full release of Windows 7.

Decision makers should take a serious look at a Windows 7 roll out now, rather than later.  Mike George, a team lead at ANALYSYS‘ call center in Baltimore, MD offers the following four reasons why an across the company standardization to Windows 7 is important:

Windows 7 is a cleaner, easier, faster, and better operating system.  It’s a long awaited, real improvement over its predecessors that often improves user efficiency in a meaningful way.

Windows 7 security improves on Vista’s approach.  More, and more effective tools empower IT admins to better secure their network and company data from intrusions of all forms – human and software driven.

Have you tried to load Windows XP on a new laptop recently, and realized you couldn’t?  Already, some new hardware is not designed to work with Windows XP, and as these replacements create a more complicated mix of Windows operating systems in the network, reliability suffers and support increases.

As mainstream software vendors take advantage of expanded features available only in Vista and 7, laggards sill on XP may find themselves stuck on older, out of support, versions of their business software.

Do you have a question?  ANALYSYS is offering free support via email to the public, now through January 31, 2010.  Just send an email to windows7@analysys.net.

Windows 7 Migration Tip 1 – Timing The Rollout… Don’t Rush The Prep Work!

Hearing that Windows 7 Mainstream Support ended in April, 2009 sounds like doom and gloom doesn’t it?  Let’s take a moment to briefly analyze what this actually means.  First, realize that Microsoft has historically taken a very generous approach to its product support life cycle.  For example, in 2007, Microsoft coordinated an Extended Support phase on all versions of Windows XP for an additional three years.

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Arguably the most important part of Microsoft’s support policy is security updates.  This means that fixes will continue through to 2014 for any flaws discovered in Windows XP that would make the operating system vulnerable to a hack, virus, or other similar undesirable.  So, a Windows 7 upgrade generally remains a proactive endeavor.

Invest the time to plan your migration effectively!  It will pay dividends, many-fold.  Know about the targets of your upgrade, the hardware, software, peripherals, support, warranty status, and other technical details you feel are relevant.  Understand the impacts to the user base.  Design a process that makes sense and answers your specific objectives – perhaps consisting of inventory, design, test, and implement phases.

Windows 7 Migration Tip 2 – In-Place vs. Replace Upgrade Planning

An important question to ask when planning a migration to Windows 7 is whether to upgrade the computer in-place or replace it.  Here are some thoughts regarding costs…

Hard Costs – Replacing the computer with a new one will absolve you from an upgrade, but not from moving user data and installing the software.  Expect the cost of a replacement tower to start somewhere around $600.  Upgrading the computer in-place may require a Windows 7 Upgrade purchase.  Check first to see whether you qualify for a free upgrade.  If not, retail upgrade costs range from about $120 for Windows 7 Home Premium, $200 for Windows 7 Professional, and $220 for Windows 7 Ultimate.  An important consideration is whether you want to take each station down, usually after hours, as you upgrade the computers.

Indirect Costs – We are mainly looking at the time required to complete an upgrade versus replacing the entire computer.  A replacement is often the fastest way to go, as it enables IT staff to prepare the replacement computer in a lab environment, and frequently minimizes down time for the end user.  This is also a great opportunity to target aging technology for retirement.

When considering an in-place upgrade, you have two additional alternatives.  First, you can upgrade the existing (outgoing) Operating System to Windows 7, or second, you can erase the existing operating system and reload from scratch.  The general consensus in the community is that computers with Vista will upgrade well in-place with minimal preparation.  Windows XP requires additional consideration and time, and is under most circumstances, a good candidate for a complete wipe and reload.

For smaller businesses, consider this simple approach.

1. Purchase new computers, preloaded with Windows 7, to replace all computers that are out of warranty or no longer perform at desired levels of functionality.
2. Identify recipients of the new computers.  These folks should also be comfortable with being first adopters within your organization.
3. Install software, applications, and transfer user data in a lab environment for recipients of these new computers.
4. Make the swap with these initial adopters and verify functionality.  Wait a week or two before continuing further.
5. Iron out any bugs that arise.
6. Use replaced computers from first adopters as replacement computers for others within the organization, leaving old (to be retired) computers as the last to be replaced.  Repeat the process until complete.

Windows 7 Migration Tip 3 – Verify That Your Software Is Compatible

Not all software will work automatically on Windows 7.  This is especially true for older applications.  Follow this three step process.

Collect – Inventory the software you use.  Indirectly, this is a great opportunity to standardize and clean house on software you no longer use.

Analyze - Research whether each application will run on Windows 7 and define a plan to accomplish your migration.

Test and Mitigate – Deploy a Windows 7 machine as a test.  Load all the software you need, and identify whether it works as expected.  Identify issues that arise and develop solutions.  Document these so that the tech staff that engages in deployment can proactively address.

Sounds a bit time consuming, doesn’t it?  Fortunately, Microsoft has made a utility that helps automate this process.  It’s called the Microsoft Application Compatibiltiy Toolkit (ACT).  With ACT you can identify software that will survive an upgrade, test and track the compatibility status, and centralize answers to common problems you find.

Windows 7 Migration Tip 4 – Verify That Your Hardware Is Compatible

Not all hardware works with Windows 7.  Check your systems against Microsoft’s minimum system requirements:

• 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
• 1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
• 16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
• DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

Tom Nieto, Director of Strategic Consulting Services at ANALYSYS advises, “the minimum system requirements for Windows 7 are essentially the same as Vista.  Considering the two-year gap in release between Vista and 7, that’s great news for businesses with newer computers.”  Be prepared, however, for systems that don’t meet the requirements.  These simply won’t work.

Nieto also advises that sometimes, even though the system meets the core performance requirements, other surprises can await.  ”We frequently find, for example, that a video card seems to support the 128MB memory requirement for the Aero interface, however the manufacturer has retired their support for drivers and software for that device.  Typically it means a new video card is in order.”  Aero is a 3D interface included with Windows 7, and is the default theme if resources are available.

Larger organizations should consider using the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit to determine which systems in the installed base are compliant for Windows 7.  This tool assists by automatically inventorying hardware assets, analyzing compatibility, and providing a consolidated report.

Smaller businesses can simply run Microsoft’s Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor.  This is single use utility that helps users determine whether their PC is ready for Windows 7.

Windows 7 Migration Tip 5 – Automate The Installation Process

Do you have a large amount of systems to upgrade?  The Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) is an application, loaded on a server in your network, that can help to automate the migration process to Windows 7.  MDT permits network administrators to deploy upgrades of Microsoft Windows through the network.

There is no commonly accepted best practice on the size threshold or nature of the environment where MDT makes sense over IT staff manually upgrading system-by-system.  Automated tools such as MDT work best when the network is standardized and system-by-system upgrades are not practical because of the numbers.

If you choose to use MDT, consider these two approaches:

1. Zero-touch – Requires Microsoft’s System Center Configuration Manager and can be completely automated through the use of scheduling tools.  Zero-touch does not support in-place upgrades, only operating system refreshes, or system replacements.
2. Lite-touch - Allows you to deploy Windows 7 without System Center Configuration Manager.  Windows 7 deployments can be centrally administered but must be initiated manually.  Upgrades are allowed using lite-touch, as well as refreshes, or operating system replacements.

Windows 7 Migration Tip 6 – Back Up Your Data

Especially with in-place upgrades on highly configured systems, or for users with a low tolerance for downtime, backing up the data on the workstation is a sensible move.  This extra step adds time but gives deployment technicians an eject button in the event that the upgrade fails.  When backing data up, Gabe McCourt, an ANALYSYS team member since 2005 suggests, “any backup for this purpose needs to be fast and simple”.  He offers two methods network admins can employ – either image the entire disk or simply copy data that’s identified as important.

• Disk Imaging tools like Acronis True Image cost about $50 per desktop and quickly back data up to an external device such as a USB Hard Drive, or through a network to a storage server.  If you need to step back to the previous operating system, simply reverse the imaging process, and you’re done!
• A Simple file copy is a zero-cost, low tech, but slightly more time consuming approach to backing up data.  Instead of capturing the entire operating system, necessary data is captured  in the event of a failure during upgrade or replacement that results in data loss.  This may also be a good opportunity to legitimize the centralization of important data to a server that is backed up regularly.

Windows 7 Migration Tip 7 – Choose The Right Version

Not all versions of Windows are created alike.  There are six editions of Windows 7 available, each with varying degrees of functionality.  Additionally, Windows 7 can be acquired in three ways:

Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) License – These licenses are generally the least expensive way of acquiring Microsoft Windows Licenses.  OEM licenses are sold only with a new computer, and the license is generally not transferable from the computer it was sold with.  In most cases, OEM licenses do not grant downgrade rights, so if you receive a computer pre-installed with Windows 7, you most likely are not able to wipe and reload with an older version of Windows without a corresponding purchase.

Volume Licensing – Businesses that require at least five licenses can acquire the rights to use Windows 7 from an authorized Microsoft reseller.  Volume Licenses do not include a box, paper certificates, or disks.  You download your software and license keys online.  This is generally the least expensive way to acquire licenses outside of the OEM license program.  Downgrade rights are usually granted with Volume licensing.

Retail License – These licenses, also sometimes known as Full Package Product (FPP) are the easiest to acquire.  You receive a box with your disk, a license certificate, and a copy of your license agreement.  Retail licenses, are usually the most expensive manner of acquiring licenses and do not include downgrade rights.

The following chart is excerpted from Wikipedia, and is a very comprehensive analysis of the versions available in the marketplace.  You may also want to check out Microsoft’s take on their editions of Windows 7.

In closing…

Hopefully we have demystified the process of completing a Windows 7 Upgrade.  Do you need help?  We’d be delighted to assist!  Now, through January 31, 2010, we are offering free support via email to the general public.  Email your questions to windows7@analysys.net.  Good luck, and enjoy your Windows 7 computing experience!

1. Perform A Technology Audit

Leverage the expertise and guidance of a qualified consultant to evaluate the present state of your information system.  These IT professionals are current on new technologies, trends, and industry best practices in ways that the broader business community simply cannot be, and they use this expertise to assist you with translating your specific objectives into a strategic plan.  With so many innovations in 2009, expect them also to offer a number of recommendations you may not have expected.  Ultimately, the cost of professional guidance in developing a solid strategy will likely prove to be one of the best tech investments you make all year.

2. Upgrade Your Software

Microsoft’s introduction of their latest generation of operating systems and applications, like Windows 7, Office 2010, and Exchange Server 2010 greatly improves on prior versions, but they also change the way applications function in a manner that will soon render previous versions obsolete.  Are you still running Windows 2000?  Beware, Microsoft presently plans to eliminate support, including security patches on July 13, 2010.

3. Replace Out of Warranty & Older 32-Bit Hardware

With low financing rates presently available and the cost of new technology becoming even more affordable, replace outdated hardware with the latest energy efficient, most reliable, and faster solutions on the market today.  Replacing 32-bit systems with 64-bit systems allow you to break the 4 gigabyte memory barrier and allow users to get more done in less time.  For example, let’s say that a $500 computer that saves a team member fifteen minutes each day.  Comparing the cost of staff time and payroll, that’s a Return On Investment (ROI) that pays back in just a few months.

4. Switch To Low Power, Green Information Technology

Implement Green Information Technology solutions such as power saving surge protectors, server virtualization, proximity technology and network policies that save energy and money.  Why continue to waste precious resources both internally and externally when it is easy to implement instant savings through responsible, reliable and cost effective Green IT solutions?  ANALYSYS is saving $13,000 in power costs, and $75,000 every year in reduced technology and support costs through our Green IT initiatives… truly an opportunity to do more, with less!

5. Eliminate The Servers & Start Computing In The Cloud

Going to the cloud involves eliminating technology in your office, network room, or in-house data center, and moving your data to systems managed by an off-site colocation or data center facility.  The providers who offer these cloud computing services make a business of delivering a reliable and predictable networking experience that scales to your present level of need, whatever that may be.  One great ANALYSYS client, Girl Scouts of Central Maryland, is saving up to $7,000 up-front and $16,000 per year in costs by making this transition, and that’s before you account for the costs of maintaining these systems.

6. Replace Tape Backup with Disk-Based Continuous Data Protection (CDP)

Tape backups, the gold standard for many, many years necessarily require a tremendous amount of human intervention.  Swapping tapes, checking and managing backup logs, and long waits are a thing of the past now.  Replace these relics with a disk-based solution.  The difference?  Instead of a snapshot from last night, these back up continuously, streaming data from servers as changes are made.  Restore a file from 15-minutes ago?  No problem!  In  the event there is a physical loss of the systems that hold your data you can extend off-site replication simply and easily by adding a backup appliance at a second site, or by renting space from a qualified data center hosting facility.

7. Monitor Your Network Using Software Tools for Low-Cost 24x7x365 Coverage

Take advantage of Remote Monitoring that provides 24/7/365 coverage for your network.  These systems are always watching the metrics that you define as important, automating checks for vulnerabilities and future problems that human network administrators would normally perform on a manual basis.  Monitor for important things like… Is my internet access working?  Is my server’s Hard Drive out of space?  Is my website online right now?  If and when a problem occurs, you can receive a text message and quickly work to resolve the problem.

8. Go Wireless & Work From Anywhere, Inside & Out

Wireless technology is empowering the workforce to move about the office freely and to work outside the office from anywhere.   New advancements reduce “dead spots” making these technologies more reliable and increase security helping to ensure that networks are impervious to attempts at unauthorized access.  Look for wireless 802.11g technology for your network internally.  While out of the office use SSL-VPN technology with wireless 3G or 4G service from your local mobile phone provider.

9. Understand & Harness The Power of Social Media

The growing and ever-evolving social media culture is changing the way we communicate, creating unique opportunities and risks for stakeholders at various levels of management.  Be prepared and stay current.  This means you need to create internal policies that monitor and control acceptable use of company time, technology and proprietary information.  You will also want to decide how or if your marketing efforts will take advantage of the community building and business models being created in social media.

10. Organize Your Electronic Data & Paper Files

2009 saw the introduction of the sub-$100 terabyte disk drive.  This is a direct response to the tremendous growth and demand for storage capacity.  Take this opportunity to expand the storage capacity of your network, and use this new free space to organize and catalog all your data on and off-line.  Digitize older paper records and make them searchable through OCR technology that incorporates your paper trail into your digital vault of crucial information.  Make this content available online through the use of portal technology like Microsoft SharePoint Services which comes free with Microsoft Small Business Servers.

“My computer is running too slowly” is one of the most common issues we see at ANALYSYS.  Although there are many reasons why this could be happening, most performance related issues are quickly and easily resolved with a few simple steps.  So, don’t replace that computer… Let’s tune it up!

Curious to know where all these ideas came from?  We interviewed ANALYSYS team members for their top picks.  Some are certainly more controversial than others, but any combination will certainly help, and some may even surprise you.

1. Install Google’s Chrome browser.
It’s free, it’s functional, and we find that it operates much faster than Internet Explorer.  Keep in mind, however, that certain websites still require you to use IE, so be prepared to switch between browsers from time to time.  Also, be prepared… Chrome certainly takes some getting used to.  It’s a slightly different browser than Internet Explorer.  If you are not comfortable with the interface or don’t want to make the switch, consider Firefox or Opera as alternatives.  Here’s where you can find these great web browsers:

Link to Google Chrome
Link to Firefox
Link to Opera

2. Run Disk Defragmenter.
Disk defragmentation utilities have existed for many, many years in one form or another.  Although running these utilities are just as important now as they were in years past, their use has unfortunately become much less common and much less frequent.

First, let’s describe the importance of this utility.  Data is stored on a computer’s disk drive in a linear fashion.  As new files are created and deleted free space, or gaps, appear which are then later filled in with new data.  Eventually this process creates a jumble that your computer must sort through in order to access the data you need.  Disk Defragmenter is a utility that comes preinstalled with Windows that reorganizes fragmented files and folders so that data is stored neatly, and can be accessed much more efficiently.  Microsoft’s recommended best practice is to run this utility once per month.  This can best be done using the scheduler feature which can be found in the control panel.  Consider running disk defragmenter also when you add or delete and have normally large amount of data, you upgrade to a new version of Windows, or you are running with less than 15% free disk space.

Microsoft Windows Disk Defragmenter

3. Remove that wallpaper and replace it.
As much as the picture of the kids looks great on your desktop, if it’s a large picture file, it can actually slow down your computer substantially.  Consider keeping the file size of your wallpaper under about 200 kilobytes, or simply switch to a flat single color background.  Changing these settings can be found by right clicking on an area of the background of your desktop.  Then click Personalize, then Desktop Background.

What the Desktop Backgound screen looks like.

4. Upgrade your random access memory (RAM).
If your computer is less than a year old, simply add more.  If your computer is older, you may want to research whether the RAM you have in there now has been superseded by faster technology.  A generous amount of RAM is one of the most important elements in overall performance, and also happens to be one of the easiest ways to make a big impact.  Best of all, the cost of RAM is negligible.  Need to know what type of RAM is best for you?  The ANALYSYS Online Store has a memory sizing tool you can use to find the part numbers you need for your specific computer type, make, and model.

ANALYSYS Online Store – Memory Sizing Configurator

Although it is an easy upgrade with a little research, you may find the prospect of working with the inside of your computer undesirable.  If this is the case, Vista and Windows 7 users can consider Windows ReadyBoost as an alternative.  ReadyBoost allows you to use a flash memory device such as a USB flash drive without having to add the additional memory inside the computer.  The drawback-memory added with ready boost is not as fast as conventional RAM.

Learn more about ReadyBoost for Vista
Learn more about ReadyBoost for Windows 7

5. Clean up your hard drive.
Over time your system becomes crammed with software, files, and other data, some of which is not used.  Not only does this data take up space but in some cases it substantially impairs performance.  Consider the following:

• Manually clean up the data you don’t need.  Be sure not to delete programs or operating system data here.  You are looking for files and folders of things that you saved like videos, documents, or pictures that you simply don’t need anymore.
• Use Microsoft’s Disk Cleanup utility.  This tool quickly identifies otherwise hard-to-find data that you can safely remove, and then allows you the choice of what you would like to eliminate.  Disk Cleanup removes things such as temporary Internet files, data in the recycle bin, and downloaded programs that you don’t use or don’t need.  Find it in the Start menu under Accessories, then System Tools.
• Uninstall software you don’t use anymore by going to Add/Remove programs in the Windows Control Panel.  In addition to potentially freeing up a tremendous amount of space, this is generally the only way to safely remove installed programs from your computer.

6. Get rid of slick visual effects.
Newer versions of Windows offer a progressively appealing visual experience.  However all of the graphics and animation require additional processing power.  Especially if your computer is an older one, you may consider removing these effects as a way to increase performance.  Check these settings out…

For Vista Users
1. Click Start, Control Panel, System Maintenance, and finally Performance Information and Tools.
2. Click Adust Visual Effects.  Enter the password if prompted.
3. Click the Visual Effects tab and then select Adjust for best performance or simply choose your own settings from the list.

For Windows 7 Users
1. Click Start, and Control Panel.
2. In the search box, type Performance Information and Tools, and select Performance Information and Tools from the search results.
2. Click Adust Visual Effects.  Enter the password if prompted.
3. Click the Visual Effects tab and then select Adjust for best performance or simply choose your own settings from the list.

Gadgets and the Windows Vista Sidebar are another great example of these types of resource hogs.  To disable, right click on the sidebar and click Properties.  Uncheck the checkbox labelled Start Sidebar when Windows starts.  Click OK.  The sidebar will be gone on the next time you restart your computer.
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7. Scan for and protect against viruses and spyware.
Viruses, worms, Trojans, spyware, and other malware run in the computer’s background, largely undetectable while they sap resources for their nefarious purposes.  Fortunately Microsoft now offers a 1-2 punch that small office/home office folks can obtain completely for free.  Look for Security Essentials – that’s the virus client.  Microsoft’s spyware utility, called Windows Defender, is included automatically with Vista and Windows 7, and is available as a free download for Windows XP users.  For businesses that do not qualify for the free version of Microsoft Security Essentials, Microsoft’s business antivirus software is called Forefront.

Download Microsoft Security Essentials
Download Microsoft Windows Defender
Purchase Microsoft Forefront (36-month subscription, listed price is per month)

8. Shut off unneeded services at startup.
A surprising amount of software automatically loads every time you turn your computer on.  Pare down to just what you need with Microsoft’s System Configuration utility.  You can run this utility by typing msconfig in the Run box of your Start menu.

Microsoft System Configuration MSCONFIG Utility

9. Eliminate the comprehensive software firewall.
Programs like Symantec Norton 360 which include a virus scanner, spyware scanner, spam filter, firewall, and more certainly serve an important purpose.  However, analyze carefully whether these tools are redundant and disable features which are not necessary.  You can also consider replacing these tools entirely with a hardware-based solution, such as a SonicWALL TZ 100 series firewall.  This hardware alternative costs slightly more but the results will be increased speed and reliability.

10. Scan your hard disk for errors.
Windows comes with a utility called ScanDisk this utility corrects errors in your file system caused during the normal use of your computer.  It also can identify  a budding hard drive failure.  Vista and Windows 7 users can click on Start, then Computer.  Right click on the disk drive you want to check and click properties.  Go to the tools tab, and click Check Now, under Error-checking.

Microsoft Scandisk Utility

Commonly, businesses retain the services of a single contractor to build out their space.  Call it what you like – the network closet, computer room, telephone room, or data center.  The contractor is certainly proficient in creating efficient use of space and they have, no doubt, delivered their fair share of these closets.  Let’s keep it simple, efficient, and low cost, right?

• How much space do we need in square feet?
• What type of power do we need to run to this space?
• Do we need an air conditioner in there?

As far as small businesses are concerned, those are some of the key questions that we can expect the contractor to respond to effectively.  Add the services of an outside IT contractor like ANALYSYS if you don’t have an IT department, and the job gets done.

An alternative is to retain the services of a company that specializes in building out data centers.  This is a niche within the technology business.  Here’s a story by Processor Magainze that talks about this concept of using a specialist.  In summary, what can you expect for the additional investment? 

• Confidence that your data center environment will conform to modern security, electrical, and environmental best practices.
• An environment that’s right-sized for you now, but is also scalable to what you might need in the future.
• Assistance in making your data redundant before the move, and completion of the actual transition to the new site within the timeframes necessary to minimize impact.
• A seasoned advocate before the many third parties involved with such an engagement.

What’s the problem with all this, you say?  Well, regardless of how you define the project, there’s downtime, risk involved with moving the technology, and with all these contractors and outside support personnel, it’s just downright expensive.  Who cares, it has to be done anyway, right?  Not necessarily.

Before you dig in, double check whether a buildout is necessary at all.  This is one of the first tests that should come up during the initial planning phases of your move.  You may want to consider hosting your systems in a data center facility.  Commonly called “colocation”, this concept is not a new one, however, recent innovations have made the hosted data center option affordable, much more relevant, and accessible to small businesses.

What Is A Hosted Data Center & What Goes In One?

A hosted data center is a facility designed to house computer systems for many businesses. The company that owns the data center makes money by renting physical space for computer systems, and sometimes charges for certain extras such as the amount of power or bandwidth (internet usage) consumed.

In the past, small businesses frequently used hosted data centers only for the things that were meant to be on the internet. This included systems like electronic mail servers, eCommerce sites and other web servers, and web based applications. This concept commonly known as “rack space”, worked well primarily because of the high cost of reliable internet connectivity.

That’s still true today, but the 2008/2009 economic downturn has brought new innovation to this area of the high technology industry. Server “virtualization”, the concept of running many ‘virtual’ servers on one physical server computer, substantially reduces the amount of actual space required. This reduction in space requirement is one of the biggest enablers of entirely colocated networks, and the term that has emerged to describe this practice of networking over the internet? Cloud computing.

Is Data Center Colocation Right For Me?

Using a third party data center to host your systems substantially reduces the investment you need to make into your own data center build out, or even eliminates it all together. Because you are moving your systems into a failicity that was designed from the ground up to be a professional service provider for other companies information systems, you can expect that you are moving into an environment that is highly reliable where downtime, security breaches, and other violations of industry accepted standards are unacceptable and potentially compromise accreditation.  Finally, the colocation model, practically speaking, is infinitely scalable. You have enough space, bandwidth out to the internet, battery backup power, generators, and environmental conditioning to expand to essentially whatever level of growth you need. In summary…

1. Lower up front investment
2. Highly reliable environment
3. Access to better infrastructure
4. Predictable physical security

Keep in mind however, that you are giving up complete physical control of your systems to a company that will ask for a term commitment. If you are uncomfortable with, or simply cannot have someone else manage certain elements of your network security on your behalf, the concept of a hosted data center is probably not right for you. Another major consideration is how the physical separation from these systems will impact the operation. Amongst other things this means that you need to establish an acceptable level of reliable, redundant connectivity between your premises and the data center. Also, bear in mind that as you scale your presence in the hosted data center upward or downward, you can expect a corresponding increase or decrease in monthly recurring costs. Finally, and arguably most important, you must evaluate the present and expected future financial health of the hosted data center you are partnering with, but ultimately understand that data center facilities, albeit rarely, sometimes go out of business. So let’s consider the drawbacks…

1. Monthly recurring costs
2. Physical separation from systems
3. Dependence upon a third party
4. Term commitment

Setting The Right Expectations Through Service Level Agreements (SLAs)

A small business that is looking to a move to the hosted data center as a way to save money will most likely end up with their systems in only one data center, whereas larger businesses may have redundant systems, also known as “hot sites”. If you are the former, take time to understand this single point of failure.  One good test is to evaluate the Service Level Agreement (SLA) the data center operator offers as part of their standard terms and conditions.  An SLA is the maximum amount of downtime the data center operator promises not to exceed within a certain amount of time. Data center providers normally offer a Service Level Agreement with at least “five-nines” of reliability. This means 99.999% uptime, or no more than about five minute and fifteen seconds of down time per year. If the downtime exceeds this amount, the service provider credits service fees back based upon a certain formula. Some SLAs offer a credit back one hour for each hour down. Expect more. You want something like one day’s credit for every hour down. This seems like a modest change, but the difference is substantial.

This may not approach the costs that your business will have sustained because of the outage, yet, consider this as one visible way the data center operator demonstrates their commitment to the customer. If all customers at the data center receive the same credit for this one day outage, that’s a loss of about 6.5% of the data center’s total annual revenue… that’s an incentive to keep reliability high.

How To Succeed In A Move To Data Center Colocation

Remeber, this story is about doing more with less, so we are going to need to ultimately save money if we are going to succeed. The best way of inventorying your costs is to do so months in advance of your move.

First, what’s the cost of building your own new data center?  Have you been able to elminate or substantially reduce these costs by going to a hosted data center?

What are the present costs of internet access? What would you need when you move your systems into a hosted data center? There is an upside and a downside to internet connectivity. Obviously, the internet access will be required less because the access from the rest of the world to your servers for services like email and websites will be eliminated – that’s going straight to the data center. However, there’s now the cost of connectivity from your office into the data center which should be redundant. Find out what the impact is going to be, positive or negative.

Do you pay for your own power? What is the present level of power consumption, and how much could be saved if the technology in your office was no longer there? Power consumption represents an often surprising cost to the business, and is frequently right behing HVAC and lighting.  ANALYSYS was able to reduce our IT related power costs by 52%, representing an annual savings of $13,000.  Here’s the press release if you would like to learn more. 

How much support does your existing network require? If the systems were no longer located on premises, could certain members on the support team be repurposed, or if you use outside IT help, would you be able to right-size the relationship? Remember, your small business still needs to maintain the systems that go into the data center, but managing complex switches, routers, and firewalls may be a thing of the past.

Can you actually eliminate certain systems entirely? For example, if you own and manage your own email server, consider hosting your email as a service with a third party. This eliminates the requirement to maintain the system yourself, reduces the complexity of the network, and normalizes costs.  Some companies are bringing

Putting It All Together

There are some best practices that, when followed, will yield a highly positive experience. Consider that any ‘improvement’ made is not an improvement if it negatively impacts efficiency of the user base. Now that your company has moved to a hosted data center, does, for example, the technical writer for your company work about half as fast as they used to because of the ten step program involved with opening or saving documents? Because the technology that empowers small business to go to the hosted data center is still somewhat new, the best practices and processes used to set up such an environment are not broadly understood. If your business has an IT department, consider encouraging that the stakeholders call for outside support and guidance at the strategy and design phases of this engagement. If your company customarily outsources its support to an IT consulting firm, ask them to demonstrate their successes with prior clients. Moving to the data center represents systemic change to the way that your business uses its technology, and qualified consultants like ANALYSYS can help this experience yield a reliable solution that costs considerably less.

We are inundated with messages everyday about the state of our economy and the ripple effects this is having. No one has been immune to these effects from the small towing company down the street to the large Fortune 500 companies, like Wal-Mart and Home Depot. Bob, a small business owner approached us recently to share the frustrations he has been having moving his business forward without a new server, backup system and virus protection.  We were able to offer him a 48% savings by implementing an offsite virtual office that not only hosted his website, but provided him the essential tools he needed to focus on his clients and mission. Bob’s virtual office gives him an enterprise level solution, like a large company, but with no upfront costs and a manageable monthly budget line item. While economists and governments seek to find solutions to our economic problems, it is the grass-roots efforts throughout the country that are the test bed for real and immediate solutions. Think about the ways you are adapting with all the highs of success and the lows of hard lessons learned. What we have done for Bob and other business owner’s like him is presenting a compelling answer to the problem of maintaining stability. Information Technology outsourcing is the best kept secret in town, and can be the key to any business’s continued existence.

1. LET THE IT CONSULTANTS FOCUS ON TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT… SO YOU CAN FOCUS ON YOUR BUSINESS
Let me first explain what I mean by IT outsourcing. As opposed to an internal IT department with limited resources, it is developing a strategic partnership with an organization that is solely focused on improving your use of information technology, which liberates your business from the shackles of IT nightmares. Rather than worrying about the backup solution or virus protection, you can focus on meeting the demands of your customers by leveraging all the capabilities an outsourced solution brings with it. There are three basic ways to integrate a solution provider into your organization. First, human resource augmentation frees up internal staff with limited resources and time, and allows you to re-task those employees to other areas of your business that need attention. Secondly, infrastructure augmentation moves those servers, backup devices and other hardware to an enhanced secure facility that makes business continuance much more cost effective and reliable. Finally, by working with a solution provider you can receive independent vision and strategy development to be sure your organization is moving in the right direction when it comes to those important and potentially costly technology solutions.

2. OUTSIDE IT CONSULTING HELP IS SCALABLE
Now that we have a basic understanding of these IT integration methods, let’s take a closer look at your options. Now more than ever, it is important to look at the cost of maintaining, troubleshooting and supporting the technology that strengthens your entire organization. Every responsible manager knows that all options are on the table. Think about it. Do you pay someone to internally create electricity for you to use? No, you pay a provider to deliver that essential business need. Likewise, you should think about how essential it is to keep the flow of business moving with technology and how important it is to have the experts doing the job. “The biggest advantage to outsourcing for us,” said Emily VanLoon, the CFO of So Others May Eat, “is when you outsource, there is an entire infrastructure of people behind you that collaborates on problem solving any issue that arises.” So Others May Eat is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, DC that relays on outsourcing IT, so that they can focus on their mission to help the poor and homeless. This created an incredible cost benefit enabling them to do more with less, which is essential in the non-profit industry. Some companies have been able to realize a 50% or more savings! An expanded knowledgebase and tremendous cost savings are key benefits to IT outsourcing human resources.

3. LEVERAGE THE IT CONSULTING FIRM’S TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENTS TO YOUR BENEFIT
The second way to understand IT integration is through infrastructure hosting which utilizes virtualization technology. Virtualization technology enables a company to purchase a slice of a server rather than the entire server, which helps to mitigate upfront and ongoing costs. For added reliability a server, a workstation or an entire remote office solution  ”>can be provided through a secured remote connection from your office to an advanced hosted facility. This means you only pay for what you use rather than making continuous outgoing costs for maintenance, power consumption and upgrades. The cost savings can be so striking that one client was able to save nearly $20,000 in upfront costs to upgrade their business productivity and mail servers, in favor of a low monthly cost to have a hosted solution at our colocation facility. Part of what makes this possible is that a recent change in Microsoft licensing enables companies to pay monthly subscription rates for these network environments rather than having to pay annual licensing fees.

4. GAIN ACCESS TO AN ENTIRE IT CONSULTING FIRM AND ITS TEAM OF EXPERTS
The final way to integrate IT solutions into your business is to use the breadth of experience, resources and support personnel to seek strategic analysis, guidance and development for the future of your business. This will strengthen your organization and provide an independent examination of your current IT infrastructure. For instance, have you thought about going green? Do you know how to make your organization more  class=”hiddenGrammarError” pre=”more “>energy efficient, cost effective and reliable? IT consultants who implement these types of solutions for their clients are a wonderful resource for organizations looking to move in this direction. They have done it before, and learned valuable lessons and insight on best practices. Green computing solutions can make an immediate impact on the bottom line of your organization with virtual transparency to your employees.

IS OUTSIDE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY HELP RIGHT FOR ME?
You need to be asking yourself during these tumultuous economic times, “Why should outsourcing appeal to my organization, and can we survive without it?” The honest answer is that it may not apply and you may be able to survive without it; however, it is vital for any business to continuously evaluate their business model. When is the last time you have performed such an evaluation? Your business will change, develop, grow and sometimes contract over time. Change is inevitable. But will this change be brought about through the internal forces of a planned, phased and organized approach? Or will you be forced to change to maintain your survival and prosperity by the external economic forces that are knocking at everyone’s door? Look at IT integration and outsourcing solutions has a way to continuously adapt to the changing economic climate, and could very well be a game changer for your organization.

MAKE IT HAPPEN…
Now, let’s focus our attention on how to make this change in your business model. First, analyze the value delivered to your clients and make adjustments to ensure that you remain relevant. Then evaluate the partnerships presently in place with your clients and vendors and adjust. Finally identify the relationships and services that afford the opportunity for continued growth. That is how you affect change internally and prepare your business for the future. IT integration and outsourcing can be an effective change for your organization with either a cost neutral solution or even no upfront costs at all. This will change the way you do business for the better by offering a controlled cost that can be budgeted, and the ability to leverage the competency of a highly capable team of professionals who provide a heightened level of efficiency and lower cost as compared to most insourced support models. Finally, you will have the flexibility to scale resources to meet an ever changing demand. That even means if you need to change to an insourced model than you have the ability to make that transition easily.