Questions on maintaining IT systems in The Cloud are always part of the first conversations Hosted Cloud Solutions providers like Sun Digital have with clients. Server maintenance is one of the most compelling reasons for The Cloud. In a hosted cloud solution the entire IT maintenance responsibility is owned by vendor and in this case Sun Digital.
Why is the important to businesses? Conservatively businesses spend 1 hour a day on IT system maintenance, doing such things as data backup’s, routine patches, virus scans or application updates. Conservatively, that is 22+ hours a month and 14% if the IT staff persons time on of just maintaining the health of your IT system!
Sun Digital’s Hosted cloud solutions use Virtualization technology. Virtualization technology also allows IT companies to deploy system maintenance, security patches and application software updates seamlessly. It also provides them the ability to maintain and monitor multiple IT systems and users under the same interface.
In this scenario businesses use a they can better utilize their IT person(s) for other IT functions that help the business run better and more efficiently.
This is definitely a trend for the future as in a study by the Gartner Special Research Team they are predicting that the Hosted Personal Cloud Solutions will take over the traditional business IT environment by 2014.
Call Sun Digital at 352-369-9600 for a Free Consultation and Quote for a Hosted Cloud Solution and help your business run more efficiently or you can download the Free Cloud Solutions guide for SBM’s.
Sun Digital is hosting a “Do the right thing when you spring clean” electronics recycling charity event on March 14th from 7am-1:30pm. This gives the community the ability to conveniently drop off their unwanted electronics at the downtown Ocala event location, where the items will be properly disposed of, as well as raising money for a local charity. The alternative to this is to take the unwanted electronics to the dump on Baseline (484) where toxic chemicals from the electronics have the potential of leaching into our local water table. With this event Sun Digital wants bring community awareness to the proper disposal of electronics as we clean out our homes and offices this spring. This is a great for the community, the environment and also local charities.
The Sun Digital proceeds from the electronics recycling charity event are going to benefit Habitat For Humanity of Marion County, who works to eliminate poverty housing in the Marion County community. Habitat For Humanity is a wonderful organization that provides decent housing solutions for the impoverished. As we know from working with Brothers Keeper on the last event the impoverished and homeless in our community is a growing concern. Sun Digital believes that home ownership creates better citizens for our community, so they are excited that this event benefits the Habitat For Humanity of Marion County.
Recycle All Electronics (RAE) is taking eRecycling events to a new level and was announced by Sun Digital as their new recycle partner. RAE is HIPAA certified, they are also EPA registered and in the process of securing AAA NAID, R2 and ISO14001 certifications.
For details on the item that will be accepted and event locations and driving directions, please see the Sun Digital Community and Events Web Page. Please come out and show your support for Habitat For Humanity of Marion County and the environment.
Over the past 5 years of providing cloud solutions to our clients we decided to ask them what are your top 5 questions about cloud solutions that are have summarized below.
- Is my data and systems secure in the cloud?- The answer is yes, Virtualization technology is what makes the cloud run, which is inherently safer than a traditional server environment. A virtual server can hold 7x as much as a traditional server.This means there are fewer points of entry into your network for malicious intent. With fewer servers to monitor, it makes it easier to access and fix a security breach. See server redundancy question for additional security benefits
- How do you backup our data in the cloud? Backups are frequent and automated in the Cloud. There is no human error element, that for example “Stan” from IT was sick today and no else changed the tapes. The back-ups are then sent digitally offsite to another location. This means your data is better protected against natural and man-made disasters, like hurricanes, fire or theft. Since backup are frequent and automated Data/System recovery is much faster. If something were to happen to your data in the cloud, that data can easily be recovered and brought back online.
- Is there server redundancy in the cloud? Let’s start with what is redundancy? It is having a computer system or network device that takes over when the primary unit fails. Redundancy is actually built into the virtualization technology itself. If one system goes down it automatically rolls to a new one. With the Cloud SMB’s have access to a technology that in the past has been complex and expensive. Your business is up and running 100% of the time, equaling no loss in revenue or employee productivity.
- Can my legacy applications run in the Cloud? The cloud can actually preserve legacy applications , so they are ideal candidates to move to The Cloud. Many legacy applications are built and only run on outdated technology. If a problem or upgrade is needed for the application it is very expensive or impossible to move or upgrade the technology. By installing a “copy” of the application and server onto virtualized server in the Cloud, it allows it to run in a faster and less volatile technology platform.
- How do cloud solutions cut energy cost? Virtualization which is the technology that runs the cloud is 60% more energy efficient than traditional servers. Virtualized servers can be 80% or more utilized. Versus traditional servers at 25%-30% utilized. Fewer servers are needed = less energy used. Using a Hosted Cloud Solution our clients have seen a 30%-40% reduction in your electric bill.
If you have any questions about the Cloud and how it can help your business, let us know!
Questions on maintaining IT systems in The Cloud are always part of the first conversations Hosted Cloud Solutions providers like Sun Digital have with clients. Server maintenance is one of the most compelling reasons for The Cloud. In a hosted cloud solution the entire IT maintenance responsibility is owned by vendor and in this case Sun Digital.
