SaaS Hosting Overview White Paper

Transcription

1 SaaS Hosting Overview White Paper

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABOUT COMQI... 2 SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE... 3 Benefits of SaaS... 4 COMQI S SAAS OFFERINGS... 5 SAAS MANAGEMENT PRACTICES... 7 Network Operations Team... 7 System and Network Monitoring... 7 Security... 8 SAAS HOSTING FACILITIES... 9 Electrical... 9 Cooling... 9 Diesel Backup... 9 Telecom Infrastructure... 9 Physical Security LEARN MORE

3 ABOUT COMQI ComQi is the global leader in multichannel message management in the digital signage and out-of-home industries, providing powerful content & network management platforms along with innovative media distribution technologies. Formed from the merger of Minicom Digital Signage and EnQii and working with dozens of partners around the world, ComQi is a multi-award winning company with over 12 years of experience and an installed base of more than 400,000 displays worldwide powering retail, advertising, QSR and corporate networks. ComQi s mission is to provide fully managed solutions to customers - through network operators, integrators and distributors - in order to optimize their communications strategy by delivering the right content to the right place at the right time, at the best ROI. We provide a powerful end-to-end technology platform to manage in-venue digital signage, mobile and social media. The platform consists of EnGage - the industry s most advanced cloud based content and campaign management system - and our award winning extension and distribution solutions - DSVision and ScreenGate. We are a global company headquartered in New York with offices in Jerusalem, Toronto, London, Zurich, Paris, Hong Kong Shanghai. ComQi has been voted as the number one global digital signage provider for the third year in a row by and a Tier One player by Frost & Sullivan for the second year in a row. ComQi has hundreds of customers around the world including McDonalds, Wal-Mart, Care Media, Cinema City, Toys R Us, Meijer, Santander, Zoom Media and Compass Group. 2

4 SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE The Web changed how software is delivered. Where once all software was installed and run locally on a PC or servers, Software as a Service (SaaS) providers now offer their services online. This reduces the amount of local maintenance required, and creates a much tighter relationship between the supplier and consumer. The differences between the models go beyond just the delivery model, however. Traditional packaged software is designed for customers to install, manage and maintain locally. The products are architected with one dedicated instantiation of the software per customer. SaaS, in contrast, is designed from the outset for delivery over the Internet with thousands of different customers running on the same code base. Software as a Product Software as a Service Delivery Installed Hosted Development Longer cycle, big bang Short, continuous Pricing Perpetual license + maintenance Subscription (all inclusive) Allocation Capitalized Expensed Additional costs Installation, maintenance, Configuration customization & upgrades Platform Multiple versions present in the market Single platform, single version Updates Larger, less frequent Shorter, frequent Sales Focus Close the deal Prove value Feedback cycle Long Short Profits Initial sale Ongoing Success New license revenue Lack of churn Generally, packaged software is released with upgrades every months. These releases are sold individually and installed at each customer site. Customers may fall behind in their updates making adoption of new capabilities challenging unless the customer stays up to date. Packaged software suppliers usually charge a maintenance fee of approximately 20% per annum or charge an upgrade fee for each release. In contrast, SaaS providers generally provide frequent digestible upgrades every 3-4 months to minimize customer disruption and enhance satisfaction. Fixing a problem for one customer fixes it for everyone. Most SaaS providers include maintenance as part of their maintenance costs. In order to service a global market, SaaS operators co-locate their equipment in telecom data centers which have access to multiple up-stream providers and can quickly reroute in the event of any network failure. Creating an equivalent network infrastructure for a single company is a significant undertaking. 3

5 Perhaps the biggest difference between packaged software and SaaS is the provider s motivation. Traditional packaged software providers sell their product for an up-front cost, whereas SaaS providers rely on a strong customer relationship to provide on-going revenue. Where packaged software providers seek to sell new licenses, SaaS providers are motivated to reduce customer churn. BENEFITS OF SAAS There are many benefits to picking SaaS over Packaged Software, including: Cost Savings. Rather than have to make significant capital investments up front, costs can be amortized over the life of the service contract. Accelerated payback and higher return on investment (ROI) Reduced risk. SaaS providers have already researched and selected the best equipment, configurations, and practices to run a complex system effectively. More efficient utilization of human and capital resources Seamless product enhancements and upgrades. Rather than have to test and deploy a software upgrade internally, you can rely on the SaaS provider to do the work. Reduced system/network downtime. A strong and dedicated Network Operations team is the backbone of a SaaS provider. Reduced complexity. Without the need to monitor and manage a local set of servers, a SaaS network operator can focus on their core business. Accountability of the SaaS vendor. As a SaaS vendor offering a monthly service, the provider is constantly available to address any concerns. Without the headache and cost of purchasing, configuring, installing and testing an in-house infrastructure, operators can launch their networks faster. Once in operation, without the need to staff and manage the system s operation, they can focus on their core business. Ultimately, all of the above benefits combine to provide operators of Digital Signage networks with a faster time to value. 4

6 COMQI S SAAS OFFERINGS ComQi s Digital Signage SaaS suite is 100% web based and can be accessed from anywhere. Users configure their content and playback intensions on the website and Media Players in the field connect to and download their content and playback instructions in real-time. The suite of services includes the following applications: Content Manager fully featured content management portal On Site Manager templated messages and data driven menus Interaction Manager deploy interactive experiences that connect smart phones with screens Network Manager management portal that provides customers with centralized control over multiple networks API Server platform access via programming tools The various components of the solution are illustrated in the diagram below: ComQi s systems are constructed using a modular, clustered architecture. Each cluster features multiple servers to balance load and ensure availability. Each server features redundant power supplies connected to independent power sources. System access is load balanced to ensure high availability and rapid response. To ensure high availability and performance, EnGage clusters are built from high quality servers and storage devices. The foundational content management application is itself comprised of a number of services, as outlined in the diagram above. The core of EnGage is comprised of 4 primary services, backed up by database and file servers. There are two or more instances of each software service. Each instance of the service runs within a virtualized environment, hosted on robust equipment from HP, Juniper, Cisco, and NetApp. The hardware has been selected based on its standards of performance, power redundancy, and cooling. Collectively, there is no single point of failure in the underlying physical architecture. 5

7 Figure 1 - The logical view of the servers that make up an EnGage Cluster In addition to production clusters, ComQi maintains three supporting clusters for development, quality assurance testing, and staging. The staging environment is identical to a production cluster to ensure compatibility. Supporting products in the suite, such as On Site Manager, Interaction Manager, and the API Service are hosted independently of the core EnGage content manager on comparable hardware and managed using similar practices. ComQi hosts its production clusters in two North American based Telco-grade co-location facilities, both of which feature redundant network paths, redundant power and cooling, and secured access. Both facilities have been audited to conform with SSAE16 and CSAE3416 Type II. 6

8 SAAS MANAGEMENT PRACTICES The successful delivery of highly available SaaS requires careful planning, continuous oversight, and skilled personnel. The Network Operations team are responsible for the design, maintenance and monitoring of the hosting infrastructure. They perform a variety of System and Network maintenance tasks, and actively measure usage so as to better perform capacity planning. The team is also responsible for ensuring that the systems are secure against threats and properly backed up. NETWORK OPERATIONS TEAM The most important criteria in delivering 24/7 systems, is a motivated and talented Network Operations team. ComQi s Network Operations team members are experts in their field. Led by an experienced systems engineer, many of the operations team possess ITIL certification and are current with industry best practices and procedures. The team has many years of experience with Linux and Windows and has certifications from RedHat, LPI, and Microsoft. The Operations team follows well-established procedures to ensure efficient operation and high availability. While automated systems monitor systems 24x7x365, the operations team can be reached quickly to address any anomalous behavior through a planned escalation system that includes pagers and . Customer service is handled through a call center whose staff ensures 24 hour access to the team. The team closely monitors all system components to identify and resolve potential issues before they occur in order to provide the highest level of uptime and performance. Built in redundancy and an inventory of replacement parts also ensure the highest uptime levels possible. The team is responsible for maintaining all aspects of the system, including the equipment, operating systems and applications. This includes the provisioning, testing and deployment of security patches, service packs, upgrades and revisions. They also monitor site and server performance, traffic patterns, disk space and other variables through state of the art monitoring software and hardware. They also manage the provisioning, deployment, testing and ongoing management of all networking devices including routers, switches and firewalls. SYSTEM AND NETWORK MONITORING Without an effective server monitoring system, an organization can suffer the effects of security breaches or system failures with no means of prevention or proactive treatment. Monitoring is a critical element in the basic infrastructure of any Internet initiative. ComQi monitors the following: NETWORK All routers, switches and network backbone connections are monitored to ensure the integrity of the hosting environment and all customer operations. This includes measuring system availability from outside the hosting environment. PROCESSES AND SERVICES Customers can rely on ComQi to measure important infrastructure parameters. Our network monitoring system tracks and records bandwidth utilization, security incidents, and server load. 7

9 MANAGED STORAGE As your media needs increase, rest assured that ComQi s managed storage can scale to support you. ComQi s storage infrastructure is built upon some of the industry s best network storage technology and features hot-swappable drives, live upgrades and minimal-downtime. DATA CENTRE ComQi constantly monitors the health of firewalls, load balancers, servers and other platform components. Redundant automated monitoring technologies provide alerts to either signal the precursor to a failure or a failure event. All infrastructure components such as HVAC, power generation, security and support systems are continuously monitored to ensure they are operating within established parameters. SECURITY Security vulnerabilities pose multi-billion dollar threats to corporations. In order to protect its customers, ComQi employs the industry's most potent security tools and techniques. ComQi has designed its processes specifically for enterprise level Internet initiatives. ComQi employs a comprehensive suite of security technologies including: INFRASTRUCTURE Secure hosting starts at the data centre and includes physical locks, access controls and surveillance systems. Robust fire suppression, HVAC, power feeds, redundant equipment are available to prevent service outage. NETWORK ComQi s hardened network, featuring state of the art firewalls, ensures maximum security and protection. All OSes are loaded, patched, hardened and managed to ensure best security practices. SYSTEM AND APPLICATION PATCHING ComQi constantly update its software systems to ensure maximum protection against threats. 8

10 SAAS HOSTING FACILITIES ComQi s servers are hosted out of two geographically diverse locations in the Greater Toronto Area. The Toronto area is both geologically stable, and as part of Canada, also enjoys political stability. ComQi s servers are housed in two telecommunications grade co-location facilities, including one of North America's most connected buildings with 9 unique networks, 25 diverse fibre-optic entrances, and more than 7,000 strands of fibre. Both data centers are SSAE16 Type II and CSAE3416 certified. Outlined below are the features of these facilities. ELECTRICAL A reliable source of primary power is of paramount importance to a 24/7/365 operation. The buildings are supplied by dual underground 13.8 kv feeder lines from the local substations. At the utility end, reliability is further enhanced by a substation design that uses two double winding transformers to supply a double breaker, double bus configuration. COOLING ComQi s Southern facility has removed the majority of its chiller plant in favor of a more robust and scalable cooling system. District cooling provides chilled lake water to the building according to pre-determined temperature, capacity, and consumption. With the server farms higher than normal cooling requirements, this ensures a reliable chilled water supply that can grow over time. The building s current load is handled by an 800-ton heat exchanger that, by design, can be doubled. The building augments the district chilled water supply with a 325-ton centrifugal chiller on 15-minute stand-by for supplemental cooling and a newly upgraded cooling tower, which provides environmental cooling in the cold months. The Northern facility is a new state-of-the-art data centre which utilizes some of the most efficient green products and technologies on the market. This includes a redundant critical cooling infrastructure using both a local well for primary water supply and a connection to the city s water system, as well as redundant high-efficiency VFD centrifugal chillers. DIESEL BACKUP To support the generator power plant, the facilities feature diesel backup power generation facilities and have unrestricted access to the building to ensure the 24/7/365 operation of their facilities during an emergency. TELECOM INFRASTRUCTURE 9

11 The facilities have diverse connectivity to the Internet. Both buildings have network access from multiple points of the building, increasing the number of right-of-ways that can be used to gain access. Further, proximity to the rail lines, a major right-of-way for national fibre optic loops, enhances access to national networks. The Southern facility has access to a highly secure fibre optic Meet-Me-Room located in the heart of the building offering easy access from building points of entry and is adjoined by a diverse riser system. This provides ComQi centralized access to a multitude of upstream service providers and carriers. A dedicated fibre link connects the South and North facilities. PHYSICAL SECURITY On-site uniformed security patrol the premises and surrounding area 24/7/365. All access to the facilities is logged. The sites are protected using a customized security system and protocol. This security system provides monitoring and access control. All aspects of the security system, including card readers, cameras, alarms, are monitored. Biometrics are used to control access, and are backed up with a photo identification system. Primary access is controlled through card readers and is backed up with physical checks at a manned checkpoint. There are many closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras located through-out the facilities, including the mechanical areas, data center floors, loading dock, Meet-Me-Room and hydro vault. Surveillance footage is maintained for a year. 10

12 LEARN MORE To learn more about ComQi s SaaS offerings or to schedule a site visit, please contact us at one of our offices. ComQi New York ComQi Jerusalem ComQi Toronto ComQi London T: T: T: T: F: F: F: F: Info@comqi.com Info@comqi.com Info@comqi.com Info@comqi.com 11