Madison Technology

February 14, 2011

MTI News
Issue # 5, February 2011

(Click here to open this newsletter in .pdf format)

Is Cloud Computing the next big thing since the web? Recent buzz suggests YES! With promises of triple-digit growth by adoption through 2014, Cloud is destined to become a household name.  But what is it?

Inspired by the cloud symbol often used to depict the Internet in flowcharts, Cloud Computing describes the accessing of data and applications using the Internet.  These data and applications are ‘hosted’ in an offsite location called a datacenter, a purpose-built facility that is actively managed and maintained 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by experienced system and network engineering staff.

Cloud Computing can be broken down into three segments, each serving a different purpose for businesses and the individual: “software”, “platform” and “infrastructure.”  The distinction of each is as follows:

Software as a Service (SaaS): renting software from a service provider rather than purchasing it yourself.  Google Docs, QuickBooks, Salesforce and other CRM applications are all instances of SaaS. Rather than purchasing and installing software locally, the software is hosted and available over the Internet as a service.  The end-user subscribes onto a monthly fee-based model.  With SaaS, the user need not worry about installation or upgrades; everything is accessed through the web at a cost far cheaper than purchasing a licensed application and running it on your own server locally. 

Platform as a Service (PaaS): a development platform for applications developers.  PaaS providers, like Google Aps Engine, allow the developer to write their own code and the PaaS provider uploads that code and presents it on the web. PaaS offers a faster more cost effective model for application development and delivery.  It is based on a metering or subscription model so developers only pay for the computing resources they consume without worrying about the complexities behind the scenes.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): delivery of a full-featured enterprise-grade IT infrastructure (telephony, email, files and backup, mobile messaging, and remote access) as a fully-outsourced service that is managed 24 x 365 by a highly-skilled team of professionals.  IaaS eliminates many of the hurdles associated with implementing and supporting an IT infrastructure in-house: the infrastructure is “rented,” so there are no up-front hardware costs. There's also no burden of high cooling/electricity costs, of dedicating valuable real estate space to hardware storage, and no need to hire/retain IT personnel to support hardware on-site.  The IaaS provider handles the implementing, updating, troubleshooting, patching, monitoring, administering, backing up, upgrading and everyday support of your IT infrastructure.

For a growing business, one of the most difficult things to do is keep capital expenditures under control. By leveraging virtualization technology and economies of scale, IaaS delivers an enterprise-grade IT infrastructure that would otherwise be too costly to purchase and maintain.  Rather than buying an IT infrastructure that’s designed to anticipate future growth (i.e. purchasing resources that may remain idle for months), IaaS operates on a “pay as you go” model that lets you ‘rent’ an enterprise-grade IT Infrastructure that meets your requirements in the present time.   If your requirements change, so can your infrastructure.  Since IaaS is in the Cloud, it’s elastic and infinitely scalable. Need more memory?  No problem.  More storage?  Another server?  Your IaaS provider has it all “on tap.”  Simply provide your scalability needs and adjustments can be made seamlessly and quickly on the back-end –a particularly powerful tool in times of both growth and downsizing. 

Dynamic scaling, usage-based pricing, reduced costs and access to superior IT resources are just some of the many benefits of IaaS –not to mention the freedom to focus on your core business.  IaaS is Madison Technology’s core business.  Click here to learn how we can help your business create value.

SaaS; PaaS; IaaS:  SaaS delivers a complete application as a service, PaaS delivers a platform on which to develop an application, and IaaS is application independent and delivers a computing platform as a fully-outsourced service.  All three have many benefits, as outlined in the visual above.  Loving the Cloud and want to learn more?  Contact us!

Three Reasons we Love the Verizon iPhone 4 for Business
Apple and Verizon did the impossible: they made the best smartphone in America just a little bit better!  We’ve been beta testing the Verizon iPhone on MTI’s Hosted Exchange 2010 Cloud Platform.  So far we are exceptionally pleased with the technology and the network; below are three (3) reasons why:

1. Calls remain connected and uninterrupted consistently more often than AT&T calls in similar locations.  At Verizon’s iPhone launch event, carrier execs made a big deal of being "ready" for the onslaught of new iPhone users and customers switching from AT&T; indicating Verizon’s intent on remaining ‘America's Most Reliable Wireless Network.’  It may be too early to tell, but so far so good!
2. Enterprise-class customer service and perks: being that we have a business account agreement and more than 5-lines of service in place, we receive a nice discount of 8% on bills with no activation charges for new lines.  We also benefit from having our calls routed directly to Business Services.  When activating our iPhone, we ran into a small hiccup with iTunes, but Verizon Business Services provided us with a prompt resolution – and we were pleased! 
3. The Verizon iPhone comes equipped with a “Personal Hotspot” feature that allows you to turn the device into a WiFi hotspot for up to five connections. And unlike AT&T, Verizon places no cap on the amount of data transfer.  Tether away!

What’s the caveat?  It’s well known that Apple releases a new version of the iPhone every summer and we expect this summer to be no different. So if you buy the iPhone 4 on Verizon now, know that there’s a good chance that the iPhone 5 will be out in six months or less. While it would be amazing if Apple and Verizon allow early adopters to upgrade to an iPhone 5 at a heavily discounted (if not fully subsidized price), we’re not holding our breath.     

What is MTI’s Hosted Exchange 2010 Cloud Platform?
If you desire the bells and whistles of an enterprise-grade email platform without having to design and support one in-house, MTI’s Hosted Exchange 2010 Cloud Platform is right for you!  Equipped with anti-virus and anti-spam protection with per user quarantine settings, our fully-redundant email system carries a 3GB mailbox quota per user.  Unlike most hosted email providers, our platform is designed with per user mailbox/calendar sharing and collaboration features, Out of Office Assistant, mailbox rules and shared public folders, including corporate calendars and a corporate address book.  In addition to remote mailbox access from anywhere on the planet with an internet connection, we provide BlackBerry & ActiveSync access for iPhone, Windows Mobile & Android so you can truly have email on the go.  Because our platform is Cloud-based, it’s highly scalable, and quantity of mailboxes can be increased/decreased seamlessly and quickly on the back-end.  Our email system is comparable to the email system you might find within any major organization but at a subscription-based “pay as you go” price that is a fraction of what it would cost to deploy a similar email system in-house.  Interested in learning more?  Have us setup a WebEx demo for you today!

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