P3 / CASE STUDY. Connected

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1 P1 / SWITCHED ON As more SMEs use the cloud to build their IT infrastructure we look at the business case behind this move, P2 / CLOUD SERVICES Abtec has a range of new cloud services, you ll find details about them here. P3 / CASE STUDY Find out how our thin client computing recommendation helped East Midlands based chartered accountants The Rowleys Partnership. P5 / SPECIAL OFFER Test drive our new Veeam Cloud Connect service with a free three month trial. Connected IS#7 SPRING EDITION UK businesses are switching on to the cloud. It is estimated that the number of SMEs using a private cloud for some of their IT infrastructure will rise to 30% this year. The business case for embedding your infrastructure in the cloud is strong; Switching on to the Cloud increased agility, lower costs and improved business continuity. What s more, cloud services are more cost effective than ever and are now available from Abtec. Cloud services are a game changer for IT managers. They can help remove mundane tasks, focussing resource on your organisation s strategic objectives. Budgets can be transformed; migrating from capital to more predictable operating expenditure. Finally, they can enable IT >> CONT. PAGE TWO 30% of UK SMEs plan to use cloud services over the next 12 months. Lord Livingstone Minister of State for Trade and Investment

2 Switching on to the Cloud >> CONT. FROM PAGE ONE New Cloud Services From filtering to infrastructure and applications our cloud services can help you create an efficient IT platform. teams to deliver their services more effectively and efficiently. Improved perception As we ll see in this edition of the newsletter our cloud services could improve your users experience of your IT services. Remote workers could have faster access to business applications. IT services could be deployed quicker, with fewer reasons to raise capital expenditure. Problems could be resolved faster, without having to travel to the user s site. Cloud partner With our networking and infrastructure expertise we are your ideal cloud partner. We can help you design and deliver your cloud strategy, enabling you to capitalise on this game changing technology. Contact our team on to find out more. Infrastructure as a Service Run your applications in the cloud High spec servers Increase/reduce capacity on demand Secure UK data centres Veeam Cloud Connect Smart backup of VMs Store backups off-site, securely Veeam optimised network to speed up backup delivery WAN Acceleration Strengthen your DR plan Whether you are starting your journey or are ready for full deployment, we ve got the services and expertise to help you get the most from the cloud. Here s an overview of some of our cloud services. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) With our IaaS proposition infrastructure means just that, your IT infrastructure. Firewalls, switches, servers and applications, almost all of your physical resources can be can be moved to the cloud. Moving those resources removes some of the associated costs too; for example power, cooling and server maintenance costs. We can even issue software patches and updates too. Security as a Service Our cloud security services can help eliminate threats before they reach your users. Proofpoint, the filtering service, can quarantine malware and viruses, and remove phishing s that can cause so many problems. Security as a Service Reduce complexity with centralised security services Proofpoint filtering backup and archiving Hosted Voice Services Cloud based telephone system Calls delivered to deskphones Music on hold, call transfer, voice mail, call recording and more Flexible, increase extensions for short periods of time Works well with SIP telephony Veeam Cloud Connect Abtec is now a Veeam Cloud Connect provider. This means you can use our cloud as a repository for your backups; ideal if you need off-site storage. Our optimised network can help reduce recovery time objectives (RTO), getting you back up and running faster. Check out our free trial of Veeam Cloud Connect later in this newsletter. Hosted Voice Services If you have a telephone system at each of your sites, it s time to consider a cloud based service instead. As well as reducing your maintenance and management costs a hosted system could provide new features too, such as centralised call recording. Having one, cloud based system, makes it easier to integrate into your business continuity plan too. 2

3 Cloud Connected More employees are working from home. According to the Office of National Statistics 13.9% of the UK workforce, that s 4.2 million, are classed as homeworkers. One of the challenges of homeworking is ensuring that remote workers don t feel isolated or cut off from the rest of the company. Cloud technology can play an important role in keeping employees physically and emotionally connected. It can even improve productivity to boot. Case Study: IT that Adds Up Thanks to Abtec we ve now got an IT infrastructure that s much easier to manage Founded in 1883 The Rowleys Partnership Ltd is a leading firm of chartered accountants based in Leicestershire. Rowleys knew much of its IT infrastructure was coming to the end of its natural life but it wanted to get away from its traditional approach to updating IT. Mark Hook, Director at Rowleys, explains, Previously we d updated our computing infrastructure in a piecemeal way, but this left us with the problem of having a variety of operating systems, which was difficult to manage. This was affecting productivity, with older systems slow and sluggish. The firm turned to its trusted IT partner, Abtec, to explore its options. Partner with expertise Abtec created a strategy that would support the organisation. Phil Kennerdell, Abtec s Sales Director, notes We presented Rowleys with a thin client computing option. This addressed Rowleys immediate issues as well as providing a flexible platform that could respond better to market and regulatory changes. Thin client and virtualisation Abtec deployed Wyse thin clients for Rowleys 40 users; new Cisco and NetApp servers. These operate in a virtualised environment, powered by VMware. This increases the servers energy efficiency and improves the resilience of applications. Kennerdell points out The beauty of virtualisation is that if a server failure occurs applications instantly migrate to other servers and continue to work. Flexible, agile platform By providing thin client architecture Abtec has removed Rowleys from its IT purchasing treadmill. Thin clients are simply dumb terminals and there s less hardware to go out of date. Rowleys should see a saving in energy use too. Thin client PCs use less than a quarter of the energy of their traditional counterparts. The platform will support Rowleys flexibility and agility. As Mark Hook says Thanks to Abtec we ve now got an IT infrastructure that s much easier to manage. This infrastructure will make it easier to capitalise on market opportunities. Lower cost, simple to use and a platform for growth. These are benefits that add up for Rowleys. VPN problems Homeworkers traditionally access corporate applications through an Internet VPN connected to the head office. This can be problematic, particularly when homeworkers are fighting for limited head office upload speed, and can cause applications to appear to run slow. Hosting applications in our cloud and accessing using our broadband network can accelerate application and employee performance. Essentially our broadband network provides another node on your private WAN, avoiding the internet. If the connection supports it, quality of service could be implemented too. Internet access could be provided from the cloud through your cloud based firewall, ensuring consistent Internet security and safety policies. Improved performance Technology that s been difficult to deliver over Internet VPNs, such as telephony, video conferencing and sensitive data sharing, are now achievable. Direct access to the same corporate applications, including voice and video, that an office worker enjoys is an important step in removing the remote from remote workers. For more information about Abtec s cloud and remote working services contact our specialists on

4 Choosing a Cloud Partner Choosing the right cloud partner is an important factor in the success of your IT strategy. Here are some questions that will help get that decision right TRACK RECORD SECURITY NETWORK LOCATION Does the provider have any existing customers that can vouch for the service? Any provider worth their salt will be happy for you to talk to a client of theirs. What security measures do they take? This includes physical, network and data encryption. Do they hold any security accreditations, e.g. Cisco CCNP Security? How do you access their cloud? Services often work best when the computing resources are delivered over the same provider s network, not a third party network. Where is the data centre based? Storing certain data outside the European Economic Area (EEA) could put you in breach of the Data Protection Act. FINANCES SERVICE LEVEL FLEXIBILITY What is the financial history of the cloud provider? Trusting your IT with a provider without a strong financial history could lead to problems. What happens if something goes wrong? Unfortunately no IT works perfectly. Does the provider have a documented process with timescales to resolve issues? How flexible is the service contract? Your organisation has unique needs and requirements. Can the provider cater for these in your contract? 4

5 Smarter Business Backup with Veeam To celebrate the launch of our Veeam Cloud Connect service we re giving you the opportunity to take a free trial. You can test drive the service for three months to see if it improves your backup regime. Cloud backup Not for much longer though. You can now strengthen your off-site backup regime with Abtec and Veeam Cloud Connect. We can store your primary or secondary Veeam backups in our secure cloud. Our Veeam optimised network connections can help speed up your backup and recovery process. And our pay per GB pricing ensures that you only pay for the backup infrastructure that you ve used. recover data directly from your backup console; track cloud repository consumption and receive reminders for hosted storage renewals. Rest easy by encrypting all data at source (before it leaves your network perimeter), or use our secure Veeam optimised network to speed up the delivery and recovery process. Contact our specialists for a free trial on , or visit Veeam Cloud Connect tackles an ever present problem for IT managers; off-site backup storage. Ideally we d all use the Backup backup rule. In the real world limited 3 backups bandwidth and growing media 2 data volumes prohibits types many organisations from 1 off-site achieving that goal. How it works You can get your backups offsite into our cloud with no additional Veeam licensing, it s part of Veeam Availibility Suite v8. Access and FREE TRIAL 5

6 Winning Combination for Aspirational Home Builder Abtec Network Systems and Abtec Building Technologies have joined forces to create a new team, and it s already winning business. The new Mechanical and Electrical (M&E) team combines the expertise and resources of both businesses. Dave Watkins, Commercial Director, Abtec Building Technologies, explains, We ve now got unique team with skills focussed on the construction market. Story Homes Aspirational home builder Story Homes selected Abtec to support the renovation of its new headquarters in Carlisle. The team delivered heating, ventilation and lighting control; in addition to the IT and communications infrastructure. of a variety of new technologies, including Smartboards, video conferencing and integrated telephony throughout the. IP networks An issue many in the construction industry are facing is the rise in the importance of IP networks. There s a demand to connect building control devices, for example air conditioning, heating and lighting, together over Ethernet networks. This helps devices communicate with each other and reduce energy consumption. For many M&E contractors IP networks are an unfamiliar technology. Our team has Cisco accredited engineers that ensures devices are connected safely and securely. Continues Watkins. Collaborative working George Thomson, Project Systems Manager for Story Homes led on the project and was keen to work with Abtec as having he had worked with Abtec previously he was confident that they could successfully deliver a project of this size. George said: It was important that we could implement integrated systems in our new headquarters which would not only create a comfortable space for staff, but also deliver efficient and effective platforms to users in their daily activities and support the development of collaborative working which will be critical in achieving our growth plans. We have done this with the new Business Management System and the deployment Collaborative technology, such as interactive smart boards, should aid productivity for Story Homes employees enquiry@abtecnet.com Barents House, Compass Point, Market Harborough, Leicestershire LE16 9HW