2 P a g e IntelliSuite Whitepaper - How Cloud Computing Overcomes 11 Common IT Problems

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2 Copyright 2014, IntelliSuite. All rights reserved. This document is provided for information purposes only and the contents hereof are subject to change without notice. This document is not warranted to be error-free, nor subject to any other warranties or conditions, whether expressed orally or implied in law, including implied warranties and conditions of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. We specifically disclaim any liability with respect to this document and no contractual obligations are formed either directly or indirectly by this document. This document may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without our prior written permission. Microsoft Windows, Windows Remote Desktop, Windows Terminal Services are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. 2 P a g e IntelliSuite Whitepaper - How Cloud Computing Overcomes 11 Common IT Problems

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4 THE GROWTH OF CLOUD COMPUTING By 2015, cloud computing is projected to be a $5.6 billion industry. i Almost two-thirds of small businesses have adopted virtualization, and more than half use cloud services. ii Hosted and cloud-based services represent 12% of annual IT budgets in North America and 11% in EMEA. Organizations with fewer than 20 employees are allocating 19% to hosted/cloud-based services. 69% of SMB s with less than 20 employees use cloud services. The smaller the organization, the more likely they are to use cloud-based/hosted services. Sixty-nine percent of SMBs with fewer than 20 employees use these services, compared to 55% of those with 250 to 999 employees. 41% of SMB s use the cloud for application hosting. PROBLEMS MANAGING IT INTERNALLY Businesses encounter 11 major problems when they handle their IT internally. These problems include: Difficulty working across multiple locations High cost of internet IT Lack of IT employees or expertise Need for customer support from multiple vendors High cost of application upgrades Security vulnerabilities Out-of-date applications Out-of-date servers Violation of federal regulations Time investment in launching new apps. Limitations in mobile device usage Downtime, power outages and lost data 4 P a g e IntelliSuite Whitepaper - How Cloud Computing Overcomes 11 Common IT Problems

5 DIFFICULTY WORKING ACROSS MULTIPLE LOCATIONS Many business with multiple locations need to access the same set of data. Examples include a multilocation physician practice that needs access to same patient data, and a multi-location manufacturing business. It s difficult and expensive to buy and manage servers internally and manage access from multiple locations. HIGH COST OF INTERNAL IT An entry level IT employee costs at least $30K per year. Such employees may need additional external IT support to properly manage the business s IT, which can lead to additional costs. Organizations with fewer than 20 employees have seen their annual IT budgets nearly triple, increasing from $19,000 to $54,000 on average. Organizations with 20 to 249 employees are showing modest increases. If your business is purchasing a new biz app (like EMR or MRP), it s expensive to purchase all the new hardware and services to get it started. 3X SMB s with less than 20 employees have seen annual IT budgets triple. LACK OF IT EMPLOYEES OR EXPERTISE SMB s with less than 250 employees are seeing the biggest IT budget increases, but hiring remains flat; the bulk of the increased budget going to new enduser hardware purchases and new cloud-based and hosted IT services. iii Most businesses have at least some IT needs from time to time. Some do not have professional Information Technology staff. Employees with other specialties may inherit these duties without the training to do so. This leaves the business open to many unforeseen risks. When a small business has an IT problem, their first barrier is not being able to find solutions because they don t know the right words or topics to search for. Often an IT expert is needed just to understand and sort through what the problem is. Businesses with internal solutions but no IT employees may find IT consultants to call with problems. The costs of such consulting can stack up quickly. Some businesses have frequent technology failures, and the solutions only work temporarily- so there can be an ongoing cost without a permanent resolution. NEED FOR CUSTOMER SUPPORT FROM MULTIPLE VENDORS A typical small business may have at least three tech vendors. For example, there may be one for the computer hardware, one for the business application, and one for telephone. The small business often may not know who to contact first when a problem comes up. 5 P a g e IntelliSuite Whitepaper - How Cloud Computing Overcomes 11 Common IT Problems

6 HIGH COST OF APPLICATION UPGRADES Every business needs software but software has hidden costs. Only about 30% of the cost of software is the actual purchase. On average, 37% of the cost of software to SMB s is extra support, and 33% is related to the costs of getting software up and running. iv SECURITY VULNERABILITIES If your confidential company data resides on individual PCs, laptops, and other devices, you have no control in case of loss or theft. For providers, cost of hacking can be serious. In addition to losing credibility, a provider can lose customers and get fined by clients for security breaches, depending on the type of agreement in place. Nonetheless, both customers and providers face security risks to their data. However, a provider may be more diligent and more qualified to deal with threats if it is essential to their profitability. Whereas, clients may not have the expertise even though information security may be equally essential to their business survival OUT-OF-DATE APPLICATIONS Operating Systems require frequent updates. Business apps may be less frequent but may still be at least once or more per year. As apps age, the costs and time for managing, supporting, and training increase. Compatibility issues can limit flexibility. Just as important, nearly two thirds (63.5%) of all computer security vulnerabilities are application vulnerabilities. v Using old applications represents a significant risk to data and client security. 2/3 Two thirds of all security vulnerabilities are software-related. OUT-OF-DATE SERVERS Aging PC s and servers may not perform up to modern standards. The cost of upgrading may seem forbidding. The cost of an entry level PC starts around $500. When a business is faced with upgrading 20 PCs the cost begins at $10,000. Years between upgrades will vary by business and business app performance requirements, but 3 to 6 years is a common period. With older devices, businesses may not be able to run newer versions of the business apps with higher performance requirements. Then the business suffers from a lack of productivity compared to competitors. VIOLATION OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS There are now many technological capabilities required by law, including HIPAA, BAA and PCI DSS. Companies hosting their own IT solutions may be out of compliance and vulnerable to hefty penalties and fines. Some companies may not even be aware they are violating federal laws. 6 P a g e IntelliSuite Whitepaper - How Cloud Computing Overcomes 11 Common IT Problems

7 TIME INVESTMENT FOR LAUNCHING NEW APPS For in-house, newly purchased solution, a business has to rack and configure the hardware, install and configure the OS, and integrate into existing system. Doing this internally can take weeks to months. LIMITATIONS IN MOBILE DEVICE USAGE Tablets continue to be the driving force in mobile tech, with 59% of respondents reporting that they have tablets on their network. If your business demands access to your corporate information anytime and anywhere, some employees can t use their devices. They are tied to the office. Your options are to host these yourself (with all the required knowledge to do so) or have a provider specializing in such business do it for you. DOWNTIME, POWER OUTAGES AND LOST DATA In 2012, organizations along the East Coast were slammed by Hurricane Sandy s devastating winds and floodwaters, which caused an estimated $65.6 billion in losses due to damage and business interruption. Businesses managing IT internally are slower to recover from power failures and other catastrophic events. With the sharp increase in volumes and dependence on data, business leaders need confidence in the reliability of their systems. Unplanned downtime is not acceptable, and even planned downtime is problematic because global business runs 24/7. $65B Hurricane Sandy cost businesses $65 billion. 7 P a g e IntelliSuite Whitepaper - How Cloud Computing Overcomes 11 Common IT Problems

8 WHY BUSINESSES ARE CHOOSING CLOUD APP SOLUTIONS Businesses find just as many corresponding benefits in cloud solutions. These include: Cost savings Time savings Improved internal IT Up-to-date applications and servers COST SAVINGS Reduce management, training, and support costs and issues. Avoid expensive application upgrades. Always have up-to-date software and access to support at no additional cost. One part of the savings is higher upfront investment if self-financing (in-house) versus lower monthly payments (cloud hosting). And then, the cycle has to repeat when the in-house equipment gets old. If your business is installing a new biz app like EMR or MRP, hosting can alleviate a substantial part of this cost. TIME SAVINGS Hosting can get you up to speed faster because the systems are already in place. Hosts simply install and configure the applications and grant access to end users. Businesses can get up to using their apps faster than if they have to purchase, install, and configure new equipment. This can shift time requirements from several months to just a few weeks. Migrated business apps to the cloud doesn't require any code rewrites, making it a fairly seamless transition. IMPROVED INTERNAL IT Businesses can take advantage of the most recent technology advancements without needing to be educated or familiar with them. There s no need to know how to employ new software or inject service pack releases into your network infrastructure because the hosting company takes care of this on the backend - often without the end-user ever knowing. And if you do have IT employees, they can benefit from the expertise and support of cloud hosting service. UP TO DATE APPLICATIONS AND SERVERS Eliminate operating system compatibility issues. Server hosting also guarantees the latest version of Microsoft applications if the provider is a Microsoft SPLA partner. INCREASED WORKER EFFICIENCY Mobility and flexibility: Use any device anywhere Your employees can access their business apps from any computing device (laptop, tablets, ipad, etc.) and from anywhere with internet connection. 8 P a g e IntelliSuite Whitepaper - How Cloud Computing Overcomes 11 Common IT Problems

9 WORK ACROSS MULTIPLE OFFICE LOCATIONS Cloud services make it easy for your team to work from anywhere- including multiple office locations and remote work. USE THE LATEST VERSIONS OF PROGRAMS To get the latest and greatest functionality, empower your employees, and get the greatest protection from hackers, viruses and malware you want to be using the latest versions of your software. Cloud apps make this possible. EMPOWER DEVICES AND APPS FOR QUICKER PERFORMANCE Cloud hosting is always up-to-date, so it delivers the fastest possible performance. SUPERIOR SUPPORT OPTIONS Support personnel are not only well-trained and experienced, they also are familiar with the exact technology involved in the hosting. INCREASED SECURITY When you shift the delivery of your apps to a hosted desktop model, all of your data is maintained in a central location. Employees simply log into one place to access everything. Theft of employee s computers or phones doesn t place your data at risk. COMPLIANCE Cloud hosting companies are under greater scrutiny, so they all must be compliant with all legal requirements. SMB s can securely "house" applications in "secure data centers" (SSAE16-certified) that previously only the largest companies could use. ALWAYS ON Power never goes out in a well-managed, Tier 4 data center. vi QUICK RECOVERY Hosted solutions perform automatic backups. If there s ever a need for data recovery, businesses already have a recent copy at the host. 9 P a g e IntelliSuite Whitepaper - How Cloud Computing Overcomes 11 Common IT Problems

10 EXAMPLE CASE STUDIES LUXURY EYEWEAR IMPROVED PERFORMANCE AND RELIABILITY IN MULTIPLE LOCATIONS A luxury eyewear company with two dozen locations across Chicagoland needed to centralize the location of its business system in order to provide an integrated and consistent business system to all of its stores. They chose their cloud host after a trial period due to improved system performance and personal attention that IntelliSuite provided to its custom needs. They now host 12 virtual servers, some for their SAP and other applications running on Microsoft Windows Remote Desktop servers. With this implementation, more than one hundred employees now have high-speed and dependable access to their business applications. HEALTHCARE BILLING INCREASED BANDWIDTH AND RELIABILITY WITH LOWER COST A healthcare billing company was investigating a more stable environment to host the billing applications used by its billing agents across the US and India. The company had hosted its billing application internally using Microsoft Windows Terminal Services. However, the system was unstable due to power interruptions, and end user performance suffered due to inadequate bandwidth. Moreover, the company was facing the loss of its IT Administrator. The medical billing company found that the hosted server platform was less expensive than its own internal costs with the promise of uninterrupted power supply and dependable, high performance bandwidth. ADVERTISING AGENCY CUSTOM IMPLEMENTATION AT MANAGEABLE COST An advertising agency sought consulting services for the implementation of Citrix. The goal was to use Citrix to host Filemaker-based business application in their main office, with remote access for additional employees in three U.S. and international locations. The agency had already tried unsuccessfully to implement Citrix technology on its own before contacting the cloud host. Given their prior experience, and the capital cost of purchasing new hardware, software, and consulting services, the agency decided to entertain the hosting option. The hosting option also provided more available bandwidth at the cloud host s dedicated data center versus what the agency could do in its own office; thus providing improved application performance for all users regardless of location. Ten years later, the same cloud host continues to host the agency s business applications with access to over 100 employees in Chicago, LA, NY, and London. Recently, the host introduced a technology that securely links a portion of the agency s Active Directory domain to their hosted applications. With this integration, agency employees now use the same credentials used internally to access applications hosted by the cloud host. This seamless integration further speeds up onboarding and management of their end users without any intervention by the host. 10 P a g e IntelliSuite Whitepaper - How Cloud Computing Overcomes 11 Common IT Problems

11 FURNITURE MANUFACTURER MERGING MULTIPLE APPS INTO A CUSTOM BUSINESS PLATFORM A top business furniture manufacturer in the US was investigating an application hosting platform to streamline purchase order management for its top dealers in the US including nearly 300 users. The goal was to integrate this platform, based on Microsoft Navision, into the manufacturer internal order management system, and reduce purchase order processing for its dealers from days to hours. Thirteen years later, they continue to use the Microsoft Navision system with the same cloud host for its own internal business operations. 11 P a g e IntelliSuite Whitepaper - How Cloud Computing Overcomes 11 Common IT Problems

12 WHY INTELLISUITE IntelliSuite Cloud solution is a set of hosted, cost-effective and scalable IT services. Using the power of the Internet, our cloud solutions provide unlimited 24/7 support, all the server hardware, operating system software, and data backup services that you need to keep your business running safely and smoothly. BUSINESS CONTINUITY. All systems within IntelliSuite data center are clustered and redundant. For clients that prefer, IntelliSuite can extend your internal IT systems to the data center to create multi-site redundancy. COMPLIANCE. IntelliSuite uses a Tier 4 data center that is SSAE16-certified. 24/7 CUSTOMER SERVICE. Our support line is always answered by human beings 24x7x365. Our customers never talk to a machine. We believe in custom execution and personal attention. QUICK SETUP. New clients can be up and running in less than one week. COST EFFECTIVE. For about the cost of setting up your entire office computer infrastructure, you can run hosted through IntelliSuite for 36 months. CONTACT US at IntelliSuite.com or call i Citrix extends remote desktop delivery from Windows Azure for mobile working. Archana Venkatraman. ComputerWeekly.com. July 9, ii The State of SMB IT Report. November Spiceworks. iii State of SMB IT 1H Spiceworks. iv The Hidden Costs of Small & Medium Business Software. SMB Suite. v Microsoft Security Intelligence Report, Volume 15, January through June, vi Tier 4 data centers are required to have an uptime of at least %. IntelliSuite s data center with Equinix has a % uptime, which means only 30 seconds of downtime per year. TIA-942: Data Center Standards Overview. 2008, Telecommunications Industry Association (and) ANSI/TIA-942, Telecommunications Infrastructure Standard for Data Centers Telecommunications Industry Association P a g e IntelliSuite Whitepaper - How Cloud Computing Overcomes 11 Common IT Problems