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Welcome to the November edition of QTS QuikNews, our
monthly e-mail newsletter. In this monthly e-mail, you
will receive an update of what's new at QTS - new
products we support, new patches and upgrades, solution
ideas and promotions to save you money, and information
about our company and our clients.
In this issue:
-
QTS and Partner News
-
Events
-
President's Corner
-
QuikSecure Tip of the Month
-
Patches and Upgrades
-
Product Support Lifecycle Watch
-
Solution Spotlight
-
Special Offers
-
Partner Spotlight
QTS AND
PARTNER NEWS
WELCOME TO NEW CUSTOMERS
QTS offers a “welcome aboard” to the following new
customers:
·
Supreme Oil
·
The
Wats Room
QTS IS HIRING!
QTS is recruiting for senior level technical personnel,
as well as an entry to mid-level sales/service support
specialist. If you know anyone who might be a good fit,
please have them submit their resume to Liz Meechan, our
Office Manager. Liz can be reached at
lmeechan@QTSnet.com, or (973)984-7600 x223.
PRODUCT NOTICES AND ADVISORIES
TERMINAL SERVICES CAL TRADE-UP ENDING SOON
Due
to a change in the way Microsoft licenses Terminal
Services as of April 2003, customers may be eligible for
free Terminal Services Client Access Licenses (CALs).
With the release of Windows Server 2003, the “built-in”
CALs under Windows 2000 were
eliminated. However, customers owning Windows XP Pro
receive a free Terminal Services CAL for each XP
license. These licenses must be processed by 12/31/05,
however, when the transition program ends. For more
information, visit
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/
howtobuy/licensing/tscaltransfaq.mspx.
QTS
SUCCESS STORIES
SARGA ASSOCIATES
QTS
helped this small buy savvy consulting firm to implement
a reliable and secure network, providing a
Worry-Free Networking experience.
http://www.qtsnet.com/about/success stories/sarga
success story.pdf
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EVENTS
MICROSOFT SOLUTIONS BRIEFING
QTS
and Microsoft
are hosting an Executive Solutions Briefing for small
and medium business customers (25-500 user
environments). Join
us for this informative, 3 hour event to learn how your
organization can benefit from new Microsoft technologies
and solutions, and what tools and resources are
available to you from Microsoft. Microsoft and QTS will
also review the benefits of Software Assurance, discuss
available promotions that can save you money, and review
the roadmap for upcoming product releases and features.
We will also present on key Microsoft initiatives such
as Trustworthy Computing (Microsoft’s security efforts),
the Dynamic Systems Initiative and the integration of
Microsoft’s Business Solutions offerings. This event
will provide valuable information to any Microsoft
customer! Join us on
Thursday morning, December 1st at Microsoft’s
New York City office. Contact your QTS Account
Manager to register for these events, or follow the web
links above. Note that a signed Microsoft
Non-Disclosure Agreement is required for attendance at
these events.
MICROSOFT SOLUTIONS FOR MANUFACTURING AND DISTRIBUTION –
ENHANCING CUSTOMER PROFITABILITY
This
event series will focus on the key topic of Customer
Profitability, including how to measure Customer
Profitability for today’s global marketplace, and how to
improve sales volumes and margins using Microsoft
technologies. Each quarterly session of this ongoing
series will focus on a particular overall
problem/solution theme, with specific presentations on
technology components of that theme, to show how the
pieces of the solution fit together. We will also have
a networking lunch where customers can share ideas and
discuss challenges and possible solutions.
Join QTS, ISS Group and InterDyn
AKA on Tuesday morning, December 6th at
Microsoft’s New Jersey office. For more information or
to register, contact your QTS Account Manager,
click here, or visit
www.clicktoattend.com and enter event code 104273.
CXO
SEMINAR: DISASTER RECOVERY SOLUTIONS
Join
Microsoft, Citrix, NSI Software and QTS for an
informative seminar on how to develop a Disaster
Recovery Plan and build a Hot Site Failover Solution for
your business leveraging technologies from Microsoft,
Citrix and NSI Software. Businesses are challenged more
and more each year with the need to maximize systems
up-time and availability, amidst an ever-increasing
range of threats. IT management is often tasked with
responsibility for developing and implementing Disaster
Recovery Plans to protect the business and ensure
continuous access to key business systems. In this
seminar, we’ll discuss how to build the plan and what
the key elements are, and discuss the various options
for Cold, Warm and Hot Site solutions. We’ll then drill
down into how to cost-effectively build a Hot Site
leveraging technologies from Microsoft, NSI and Citrix
to enable access to your applications and data, and
conclude with tips and best practices.
For
more information or to register for this January 24th
event at Microsoft’s New York office, contact your QTS
Account Manager,
click here, or visit
www.clicktoattend.com and enter event code 104271.
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PRESIDENT'S CORNER
This
month, I’d like to discuss an important initiative from
Microsoft called the Infrastructure Optimization
Initiative. This is particularly important in terms of
focus and resources we are seeing committed locally and
from Redmond, and is definitely worth understanding if
you are in the medium business space or larger.
The
Infrastructure Optimization Initiative flows from work
that was done by Gartner to develop the “IT Maturity
Model.” This model, based on
research and analysis, shows that there is a process
that IT organizations evolve through as they “mature”
and apply more and more structure and management tools
to improve operations. The more “mature” an IT
organization is, the better management tools it has and
the more virtualized the environment is, but equally
important such an environment has strong operational
management processes and controls.
This
stems from prior research that shows that 70-80% of all
IT budgets are spent maintaining existing systems,
rather than creating new systems and capabilities. If
an organization can reduce the cost of maintaining
existing systems, then those financial resources are
freed up to be used for new initiatives and
capabilities. Furthermore, having a better managed
infrastructure makes it easier for a business to be
“agile” and add new capabilities or software faster and
more efficiently.
In
trying to build a message for its customers, Microsoft
has worked with Gartner to modify and simplify the
model, compressing it from seven stages to four. The
four stages Microsoft and Gartner together have defined
are:
o
Basic:
IT is a Cost Center, with very little automation and
management and minimal operational processes.
Administration of IT is largely a manual task, requiring
“heroic” efforts by IT personnel to hold things together
as the network grows and business requirements and
pressure continue to increase. At least 55% of
businesses fall into this stage according to Microsoft,
though in my experience I feel the actual number is
higher than this.
o
Standardized:
IT is now a more efficient Cost Center, with some
automation and tools. IT is more efficient, and some
processes and controls are in place. The infrastructure
is standards-based (i.e., the desktop environment is
based on a limited number of configurations and is not
“pot luck” system by system), but still more reactive
than proactive. According to Microsoft, 39% of
businesses fall into this category.
o
Rationalized:
IT is a proactive business enabler, with a much more
efficient operational model. Systems management is
automated and monitoring is in place and operationally
sound. The infrastructure is
consolidated and well-managed. According to Microsoft,
2% of businesses are in this category.
o
Dynamic:
IT is a Strategic Asset, with the ability to respond
dynamically to the changing needs of the business.
Infrastructure is highly virtualized and flexible, with
fully automated management and monitoring supporting
strong Service Level Agreements (“SLAs”).
According to Microsoft, 4% of businesses are “Dynamic.”
The
idea is that Microsoft, working with partners such as
QTS, wants to help customers move from stage to stage
within the model, and to reap the benefits of the
journey. Based on Gartner’s research, there
are definite cost savings
associated with moving from stage to stage, particularly
the latter ones. Recognizing that the “soft” costs of
supporting and maintaining a computer system are far
greater than the hardware and software itself, Microsoft
and Gartner calculate that a 13% savings
($700/user/year) is realized moving from Basic to
Standardized, and an additional 31% savings
($1,500/user/year) is realized moving from Standardized
to Rationalized. Although most of this savings is
realized in Indirect Cost areas such as end-user
productivity and avoided downtime, which are sometimes
dismissed as “soft costs,” they are in
fact are very real (and there
are Direct Cost savings in the model as well).
The
most important element of this in many ways is Desktop
Engineering. Some organizations, particularly in the
small to medium business space, deploy desktop systems
“out of the box” without leveraging standard images or
software distribution, i.e., desktop deployment is a
fully manual process. Other organizations may utilize
tools like Ghost to create hardware-centric images for
particular computer platforms, but then have trouble
keeping those images current and this becomes its own
management problem. A better solution is to leverage
the most current imaging tools to be able to do
file-based imaging, rather than sector-based imaging, to
reduce the number of images needed and make the images
more manageable, thereby reducing management overhead.
Realistically, part of why Microsoft is putting focus
here is the phenomenon of “shelfware”
– many customers have purchased upgraded versions of
Windows, Office and other products but have not yet
deployed them, because deploying can be a lot of work –
particularly for the folks in the Basic category above.
So, by helping customers to move through the
Infrastructure Optimization model, Microsoft is helping
customers to deploy their software, and therefore giving
customers a reason to keep upgrading and stay current.
A
variety of Microsoft products play into this message,
both “pay for” and free. Clearly Microsoft SMS is a key
player here, and with the Business Desktop Deployment
Solutions Accelerator Microsoft has a great tool to
facilitate deploying software, or whole operating system
images with the SMS Operating System Deployment tool.
However, Microsoft Operations Manager gives Microsoft a
platform for proactive systems management of Microsoft
servers, which can be extended across other platforms
and system components through third-party add-ins.
Microsoft Virtual Server gives customers the tools to
virtualize the server
environment, and Identity Integration Server provides a
metadirectory service to
integrate user account creation and management across
multiple systems and directories. However, the Standard
Edition of the Business Desktop Deployment Solutions
Accelerator is free, as are a variety of other tools,
while the Microsoft Operations Framework (“MOF”)
provides prescriptive guidance and best practices for
operations management in a Microsoft network
environment.
If
you are interested in more information on these topics,
you may be interested in attending the seminar we’re
holding with Microsoft and New Horizons in February on
implementing a Secure and Well-Managed Infrastructure –
we’ll be discussion the Infrastructure Optimization
Initiative there. You can register by visiting
www.QTSnet.com/events for our event listings, and
look up this seminar. We’ll also be holding a luncheon
on February 1st to discuss Microsoft’s
Business Desktop Deployment Accelerators and migrating
to current versions of the Microsoft platform using
these tools – if you’re interested in attending, contact
me or your QTS Account Manager.
We’re also able to offer many customers an engagement,
which Microsoft and QTS will subsidize, to evaluate your
environment for upgrading to the latest Microsoft
desktop platform and transfer knowledge on Microsoft’s
tools and best practices in this area. If you’re
interested in taking advantage of this Business Desktop
Architectural Design Session, contact me or your QTS
Account Manager so we can verify if your organization
qualifies for the service. We look forward to further
discussing the Infrastructure Optimization Initiative
with you, and ideally to helping you to begin this
journey.
As
always, feel free to email me your comments or thoughts
at
nrosenberg@QTSnet.com. Thank you.
Neil Rosenberg
President & CEO
Quality Technology Solutions
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PARTNER SPOTLIGHT
Often companies are unaware of opportunities provided by
the Internet and their web sites, that can help
differentiate them from their competition. In today’s
world, a web site is often the first image your
customers see of your organization, and sets the tone
for how your company is viewed and treated. This is one
area where QTS' partner for Web site development,
Interactive Media Associates (IMA), can help. Consider
inviting IMA to perform a cost-effective audit of your
existing Web site and your Intranet/Extranet services to
learn how savvy companies are using the Web to improve
their marketing, as well as to drive efficiencies
internally and externally.
IMA is a full-service digital agency headquartered in
Parsippany, NJ. Clients include New York City Ballet,
Hackensack University Medical Center, Metropolitan
Opera, Mason Gross School of the Arts,
CalTech, the Shakespeare
Theatre of New Jersey, and IATSE International, among
others. IMA works closely with another QTS partner,
Lenskold Group, to develop web content that integrates
tightly with the organization's marketing strategy. They
also specialize in interactive "Weblet"
sites that extend the Internet experience through
smaller, more targeted interactive sites, which promote
a specific product, event, or company function.
Len Muscarella, IMA’s
President, founded the company in 1985. Len spent years
working for traditional media companies, including three
plus years as one of the pioneers of the "online"
industry in his work with CBS and Prodigy. Anticipating
the business potential of interactive media, he founded
IMA and began to help clients use the new technologies
to change the way they marketed their products and
services. Soon, IMA was providing consulting services
in market research, competitive analysis, and business
strategy for companies developing products related to
proprietary online services, interactive television,
CD-ROM technology, and, eventually, the Internet.
Many of IMA's client sites
are hosted in the company's
ReliaServe hosting environment, based on multiple
web servers, set up in a high availability and
reliability configuration.
QTS,
Lenskold Group and
IMA work together for our customers to develop web
sites that integrate the technology, design and
marketing strategies to best meet our customers' goals
and objectives.
For
more information on IMA please view their web site at
www.imediainc.com, email them at lmuscarella@imediainc.com,
or call 973-539-5255. Or, contact your QTS Account
Manager.
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