Who’s watching over your data?

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data-securityTrouble may be lurking in your network

Data breaches are on the rise. According to a recent Ponemon Group/IBM study, the average cost of a data breach was nearly $3.79 million in 2015, and that amount is predicted to increase exponentially in the foreseeable future.

In the past year, we witnessed major commercial and government organizations receiving alarming cybersecurity breaches and attacks. Well-known organizations such as Home Depot, T-Mobile/ Experian, Ashley Madison, Sony Pictures, Anthem, Premera Blue Cross, the Democratic National Committee, and the Federal Government’s Office of Personnel Management experienced cybersecurity issues. Even the IRS wasn’t safe from attack. Despite the fact that these organizations had specialized degrees of preparedness and cyber protection in place, they still fell victim. Continue reading →

UC systems are connecting the increasingly disconnected workforce

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8-12-16_UC-Blog-graphic_800pxFor more than a decade, unified communications (UC) technologies from industry leaders like Cisco and Avaya have been helping businesses collaborate remotely while reducing telecom and infrastructure costs by merging voice and data into a single network.

Today’s on-premises and cloud-based UC platforms take savings and efficiency to a higher level, going beyond voice, email, web chat and instant messaging to include multimedia collaboration capabilities as well. Best of all, the cost of endpoint technology is coming down, enabling small and medium size businesses to deploy sophisticated UC systems more affordably than ever. Continue reading →

Windows Server Datacenter now has more to offer

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Win10-Logo-5 ExtWindows Server 2012 became generally available in September 2012 and came in two flavors through volume licensing: Windows Server Standard and Windows Server Datacenter.

You would expect technical differences between the Datacenter and Standard editions, yet Microsoft only addressed virtual machine entitlements – that’s it. Standard allows for two VMs per license, while Datacenter gives admins the opportunity to run an unlimited number of VMs, as long as the hardware could handle it. In regards to the software, there were no technical advantages in having Datacenter edition.

Windows Server 2016, which is rumored to be available this quarter, brings new features and technical advantages of having the Datacenter edition, as well as additional advantages of Software Assurance. Continue reading →

Explore the benefits of Software Defined Networking

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7-18-16-DataCtr-Blog-graphic-742x388Like server and storage virtualization, network virtualization abstracts existing resources and allows them be viewed and managed from a single pane of glass, using open protocols such as OpenFlow.

This allows for on-demand provisioning of resources without the need to physically configure cabling and switches with every network change. Software Defined Networking (SDN) takes things a step further, entirely separating the control plane from the data plane, and enabling administrators to spin up virtual components, virtually at will.

Zones teams with industry leaders like Cisco and Avaya, to bring the speed, flexibility and scalability of software defined networking to all kinds of organizations.

Continue reading →

Be the disruptor, not the disrupted.

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It’s well-documented that companies like Uber, Airbnb, and Facebook have reaped huge rewards by tapping into massive markets made possible by emerging new business models. They were adept at quickly modernizing their networks to connect with their customers where their customer wanted to be, and with it came big benefits: engaged customers, innovative experiences, and new revenue streams.

To get ahead – and stay ahead – companies must realize it’s a whole new game now, and you don’t want to be left behind while all this digital disruption is taking place. Digitization requires IT functions to be thoroughly transformed, including sophisticated scaling to meet new demand fluctuation; increasing reliability; speeding time to market; and quickly getting digital innovations to consumers. Continue reading →

Contact centers build solid connections

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hp_windows_upgrade_3489896bWhen customers or prospects want to connect with your business, they want an immediate response and rapid results. It’s not always easy to keep up with those demands. Small companies can become especially frustrated because they do not employ enough workers to perform their routine duties effectively while interacting with customers at the same time.

Fortunately, there are solutions available to help people and businesses meet the challenge. Continue reading →

Modernize your business with Zones Azure Complete

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Zones-Azure_Complete-infographicPlanning and implementing a cloud computing platform can be complex and time consuming. Zones Azure Complete accelerates the adoption of your cloud computing platform, and allows you to discover new ways of optimizing the performance of your Azure environment.

Through a wide array of services to support your organization’s cloud-based functions, Zones Azure Complete provides help to enhance the utility and management of Azure in your organization.

Zones Azure Complete delivers best-in-class technologies and proven methodologies for thorough assessment, thoughtful design, seamless implementation, and consistent management of the Azure cloud platform. It’s an all-inclusive program that goes beyond cloud subscriptions to include reliable ongoing services for your cloud environment.

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Still Running SQL Server 2005?

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It’s time to give your data the care it deserves

MicrosoftSQLServerOn April 12 Microsoft ended extended support for SQL Server 2005. That means security updates and hotfixes will no longer be available from Microsoft. And unsupported software means increasing vulnerability to data issues and exposing other devices and associated applications to these same vulnerabilities.

What’s new?

A lot has changed since the launch of SQL Server 2005. Back then, the common practice was to deploy software on-premises on physical hardware. End of story.

Today, you have a number of on-prem and cloud options, including SQL Server 2012, SQL Server 2014, and Azure SQL Database.

Continue reading →

The next wave of mobility

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Keeping people productive – wherever they work –
is key to succeeding in today’s business climate

3.25.16-Mobility-Tablets_BLOG-HeroA decade ago, road warriors were well equipped with a laptop and a BlackBerry. Their counterparts today expect worldwide connectivity to the Internet for their personal inventories of notebooks, tablets, and smartphones.

Of course, the need of mobility isn’t limited to road warriors. Even at the office, workers expect seamless transitions between wired and wireless networks as they move about with their devices.

Because users expect to be able to work in any location – and in whatever way they want to work – they will create workarounds if you don’t fill this need. If your mobile strategy has grown organically on an as-needed basis, it’s likely that you’re not meeting users’ needs. If that’s the case, you may be encouraging workers to get “creative” to achieve their business goals. That creativity could end up compromising the security of your network and your business.

The good news is that it’s getting easier to meet expectations. The bad news is that easy solutions are not always the best solutions. Continue reading →

Lenovo: Pioneering Mobility in Healthcare

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Mobility in the healthcare space is trending upwards. Quickly. And it’s driving better patient care.

doctor-bedside-w-tabletA recent study conducted by the MetData group suggests that over 65% of physicians own or use a smartphone, tablet, or laptop for work. Another source finds that doctors are 250% more likely to own a tablet than the average consumer (Manhattan Research, “Taking the Pulse”). Sounds like mobile devices are practically tailor-made for professionals in the healthcare field …

And that’s why Lenovo solutions within tablets and laptops, which can place a wealth of information at the physicians’ fingertips, are helping hospitals and doctor’s offices improve patient engagement and outcomes. When healthcare providers need the right tool, in the right time, at the right place, and with better tools at hand, professionals can collaborate easier, achieve interoperability, share data securely, and move from patient to patient to deliver faster and continuous collaborative care. Consider the following: Continue reading →