Enterprise 2.0

If your organization is trying to manage more information, unify communications, share more ideas, coordinate activities, track workflow & manage change then you are on your way to becoming an Enterprise 2.0.  Some analysts liken Enterprise 2.0 to FaceBook for business, which is a valid comparison, but I feel it imparts the impression that there is no real business value to an enterprise social web platform.   So what is Enterprise 2.0?

In its most basic form, Enterprise 2.0 is about communication. The premise is that the more easily people can communicate (with other workers, team members, customers, vendors, clients) the less information will be siloed. When information is free, people can get more feedback and input (collaborate), react more quickly (agility) and make better decisions. This is the opportunity inherent in Enterprise 2.0: a more efficient, productive and intelligent workforce.  Feel free to click on some of the links below to learn more about the latest in enterprise social computing.

One local company, named NewsGator, recently posted a great blog article with nine Enterprise 2.0 predictions for 2010, including: Generation Y, Microblogging, HR, training requirements, etc.  Check it out here:

http://bit.ly/6a0ST0

There is an online conference tomorrow, sponsored by Microsoft & IBM, discussing the concepts of Enterprise 2.0, that you can register for here:

http://bit.ly/6gtKa1

Check out how the US Military is using an Enterprise 2.0 strategy, called TISC, to help coordinate relief efforts in Haiti:

http://bit.ly/7IT5TA

http://bit.ly/d4SZvO

http://bit.ly/biHRbB

Lewan has been using our own social web collaboration tools for almost 4 years & it has helped us reduce storage-space requirements, strengthen & simplify data management and backup, improve access and enable mobility.  If you would like to learn more about what your next generation enterprise looks like, give me a call to discuss your specific needs & how an you can rev. your business to the next version.

Next Generation Virtual Desktop Training

Please join us for a discussion on one of this year’s hottest topics, Desktop Virtualization.   I have provided some recent articles from prominent business publications, attached the invitation and noted the agenda below.  Please register from the invitation or I will be pleased to do this for you.  Spaces are extremely limited to register now!

Recent Forbes and BusinessWeek articles:

The Benefits Of Virtual Desktops.

http://www.forbes.com/2010/01/12/desktop-virtualization-software-business-intelligence-hochmuth.html

The Death of the PC.

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2009/1228/technology-virtualization-vmware-wyse.html

Companies Seek Alternatives to the Old Desktop PC.

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2010/tc2010014_392808.htm?chan=magazine+channel_what%27s+next

Meeting Agenda:

• Welcome and Introductions
• Overview of application and desktop virtualization options
• Deep dive on VMware desktop virtualization
• Deep dive on Citrix desktop virtualization
• Demo of each solution over LAN and WAN
• Questions and general discussion

If you would like to register for this event, you can sign up here:

http://www.lewan.com/ClassRegistration/Registration.asp?p1=reg&p2=66

Data Center Efficiency – 12/7/2009

This week I came across an article from Gartner that can be found here.  Essentially, Gartner has concluded that the issues facing data center managers today will worsen in 2010 because of rising energy costs and a lack of tools that effectively monitor data center efficiency.  Gartner has also estimated that energy costs will soon emerge as the second highest operating cost (behind labor) in 70% of the data centers world wide.

The best way to measure data center efficiency is with Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE).  According to the Uptime Institute the typical data center has an average PUE of 2.5, which means that for every 2.5 watts delivered to the utility meter, only 1 watt is delivered out to the IT load.  The Uptime Institute also estimates that most data centers can achieve a 1.6 PUE by using better tools and a best practices approach.  This means we are losing over one-third of our energy to inefficiencies.  How would your business be affected if we could find a way to cut your power costs by one-third?

Gartner’s top 3 recommendations for cutting data center costs include: 

1. Rationalize the hardware
2. Consolidate data center sites
3. Manage energy & facility costs

Gartner also says that metrics and continued monitoring are critical components of keeping your data center costs down.  Lucky for you, Lewan has been helping local customers address these issues for years and our partners HP and APC have some unique seminars coming to Denver to show you how to tackle these issues.

HP Converged Infrastructure Road Show – January 26th & 27th – Register Here

From Green IT and virtualization to cloud computing, today’s mega-trends demand a new approach to infrastructure—an infrastructure that matches the supply of IT resources with the demand for business applications.  Join us to see how the HP converged infrastructure architecture is breaking down technology silos to simplify IT and accelerate business results.
 
Day 1 will highlight presentations on:

• Managing explosive  data growth
• Transforming  productivity through Unified Communications  
• Bulletproofing  your virtualization strategy
• Thermal Logic and  Dynamic Power Capping reduce costs and extend the life of your  datacenter

Day 2 HP experts will provide technical details including demonstrations of the powerful HP innovations that make Converged Infrastructure real:

• HP BladeSystem  Matrix and Insight Software: Converged Infrastructure solution for delivering  shared services
• Flex Fabric to  dynamically connect resources
• Unified Storage  for flexible, resilient scale-out storage  
• BladeSystem with  G6 processors for maximum performance and power efficiency  
• Detailed technical  teardown of competitive systems to see what’s really under the  covers

APC Demonstration Truck Tour - December 14^th & 15th

The APC Demonstration Truck will be in the Front Range on December 14^th & 15^th.  This is a great way to meet the local APC representatives and see the technology first hand.  So if you want to see any of the APC technologies including:

Data Centers, Server Rooms, and Wiring Closets

Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)

Power Distribution

Racks and Accessories

Cooling

Security and Environmental Monitoring

11/23/2009

Happy Turkey Week Everyone!

We can all agree that every organization is different and has unique challenges to overcome, right? 

This is undeniably true, however it is also a fact that there are many challenges we are all facing in regards to managing electronic information, including:

• Backup administration & management
• Proper capacity forecasting & storage
• Meeting eDiscovery & compliance regulations
• Power reduction, cooling & green initiatives
• Controlling costs
• Managing data & storage growth
• Data center consolidation & virtualization
• Archive & data retention
• Protecting data on end-user machines & in remote offices

Now you may not have initiatives in all of these areas, but we are seeing runaway data growth that has gone underestimated, untamed and unaddressed in many businesses.  The consequences of this scenario include: spiraling costs, mounting complexity, excessive hardware, ever-dwindling storage space, failed backups, inaccessible information and much more.

To overcome these challenges, we need tools that are easy to use and scale with changes in the end-user community and growth of the data store.  Two of the best tools available to address information management challenges are featured in this upcoming lunch seminar in the Denver Tech Center.  Please join us for this presentation of how EqualLogic & CommVault will help you address many the challenges listed above.

Register Here: https://www.eiseverywhere.com/ehome/index.php?eventid=7990&PHPSESSID=hsrvvf3899cqruo9hbeb3pbv73&reference=smb

If you can’t make it to this lunch, I would be more than willing to bring our experts to your office for a private lunch & learn to dive deeper into what would work best for you.

10/21/2009

This week I would like to share a few seminars & webinars that we are sponsoring. 

 

LOCAL EVENTS

 

iSCSI Storage in Virtual Environments Happy Hour Registration Link

Del Frisco’s – 8100 East Orchard Road, Greenwood Village

Thursday, October 29^th from 4:00pm –6:00pm

Sponsored by Lewan IT Group & HP LeftHand Storage

 

Please join Lewan and HP for a brief informational update on the impact of iSCSI storage platforms within today’s virtualized IT environments. Enjoy appetizers and cocktails in a relaxed setting to further discuss your IT initiatives and plans with local Lewan account managers and experts from Lewan and HP.  This seminar is ideal for all technical support roles.

 

Lower Costs & Risks with Datacenter Optimization & Consolidation Registration Link

Denver Aquarium – 700 Water St, Denver

Wednesday, November 4^th from 1:00pm – 4:00pm

Sponsored by Lewan IT Group, Avnet & HP ProCurve Networking

 

Two presentations from industry experts Abner Germanow (Director of IDC’s Enterprise Communications Infrastructure Services) and Lin Nease (Director of Emerging Technologies HP Procurve Networking) about the current strategies for automation in the data center to reduce operating expenses.  This seminar is ideal for technical executives & managers.

 

 

WEBINARS

 

Application Availability for Critical Workloads Live Webinar Registration Link

Wednesday October 28^th, 2009 from 9:00am to 10:00am

Sponsored by DoubleTake

  

Unplanned disasters and downtime cause disruption and loss of productivity for employees as well as tedious and time-consuming processes for IT managers. In the event of an outage, make sure you are prepared to be back up and running before the business notices.

 

Five Tips to Achieving Storage Infrastructure Efficiency Link to On-demand Webinar

65 Minutes

Sponsored by Compellent

 

ESG Analyst Mark Peters examines the ongoing challenge of managing data growth while containing costs. Discover how efficient storage technologies enabled CIO Brian Trudeau of Amerex Brokers to keep pace with data growth and reduce the overall cost of doing business.  This webinar is ideal for decision makers & managers.

8/31/2009

We have a number of great events coming your way in September, so please join us for them all.  A big THANK YOU to our partners Compellent, Cisco, HP, Latistys and Symantec for making these events possible.

 September 4th – GAMER Movie Premier – Regal Continental Theater

We truly appreciate your business and would like to to join us for a fun premier of the movie GAMER.  This takes place on the Friday before Labor Day, so I’m thinking it will be a great way to start the weekend.

 September 16th – Virtualization Customer Council Event – Del Frisco’s

Please join us for an educational lunch seminar designed to help you with your virtualization strategy.  These are the latest conversations in the virtualization space and these technologies will significantly impact our IT environments in the future.

Join Lewan & Associates, HP ProCurve and LeftHand for this Virtualization Customer Council Event

You’ve embarked on the journey. But do you know where you’re headed? This event will be exploring real world examples of how advanced storage and networking are driving inventive and creative ways of improving efficiency beyond server virtualization.  Optimizing resilience, performance and security for IP storage and IP networking will be discussed as a complement to optimizing iSCSI SAN environments.  Unique features from HP LeftHand P4000 SAN/IQ and HP ProCurve will be shared to future proof and prepare for next generation 10 Gig-E iSCSI SANs. We Invite you to join us for the Virtualization event with emphasis on “Customer Councils” sharing best practices between customers. Provision storage resources dynamically and intelligently Reduce the impact on application performance Scale for growth and adapt rapidly to changes in business requirements Manage your entire storage infrastructure through a single console Agenda 11:00 a.m. 11:15 a.m.   Welcome and Introduction HP LeftHand P4000 SAN Solutions 11:45 a.m. 12:00 p.m.   HP ProCurve Networking Lunch is Served 12:15 p.m. 1:00 p.m.   Q & A Open Discussion Adjourn Sign up today and see for yourself how you can break the barriers to performance and manageability in a virtualized environment. >” src=”http://www.event-mgt.com/eblasts/2009/virtualization/invite_workshop_03_09/register_today.gif” width=75 height=20>

When and where     Wed September 16th, 2009 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Del Frisco’s 8100 E Orchard Rd Denver, CO 80111 Register today.

September 17th – Cisco Solutions Update – Cisco Customer Briefing Center – Invite Included

Would you like to learn about and see the latest offerings from Cisco, including:

• Data Center
• VMware partnership
• Security
• Wireless
• Unified Communications

If so, come to this impressive facility in Englewood that features many of the most advanced technologies in the world.

 September 23rd – Controlling Storage and E-discovery Costs – Maggiano’s Are you spending too much upgrading your storage?  Are you lacking useful tools to manage your unstructured data?  Users complaining about email space limits?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, join us to learn about the industries most advanced email and data management solution, Enterprise Vault.  

	Do you feel as if you’re spending more time, energy, and budget on data center and legal processes that aren’t getting any more efficient? You’re not alone. Many organizations—small to large enterprise—are feeling the pressures to do more today but with the same or fewer resources than they had last year. Join us to discuss how archiving enables you to regain control and reduce costs associated with storing, managing, and discovering email and other unstructured information. Symantec Enterprise Vault is the key to your storage optimization strategy: • Control email storage growth and give users virtually unlimited inboxes without adding storage • De Duplicate across archived Email, Instant Messages, SharePoint, File Servers, and more • Archive, block or automatically delete files based on corporate policy to control file server growth • Discover and place legal holds instantly on information relevant to an internal or legal search request

8/3/2009

This week, I would like to once again invite you to our lunch session, we are almost full, so sign up now!  I would also like you to know about 2 new ways we can help out, including full managed services for many of the technologies we represent and a new Microsoft solutions practice.

6/8/2009

This week I would like to remind you of the lunch seminar Lewan is holding on Wednesday.  Please join us for an opportunity to learn about the latest from VMware, Cisco & Intel.

 We are seeing great technological advancements in the Video arena.  HD video over IP & wireless networks is changing the way we communicate with each other.  I’m also curious what Apple is going to announce today & how it will continue to change the way we do business.

 Lewan’s Big Event

 June 10th, 2009 - VMware, Intel & Cisco - Optimize the Client Environment - Infinity Park – 4599 E. Tennessee Ave, Glendale, CO 80246

• Want to learn about desktop virtualization? 
• Wondering how to better deliver and secure applications to mobile users? 
• Questions about vSphere or Intel’s Nehalem Chipset? 

Please join us for an in-depth discussion about how Intel, VMware and Cisco are partnering to improve application delivery to the client.  Each partner will present the latest technologies to simplify IT.  One-on-one sessions will be available with the manufacturers & Lewan engineers for more in-depth conversations about how this can integrate with your current IT strategy.   Please RSVP to steve.stjohn@lewan.com

 Latest Headlines - Hooray for Video!

Cisco racing to 4G future NetworkWorld Article

Cisco’s vice president of marketing for the Cisco Worldwide Service Provider Marketing, Suraj Shetty, discusses the future of video over wireless networks to mobile devices.  Cisco is planning for closer integration between IP networks and service provider wireless to ensure more control over information & more mobility.

LifeSize CEO named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Austin Business Journal Telephony Online

LifeSize is one of Lewan’s newest business partners.  The HD video technology they have introduced utilizes standards-based IP networking technology for video communications over the network.  Now Voice, Video & Data can truly run on one network making it easier to secure & manage the communications.
Engadget Live from Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference

I’m guessing there may be some video announcements here, just a hunch.

5/26/2009

This week VMware’s vSphere is available, DataDomain gets acquired, Cisco gets social and you are invited to one of Lewan’s biggest lunch seminars of the year.

 

Lewan’s Big Event

 

June 10th, 2009 - VMware, Intel & Cisco - Optimize the Client Environment - Infinity Park – 4599 E. Tennessee Ave, Glendale, CO 80246

• Thinking about desktop virtualization? 
• Wondering how to better deliver and secure applications to mobile users? 
• Questions about vSphere or Intel’s Nehalem Chipset? 

Please join us for an in-depth discussion about how Intel, VMware and Cisco are partnering to improve application delivery to the client.  Each partner will present the latest technologies to simplify IT.  One-on-one sessions will be available after the presentations for more in-depth conversations about how this will integrate with your current IT strategy.   Please RSVP to steve.stjohn@lewan.com

 

Latest Headlines

 

VMware vSphere Available Now!  Lewan’s BLOG Official Site VMware’s BLOG Download

VMware vSphere 4 extends the previous generation VMware platform along three dimensions:

1. Delivers the efficiency and performance required to run business critical applications in large scale environments
2. Provides uncompromised control over application service levels
3. Preserves customer choice of hardware, OS, application architecture and on-premise vs. off-premise application hosting 

If you have questions about this new release, let’s get together to discuss your options & how this will affect your environment.

 

VMware vSphere Performance & Support 350,000 IOPS VMware Performance Video Exchange 2007 on vSphere SQL Supported on Virtual Hardware

VMware’s latest release includes major performance advantages over previous versions which make it realistic to run almost any application in a virtual environment.  Now heavy-hitting and business critical applications can harness the agility and availability improvements VMware makes possible.  Make sure to check out the video of the engineer showing how this can be done with vSphere.

 

NetApp Acquires DataDomain Official Announcement

Last week the Network Attached Storage giant NetApp purchased DataDomain for $1.5B.  Lewan will continue to support DataDomain solutions here at & will provide our current clients with updates as we receive them.

 

Cisco Learning Becomes a Social Networking Site Cisco Learning Website

Cisco has upgraded the Cisco Learning Network platform to include more social networking functionality than ever. With the Invite and Friends features, you can expand your network and tap into the expertise of our community. Enhanced profiles and a new rich text editor for documents, discussions and comments make for a richer experience. Learn about these features, free tools, and more exclusively in the Community Café blog.