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Smart, Fast, Expert Help For Your Mission Critical Network [Cisco]

 Get direct anytime access to Cisco expertise with Cisco SMARTnet Service. Today, your … [Read More...]

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AutoCAD 2013: What IT & Procurement Needs to Know (Part 2) [AutoDesk]

In my first post, I focused on the impact of the new cloud-enabled features in Autodesk … [Read More...]

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AutoCAD 2013: What IT & Procurement Needs to Know (Part 1) [AutoDesk]

There’s a lot of ground to cover with the AutoCAD 2013 release. In total, there are … [Read More...]

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Creative Suite 6: What You Need To Know About Subscriptions [Adobe]

In my first post I explained how the trend of moving apps to the the cloud – … [Read More...]


Smart, Fast, Expert Help For Your Mission Critical Network [Cisco]

 Get direct anytime access to Cisco expertise with Cisco SMARTnet Service.

Today, your network is a strategic platform in a world that demands better integration between people, information and ideas. That means networks, the applications that run on them and the people who use them work best when these components work well together.

Cisco® Smart Services for Small and Medium Business offers #three broad service choices# (link) that help you realize the full potential of your network investment and accommodate all your network needs as your business grows or changes by: Continue reading »

AutoCAD 2013: What IT & Procurement Needs to Know (Part 2) [AutoDesk]

In my first post, I focused on the impact of the new cloud-enabled features in Autodesk 2013. In this second post, I’m going to take a closer look at their subscription offering, and why (if you’re not already) you need to consider it.

Why Subscriptions make sense for Enterprise Software

Subscription makes sense if you upgrade frequently, want to better leverage online support or need more flexibility with rights – like the ability to use previous and current versions, install the software on home and work machines or use the license at multiple locations. Beyond that – and the reason I believe it’s more compelling now – are two big factors.

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AutoCAD 2013: What IT & Procurement Needs to Know (Part 1) [AutoDesk]

There’s a lot of ground to cover with the AutoCAD 2013 release. In total, there are seventeen new features over the 2012 edition. There are two aspects of this release that I believe are most relevant to IT departments and procurement teams. In this first post, I talk about the Cloud, and how it’s going to change how you work.

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Creative Suite 6: What You Need To Know About Subscriptions [Adobe]

In my first post I explained how the trend of moving apps to the the cloud – specifically Adobe’s Creative Cloud – will be a transformative experience for creative professionals. In the second part of my series about the launch of Adobe CS 6, I’m focusing on the second trend I’ve been watching: the evolution of subscription licensing.

Subscriptions as a mega-trend

Why are software providers shifting towards subscription based licensing? This is partly because an annuity revenue stream is more attractive to software providers than the unpredictable purchase/upgrade cycle. Corporations (as they should) like predictability. So, what’s the advantage to you as the buyer?

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Creative Suite 6: What You Need To Know About Cloud [Adobe]

Like you, I’ve played with various products within Adobe’s Creative Suite like Acrobat and Photoshop over the years. And over the same number of years, as a technology marketer, I’ve seen two major trends within the software industry that are particularly relevant to IT departments and procurement teams.

The first trend is the how the cloud is changing every software vendor’s approach to delivering applications to market. The second trend is how licensing is moving towards micro-subscriptions. This post focuses on the cloud, and the second one describes the latter.

Skip to the bottom of this post now, if you want to find out why, from an IT perspective, Adobe Creative Cloud is great.

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eBook: Virtualizing desktops one baby step at a time [VMware]

Adopting a desktop virtualization strategy is like learning how to how to walk. You’ve got to take it one step at a time. And with the amount of mobile devices that have flooded into many organizations, determining how to establish a secure, compliant and controlled method of integration is essential for giving end-users the experience they want.

The first step to take is assessing the challenges you face. Look at the current state of your IT environment, map triggers to solutions and know what end-user expectations are. Continue reading »

Virtual Desktops Get the Security Once-Over From Trend Micro & VMware

Two technology leaders team up to make virtual desktops as secure as physical ones.

Fresh off the success of server virtualization, organizations everywhere are taking the next big step to cloud computing migration, pulling the OS and applications off their physical desktops and managing OS, applications and data virtually.

Like other virtualization before it, desktop virtualization – or VDI – goes a long way to addressing the big elephants in the data center: cost, complexity and security.

On the security front in particular, Trend Micro – the leader in virtualization security – has teamed up with VMware to offer organizations security that’s specifically optimized for virtual desktop environments. That’s important because by sticking with traditional security solutions, enterprises risk limiting their consolidation rates and reducing system performance, not to mention spending a lot more time managing the solution without the confidence that virtual workloads and data are adequately protected. All this can mean compromising the success of a desktop virtualization project.

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In a Mobile Organization,There’s No Room For Mobile Chaos [RIM]

Blackberry® Mobile Fusion unifies and simplifies mobile device management.

For a little while there it looked like the soup of mobile devices whirling around the average office — personal and corporate smartphones, laptops, tablets, e-readers, netbooks, even gaming devices – might push IT over the edge. After all if the folks in IT can’t effectively ensure the devices employees are using are safe and if they can’t manage those devices on their organization’s network with relative ease, there’s a good chance any semblance of order might quickly turn to chaos.

Luckily a hero has arrived to help save the day – or least help IT bolster its organizations’ mobile device strategy - in a secure and cost-effective way. BlackBerry Mobile Fusion is a new generation of universal mobile device management that enables IT to provision, audit and protect BlackBerry smartphones, BlackBerry PlayBook tablets, as well as Apple iOS and Google Android devices all from a single, unified web-based interface. Think of it as the flexible backbone of an organization’s mobility management strategy.

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eBook: Dell Compellent lets you spend less time managing your data [Dell]

Click here to download this eBook

Dell Compellent storage is an enterprise data storage array that delivers high performance with fewer drives, power and space. With Compellent being utilized any organization can save time and reduce human error with its built-in intelligence and automation which streamline data management. Compellent has advanced space-efficient snapshot technology that protects organizations against needless downtime which translates into dollars lost.

Dell Compellent storage systems can help address 8 common data storage issues.

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Storage Magazine’s 2011 Backup Hardware Product Of The Year [Quantum]

With the onset of virtualization and its increasing adoption, companies face the challenge of overhauling the infrastructure that supports their virtual environment. Amidst the chaos and change, have you thought about how this affects your data protection solution?

When it comes to data protection, the goal always remains the same: ensure backup and restore capabilities holistically for all server instances as well as a structure for individual recovery. Paired with a virtualization strategy, the challenge of virtualizing your existing environments shifts to the challenge of virtualizing your existing environments while keeping the interoperability of the disaster recovery solution you already have.

It doesn’t have to be complex if you stick to these bottom lines with vmPRO 4000, Storage Magazine’s backup hardware product of the year (2011). Continue reading »