The Benefits of Cloud Computing

­Imagine that you are the executive of a large organization. You would be responsible for making sure all of your employees have the right hardware and software they need to perform their jobs.

This can be extremely stressful and cause you to lose sleep at night.

First of all, you will need to buy everyone a computer- but that is not enough. You will also have to purchase hardware and software so that they have the tools to perform their jobs. Whenever you have a new hire, you have to buy more software or make sure your current software license allows another user.

Cloud computing is the alternative to all this stress and headache. Instead of installing a suite of software for each computer in your office, cloud computing allows you to load one application. That application would allow workers to log into a Web-based service which hosts all the programs the user would need for their job. Remote machines operated by Data-Tech would run everything from e-mail to word processing to your most complex data analysis programs.

Cloud Computing enables hardware and software demands on the user’s side to dramatically decrease. The only thing the user’s computer requires in order to run is the cloud computing systems’ interface software, and the cloud’s network takes care of the rest.

You have probably already used cloud computing. If you have an email account from Gmail, then you have experience with cloud computing. Instead of running an e-mail program on your computer, you log into your Gmail Web e-mail account remotely. The software and storage for your e-mail account is not located on your computer- it’s on Gmail’s computer cloud.

The applications of cloud computing systems are practically limitless. Everything from generic word processing software to customized computer programs designed for a specific company could work on a cloud computing system.

Why would anybody want to rely on cloud computing to run their programs and store data?

1. Global access. You will be able to access your applications and data from anywhere at any time. They could securely access the cloud computing system using any computer linked to the internet. Data wouldn’t be confined to a hard drive or the corporation’s internal network.
2. Decrease hardware costs. You would no longer need to buy the fastest computer with the most memory, because the cloud system would take care of those things for you.
3. Decreased software costs. You would no longer need to buy a set of software or software licenses for every employee.
4. Increased physical space. There is no longer a need to rent additional physical space to store servers and databases because they don’t have it available on site. Cloud computing gives you the option of storing and backing up data on someone else’s hardware, removing the need for physical space at your company location.
5. Mobilization. From just about anywhere in the world, services on your mobile device are available. Sales are conducted over the phone and leads are tracked by using a cell phone. Cloud Computing allows users to access any applications using their mobile devices. Companies are taking sales productivity to a whole new level, while at the same time, providing sales representatives with high quality, professional devices to motivate them to do their jobs well.
6. Business flexibility. Cloud computing gives greater flexibility to scale with your business as you grow through an on-demand, pay-as-you-go model. You can start small, with a minimal investment, yet be able to scale up or back down as your needs change.
7. Decreased IT support cost. Streamlined hardware would, eliminate problems with an organization that has mix and match network of computers and operating systems.

The benefits to running your organization are numerous. To set get your organization started with Cloud Computing or to answer any of your questions call Data-Tech today!

For a Free Assessment and Consulation call 813.872.8011

Questions and Concerns

Will my data that is stored off-site be protected?

Executives might hesitate to take advantage of a cloud computing system because they can’t keep their company’s information under lock and key. But Data-Tech lives and dies by its reputation. We take data security extremely serious. It benefits us to have the most reliable security measures in place. Otherwise, we would lose all of our clients if we had a security breach. We employ the most advance techniques to protect your data.

How can you ensure the privacy of our data and applications?

Privacy  is ensure through unique usernames and passwords. Employees will need a username and password to access the corporation’s data and applications. Also you can customize the authorization format- so that each user can access only the data and applications relevant to his or her job.

Data-Tech is now a Certified Professional in Electronic Health Records (CPEHR) and a Certified Professional in Health Information Technology (CPHIT).

CPEHR: The designation of Certified Professional in Electronic Health Records (CPEHR) indicates that the holder has mastered the common body of knowledge covering planning, implementation, operation of EHR for knowledge management, quality improvement, patient safety, and care coordination. 

SPACE

By 2015 all medical practices are mandated to be on EHR. Currently only 4% are compliant.

Call Data-Tech today for a free consultation 813.872.8011

 

By now you have probably heard about SOPA. But what is it?

SOPA is a anti-piracy bill that was attempting to work its way through congress and its purpose is to give intellectual property owners the ability to pull the plug on foreign sites against whom they have a copyright claim. If Paramount Pictures, for example, says that a site in Europe is torrenting a copy of their new movie Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, the studio could demand that Google remove the site from its search results, that PayPal stop accepting their payments from the site, and that ad services stop placing ads, and requiring the site’s Internet Service Provider from even allowing people to go there.

Lobbyists for companies that rely heavily on revenue from copyrighted material- think Record Labels and Film- state that SOPA protects the market from job and revenue loss. According to the Bill, the goal is, “to promote prosperity, creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation by combating the theft of U.S. property, and for other purposes.” —H.R. 3261

But most of the big internet websites are against it- Google, WordPress. Craigslist, Reddit and Wikipedia- blacked out their content on Wednesday and went dark. But Why?

Because managing something like this and complying with the new law would be a nightmare. For instance, if your Facebook status update links to pirated material, Facebook would be legally obligated to remove it. Same goes for tweets, YouTube videos, Tumblr, WordPress posts, or sites indexed by Google. And if these companies let the content remain then they could and would be shut down.

The government is still committed to finding a solution to the problem of online piracy that protects American intellectual property and innovation. But the bill right now is dead in the water and the ongoing debate will continue to affect the Internet and Innovation. At Data-Tech we like to stay up to date on technological and internet trends and we will continue to keep you posted about further developments.

Join us for lunch and networking with fellow health

care professionals!

Jolene Loos, Certified Public Accountant with C&L Value Advisors, LLC will share the latest changes in our tax laws as it relates to health care.

Be prepared for April 15th!

January 26, 2012

11:30 am– 1:00 pm

The Centre Club

Tampa, FL

Advance Tickets – $25

Register Below

http://januarysheevent.eventbrite.com/

“Save Money and Improve Efficiency Like Redbox”

Beginning a Successful IT Automation Initiative

Corporations are always under pressure to cut costs and increase efficiency in their organization. Redbox was one organization that was under similar pressure. Most organizations often turn to technology, purchasing and installing incongruent pieces of equipment and software in hopes that this will solve some of their problems. This has resulted in highly fragmented IT environments for many companies. Computer patches, weekly back-ups, security, and other day-to-day maintenance tasks are approached from different angles.

The Solution= IT automation. As the California politician George Runner says, “by throwing on more and more responsibilities, employees become more expensive and eventually too expensive, and automation becomes the answer.” Mr. Runner indeed understands the power of automation.

IT Automation is a process by which software manages routine maintenance tasks in a seamless fashion. Time consuming administration, monitoring and helpdesks that eat up organization’s IT resources are handled by the technology platform, which runs in the background and requires little to no human intervention.

Redbox[1] maintains and stocks more than 2,000 self-service kiosks at third-party retail locations providing consumers with reasonably priced new release DVD rentals. Customers use the kiosks to rent new release movies and return them to the same or any other kiosk at their convenience.

Customers can conveniently pick up and drop off DVDs at any kiosks around town. In order for this business model to work the kiosks have to be up and running 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “We are going for the convenience factor,” says Eric Hoersten, vice president of information technology, Redbox. “We want to make sure our customers can incorporate DVD pickups and returns in their daily routine, eliminating an extra trip during their busy day.”

Maintaining customers service levels, the software, hardware and keeping the kiosks operational was a great challenge for the national firm. Whenever a system went down, or required maintenance- a regional supervisor had to drive out to the location and crack open the kiosk and troubleshoot the problem.

Redbox needed a better way- IT Automation. Redbox found a better way to manage and maintain each of its kiosks, and achieve its goal of 99.5 percent availability. The company deployed an integrated systems management solution called Kaseya, which is built into the platform of Versa Manage Services. This provided a remote and complete view of the network and enabled automation of key administrative tasks. The solution is designed to simplify IT management while improving the IT staff’s efficiency.

Check out Versa Managed Services- http://www.datatechitp.com

Now, Redbox administrators are able to manage all 2,000 kiosks from a central location near Chicago. They are able to monitor their systems health and security, update Redbox’s proprietary DVD rental software application, make sure hardware is operational, and keep track of equipment retirement schedules, all while streamlining the process of adding new systems from a distance as the company continues to grow. IT automation has been very beneficial to the DVD giant.

The Benefits of IT Automation with Versa Managed Services:

• Saves time and money while conserving energy. Save license fees and power consumption and reduce the number of on-site visits. Do it all remotely so you don’t need to travel to fix a problem. Reduce your carbon footprint while improving IT service.
• Increase end user satisfaction. Systems run more smoothly, with less downtime, providing you more time to focus on strategic initiatives.
• Increase security levels. IT automation helps ensure your systems are in compliance with applicable regulations and requirements. They perform better and are more secure.
• Easy to learn and easy to use. Schedule backups, software updates, Antivirus updates and more using a consistent automation platform that simplifies IT service delivery.

 

Steps to a Successful Switch to IT Automation

Once your company is convinced that IT Automation is the way to go then take a step back and work through these steps provided by our IT solutions partner Kaseya:

1. Assess your current IT infrastructure, giving particular consideration to those systems that are currently managed manually and/or independently.
2. Also look at the IT assets that are connected to your corporate network, but that you may not have good visibility over. PC management alone is a major cost center for companies, where IT team members spend an inordinate amount of time maintaining networks and servers, and managing updates, patches and break-fix issues for end users.
3. Once you know how many machines are in place, look at what’s on those systems. Your goal here is to gain a clear understanding of equipment infrastructure, and exactly what each of those machines does on a daily basis.
4. Use a tool like Versa Managed Services to collect the necessary information about your systems including installed software and hardware components by device. This procedure can be as easy as running a utility to determine if a disk needs to be defragmented, or as complex as checking a website to ensure that it’s running properly, and serving up the correct content.
5. Through the procedure outlined in #4, you’ll be able to collect vital information regarding your system, and be able to move forward with your mission of synchronizing your IT assets in a way that allows for a smooth transition to an automated environment.

Working through these steps will allow you to see where you can experience the highest gains from IT automation.

Versa Manages Services IT automation includes:

• Automated Systems Management
• Report and Audit Services
• Self Healing Agents
• Monitoring and Service Desk Support
• Patch and Upgrade Management
• Software Deployment
• IT Management Reporting and Dashboards
• Antivirus and Antimalware
• Desktop Policy Management
• Remote Backup and Disaster Recovery
• Regulatory Compliance

If you haven’t automated your IT processes yet, this is the year to do it. As one IT director said, “I used to be in the dark, but I now see the light, thanks to automation.”

Walk in the light.

Contact Data-Tech Today

www.datatechitp.com | 813.872.8011 | facebook.com/datatechtampa

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[1] Redbox case study taken from industry whitepaper by Kaseya- Success Steps: How to Launch a Successful IT Automation Initiative, 2011

The holidays are great time to make memories with friends and family. But during this time of year there are some that seek to wreak havoc on others, especially online.

There have been a large amount of phishing emails being sent out by scammers this Holiday season.  Phishing is where a bogus email or website tries to duplicate the appearance of a valid email or website in an attempt to get people to enter in information on the webpage.  These websites are setup to record the information you type in. So when you enter it in, now the “scammers” have your login information to do with as they please.  If you click on email links and visit these websites, just to “check it out”, and do not enter in your account information, there is still a very good chance that just visiting the website has allowed your computer to become infected with a virus or malware.

That being said, you should be aware all year for these phishing scams but especially during the holiday season when you are purchasing and sending gifts. During this time you may receive bogus or “phishing” emails from Amazon or UPS or any other online vendor that is notifying you of a package you never ordered.  If you follow the links on the email, you may be susceptible to getting a virus on your computer.  As always, please be cautious when following any email link.

Basic computer precautions, involve having a good antivirus program installed on your computer, keeping it updated and scanning your computer on a regular basis.

Contact Data-Tech Today

www.datatechitp | 813.872.8011 | facebook.com/datatechtampa

Where did that email go?

Don’t underestimate the amount of corporate knowledge that is stored in emails. Losing email information or not being able to find an email can hinder any organization.

Sending email has become the centerpiece of communication with people inside and outside of your organization. Day-to-day business transactions commence in the form of an email; most customers use email to negotiate contracts and agreements, and to exchange invoices and payment information. Email is also used by marketing departments to present new offers and special deals to customers. These email messages sent or received are probably the only record you have of important transactions with a customer or between members of staff.

Email contains nearly 75 percent of the information that individuals use on a daily basis. The amount of corporate knowledge stored in email is enough to warrant its protection. To protect this knowledge and to meet statutory requirements, organizations need to ensure that their emails are accessible over the long-run.

Versa eVault is a state-of-the-art email archiving and email discovery system. Companies, educational institutions and government agencies around the world rely on it to archive millions of their emails for long term storage.

Email archiving is firstly a productivity tool and a means of moving old emails from their overloaded mail servers to a central archive that can store a huge amount of data. This reduces dependency on PST files and allows administrators and users to search for and retrieve e-mails at will.

Versa eVault is a cost effective solution that allows you to quickly search and retrieve past, present and future archived emails from one or multiple databases

Email archiving will allow you to also fulfill your legal and corporate compliance obligations. In many jurisdictions around the world, the law requires that company emails are kept for up to seven years. Versa eVault is designed to help you comply with legislation such as the Sarbanes Oxley act (SOX), Gramm-Leach Bliley act (GLBA) and the Freedom of information act (FOIA).

Another important consideration is that the database storing the archived e-mail cannot be tampered with. To present e-mails as evidence in a court of law, the company has to prove the integrity of those e-mails. The eVault appliance gives you digitally signed, tamper proof email storage in accordance with legal discovery requirements. It copies and stores every message from your email server, even if the user deletes it.

What businesses really need to understand is that email archiving is no longer an expense, but a necessary cost of doing business and an insurance cover against possible legal or compliance repercussions. Companies that use an e-mail archiving solution find that the benefits go beyond those they had expected when they first chose the solution.

Our Versa eVault solution combines revolutionary features such as automated retention and purge policies, digitally signed email storage, ultra-fast full-text search and retrieval, an intuitive web-based interface, auditor query tools, extensive customization and re skinning options.

Call Data-Tech at 813-872-8011 or visit us on the web at www.datatechitp.com.

Congress decided to prolong IRS Section 179 to cover the 2011 tax year. That means eligible business equipment purchases (including most computer hardware and software) can be deducted at full cost on your 2011 business taxes, instead of being amortized over several years. From section179.org:

“The Section 179 Deduction limit increased to $500,000. The total amount of equipment that can be purchased increased to $2 million. This includes most new and used capital equipment, and also includes certain software.”

Don’t wait for the New Year to make hardware and software purchases. Now definitely is the time to purchase hardware and software! You effectively receive a discount equivalent to your tax bracket on the purchase.

For example, if you were to purchase $100,000 of IT equipment by December 31st and were in the 35% tax bracket, you could write off $35,000. That’s the price of a new car! The equipment’s net cost to you is $65,000.

If you are planning any hardware or software purchases or upgrades, do it now! The Section 179 provision is scheduled to expire at the end of 2011.

Disclaimer: We are neither accountants nor tax lawyers. This should in no way be construed as tax advice. Talk to your CPA or visit www.irs.gov for details.

continued from part 1

Today, three technologies in particular enable businesses to function on a global scale: cloud computing, virtual private networks (VPN) and videoconferencing. Previously we talked about cloud computing. Today, we will talk about virtual private networks (VPN) and videoconferencing.

VPN

A virtual private network (VPN) is a network that uses primarily public telecommunication infrastructure, such as the Internet, to provide remote offices or traveling user’s access to a central organizational network. This allows users to connect to your central network as if they were in the office.

This gives your organization the ability to accomplish its goals and mission anywhere in the world.

VPN’s chief advantage is the secure, immediate access it provides for remote workers.

However, the key to using VPN successfully is to use a private, secure Ethernet connection with the bandwidth and scalability to handle all user demands. Data-Tech can provide you with the bandwidth and scalability that you need.

Videoconferencing

Sometimes face-to-face communication is impossible. But interacting with team members via two-way video and audio transmissions can be a key to effective communication.

The current desktop videoconferencing applications make virtual meetings quick and efficient, but only if enough bandwidth is available to allow the session to go off without a hitch.

For that reason, the key to successful videoconferencing is the ability to manage class of service bandwidth allocations — giving your meeting a higher priority than another user’s video download, for example.

Keeping workers close

Because these technologies  allow your team in London to work with your team in New York as though they’re in the same room, they have helped make global growth and collaboration not just possible, but successful for many businesses and organizations.

However, the key to making international connections truly seamless, the right kind of network is certainly a must — one with the security, redundancy, scalability, bandwidth and class of service allocation to help make the most of that connectivity.