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Technology News You Can UseAugust 2010In This Newsletter
Comments from the EditorHi All, Welcome to the e-Tech Newsletter Dogs Days of summer 2010 issue. We’ve been suffering the last couple weeks with triple digit heat so indoor activity is the name of the game right now in
This month we have three articles on tap for you. The first is a great discussion from DeltaWare’s Kirk Binder on how you can use intelligent power distribution units to monitor and drastically cut your energy consumption. Anyone who’s seen their CPS bill the last two months will be wanting to pay close attention to this one. Next up is a summary on the features and benefits of a converged voice and data network from Jessica Milner of VOIPHEAD. Third on the agenda, we have a piece from long time contributor Bryan Guinn from Prism Technologies Group on why you should consider central management for your organization’s mobile devices. Also, finally a new feature this month: a summary of the presentations at our monthly Tech Committee brown bag luncheons. Every month, we have a couple of brief (15-20 minutes) presentations on subjects identified by the group. This month, we had Michelle Yankovich of Weaver, LLC give an excellent brief on the regulatory environment as it pertains to IT and how to get a handle on all the rules and regulations. And I gave a short presentation on VirtualBox, an outstanding free virtualization software developed by Sun Microsystems. So that’s all for now. See you next time round and try and stay cool! Tod Bruning Controlling Power, Kirk Binder and Nan Masters, DeltaWare, Inc.Do you want to be all powerful? No, I don’t mean control the government or your teenage kids. I’m talking about the power in your data center or in your office equipment cabinet. Controlling power cost is the fastest growing need for businesses throughout the globe. To take advantage of the need for controlling power, a variety of manufacturers are making “green” or commonly called “intelligent” power distribution units, PDUs. To the lay person, a PDU is a power strip with 8 to 24 outlets that delivers power to a computer, server or other device. The PDU is typically powered by AC current, the same voltage of power you use in your home. To the IT professional, a PDU is the way you have vision into your critical electronic equipment at the plug level. This means the outlets are metered and can be controlled remotely. Outlets can be turned on and off with passwords and the click of a mouse. If you want to know your kilowatt usage for a particular data center, rack, or even just one plug, it can be done with PDU software. Thresholds can be set on the high or low side of consumption. A PDU hitting a high threshold may tell you that equipment has to be shifted to other cabinets, so breakers or fuses don’t pop. A low threshold may show that a particular device can be consolidated or “virtualized”. Consolidation/virtualization means you move data from one server to another and use less electronics in your data center or cabinet. How does this benefit you? If you control a data center or just a couple cabinets, you can take proactive measures before your electronics overheat. If a device hits a threshold limit, you will receive a text or e-mail with the exact location of the problem device. An intelligent PDU takes the guesswork out of power problems and ultimately saves you time and money by preventing the damage to electronics. What about John Q, CFO, who is always breathing down your neck about the expense of “your” data center? You can set up an internal website that gives John Q real time graphics about power usage, carbon footprint, and cost of your overall power. You can even set up reports that break out cost per department. You can put accounting’s equipment in a cabinet based on the power requirements of the cabinet and still be able to track power consumption assigned by department. Software in conjunction with an intelligent PDU allows you to set up virtual reports for an individual department or profit center. Accounting uses servers in Cabinet A, plug 1,2,4,5 and storage in Cabinet D, plug 2 and 4. Clinic XYZ uses Cabinet A, plug 3,6,7,8 and cabinet B, plug 2,3, and 4. The granularity of the reporting gives you information on each department, location, or any other variable you want. Intelligent PDUs are the type of product that has a short return on investment. How many $10,000 switches do you need to burn up before realizing you need intelligent PDUs? Power is becoming increasingly expensive and is about 15% of the average expense of a data center. However, you don’t have to be Google, Apple, or IBM to use intelligent power products. They are reasonably priced, come in a variety of plug configurations, and can be managed with a simple web browser. It will not be a matter of if you take control of your power expenses, it will be a matter of when. You too can become all powerful! Converged Networks, Jessica Milner, VOIPHEADThere are a few questions business owners and managers ask: - How do I stay relevant to my customer? In this tight economy we sometimes have to make up for a lack of resources. A converged network, voice and data on the same network, is easy to manage and highly available (Telephone Company quality). After a simple deployment or upgrade, you can give your onsite and remote workers the ability to share the same network resources and collaborate, as if they were in the same conference room (each with their own desktop computers and phones in front of them). You can protect your investment by leveraging your existing investments. A simple, well thought-out migration now can enable growth without pains in the future. A small business starting off with a phone that offers auto attendant, voicemail, many calling features can easily migrate this system to a branch office later. You can maintain operational efficiency with a smart, secure infrastructure. Properly configured integrated applications will boost productivity by reducing human error and streamlining processes. Keep within the boundaries of compliance measures (HIPAA, Sarbanes-Oxley, PCI, etc.) while maintaining the freedom to boost your productivity both in and away from the office. Have cell phones connect to your wireless network while on campus or use your laptop as a phone while away. Have pertinent customer information pop-up on your computer screen as they call your IP phone. You can secure your business assets with your own Self- Defending Network. A firewall is not enough, especially when you have workers connecting from the road or home. You need protection on many levels. You can even integrate IP surveillance and have the ability to access many cameras guarding your business by IP phone or any web interface. You will also be able to respond to the competitive pressure out there by lowering your TCO, improving customer responsiveness and speeding up time to market. Would it be easier if your calls found you? If you could retrieve your voicemail messages from anywhere? What if you knew the status of your colleagues and decision makers, and their preferred method of communication at that time? It’s hard to choose what technology solutions are right for your business but do set up a Technology Roadmap that will keep your technology investments aligned with your Business Plan, and inside the budget boundaries you specify (basically a Technology Business Plan). You will save time and money by ensuring that what you are buying, now and in the future, will: 1. Save you money Managing Mobile Devices as
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