OneNeck® IT Solutions Moves Luck Stone Corporation From Public To Private Cloud

OneNeck® IT Solutions has announced that Luck Stone Corporation contracted for conversion of their IT infrastructure. OneNeck is moving Luck Stone’s Microsoft Dynamics AX environment from public cloud onto OneNeck’s private hosted cloud known as ReliaCloud®. OneNeck will continue providing Luck Stone with enterprise application, network, security and infrastructure management, along with database and operating system administration.

“During the last five years, OneNeck has proven they have the ability, expertise and experience to manage our Microsoft Dynamics AX environment,” said Donald Jones, VP of IT at Luck Stone. “We began noticing performance issues within our public cloud environment and realized we needed a more scalable, agile and secure solution. In talking with OneNeck about their Infrastructure as a Service solution, AX on ReliaCloud, we realized it could enhance our performance and security. At the same time, moving to ReliaCloud would allow us to take advantage of a more cost-effective solution. Adding ReliaCloud to the portfolio and moving to a private cloud environment just made sense.”

Luck Stone is one of the nation’s largest family-owned and operated producers of crushed stone, sand and gravel. Based in Richmond, Va., Luck Stone prides itself on being a dependable, responsive partner who continually strives to innovate and deliver consistent, quality material customers can count on for project and business success.

By moving their Microsoft Dynamics AX environment onto ReliaCloud (an enterprise-level hosted, private cloud that delivers the power and flexibility of a public cloud solution), Luck Stone will:

• Avoid unscheduled downtime and unplanned maintenance.
• Optimize their IT cost structure between capital and operating costs.
• Control their Microsoft Dynamics AX license base, while still maintaining full-platform certification and supportability.
• Leverage OneNeck’s depth of Microsoft application expertise.
• Have access to flexible resource pools to deploy (and re-deploy) as their IT environment changes.
• Continually meet security and compliance requirements.
• Securely connect with a variety of access points.
• Achieve advanced disaster recovery capabilities using resources in multiple data centers owned and operated by OneNeck.

“We’re proud to continue our partnership with Luck Stone and to help them move to an environment that enhances the performance of their IT and delivers greater security,” says Terry Swanson, Senior VP of Sales and Marketing at OneNeck. “We appreciate their business and attribute it to the dedication and experience of our employees. Having Luck Stone expand their contract to include ReliaCloud is a huge testament to the commitment of our entire team.”

Source: CloudStrategyMag

OffsiteDataSync Ranked Among Top 100 Cloud Services Providers

OffsiteDataSync ranks among the world’s Top 100 cloud services providers (CSPs), according to Penton’s sixth-annual Talkin’ Cloud 100 report.

Based on data from Talkin’ Cloud’s online survey, conducted through June to August 2016, the Talkin’ Cloud 100 list recognizes top cloud services providers (CSPs), considering annual cloud services revenue growth, and input from Penton Technology’s Channel editors.

“OffsiteDataSync is honored to be included among the 2016 TC100,” said Matthew Chesterton, CEO, OffsiteDataSync. “Our steady rise in the rankings to 22nd is a testament to our depth of experience, commitment to continuous improvement, and strong partner relationships.”

“On behalf of Penton and Talkin’ Cloud, I would like to congratulate OffsiteDataSync for its recognition as a Talkin’ Cloud 100 honoree,” said Nicole Henderson, editor in chief, Talkin’ Cloud. “Cloud services providers on the Talkin’ Cloud 100 set themselves apart through innovative cloud offerings and new support models, demonstrating a deep understanding of their customers’ needs and future cloud opportunities.”

Source: CloudStrategyMag

Clarient Global Adopts IBM Cloud, VMware

IBM has announced that Clarient Global LLC (“Clarient”), a joint venture established to transform client data and document management in the financial services industry, has selected VMware Cloud Foundation on IBM Cloud to continue to enhance its existing SoftLayer private cloud implementation for its Clarient Entity Hub platform.

Clarient Entity Hub allows users to securely upload, maintain and share information about legal entities through a secure, easy-to-use interface. The platform automates the validation of client data and documentation, providing users with greater transparency and control, as well as improved risk management capabilities.

With this new implementation, Clarient has enhanced its Clarient Entity Hub application with VMware Cloud Foundation on IBM Cloud running on bare metal servers. Through this private cloud, Clarient will continue to improve its security, scale and flexibility while achieving greater server density due to the ability to control and manage the hypervisors.

In addition to this private cloud solution, which was streamlined due to the strategic partnership between IBM and VMware announced earlier this year, Clarient has integrated with IBM’s Business Process Management (BPM) to provide clients with even greater data and process visibility and management.

“Clarient creates efficiency in the client entity data and document management space by providing transparency, control and standardization,” said Natalia Kory, CTO, Clarient. “As the Clarient Entity Hub community grows, we continually assess ways to further enhance the solution workflow in order to improve the overall client experience and increase processing efficiencies. IBM’s BPM solution, in conjunction with the VMWare Cloud Foundation on IBM Cloud solution, will help Clarient to achieve these requirements while reducing the cost of platform maintenance.”

In addition to flexibility, the IBM Cloud provides Clarient with a fully redundant, low latency network that allows for near real-time communication between datacenter locations, making it easier to keep replication sites in sync at no charge for network usage.

“The innovative solution that Clarient provides financial institutions around the world is increasingly critical, as the need for accurate and compliant client entity data continues to grow,” said Bill Karpovich, general manager, IBM Cloud Platform. “By leveraging a partnership with IBM and VMware, Clarient is able to extend its global and controllable infrastructure footprint.”

“Our cloud partnership with IBM continues to grow and evolve as we look to enable clients, such as Clarient, to solve the key industry challenges,” said Geoff Waters, vice president, global service provider channel, VMware. “The Clarient Entity Hub is a new way to address the unique requirements within the financial services sector and provide fast, automated and accurate client entity data. We look forward to joint success with IBM and enabling clients to continue to adopt the cloud while preserving their existing investments.”

Source: CloudStrategyMag

OneNeck® IT Solutions Releases OneNeck Connect

OneNeck IT Solutions has announced the general availability of OneNeck Connect, the company’s newest service. With OneNeck Connect, businesses get access to a 1 Gbps broadband pipe into the company’s Tier III data center in Eden Prairie.

“With OneNeck Connect, businesses throughout the metro area gain fast and reliable access into our state-of-the-art facility,” says Clint Harder, CTO and senior vice president at OneNeck. “This new offering provides a quick and easy way to connect into a comprehensive array of hybrid cloud and managed services provided by OneNeck.”

Currently, OneNeck Connect is available to businesses throughout the Twin Cities metro area who are on-net with Zayo or Comcast. Throughout the coming months, OneNeck expects to broaden availability with other providers in the metro area. The company already offers OneNeck Connect in Denver and plans to introduce the high-speed data solution into its other Tier 3 data centers in Arizona, Iowa, and Wisconsin.

Source: CloudStrategyMag

Zetta Launches Zetta Disaster Recovery

Zetta has announced Zetta Disaster Recovery, a new cloud-first disaster recovery (DR) solution that offers sub-five minute failover with the push of a button. The new solution enables small and mid-sized enterprise (SME) customers and partners to continue accessing business-critical applications with minimal disruption during a downtime event. The cost-effective service offers high availability and reliability for even the most demanding recovery time objectives (RTOs).

“From human-led malicious attacks to unexpected system downtime to natural disasters, unforeseen events can be costly, even devastating, for today’s data-driven business,” said Mike Grossman, CEO, Zetta. “With the new Zetta Disaster Recovery, applications and databases can failover in less than five minutes, so businesses and their employees can continue working without interruption. This delivers true peace-of-mind without the cost and complexity that has been traditionally associated with disaster recovery solutions.”

“At EMA we have estimated that the cost of downtime can vary from as much as $90,000 to $6 million an hour, depending on the industry and its application environment. But, no matter how you slice it, downtime is a cost most businesses simply can’t endure,” said Jim Miller, senior analyst, Enterprise Management Associates. “Disaster Recovery in the cloud can be an efficient and cost-effective way to avoid the potentially high cost of downtime. With Zetta Disaster Recovery, Zetta delivers cloud-based business continuance with a complete service that features both simplicity and affordability.”

Easy-to-Achieve Disaster Readiness and Recovery

Zetta Disaster Recovery is an end-to-end service that provides complete deployment-to-failback coverage. It includes upfront network, firewall, VPN and connectivity configuration and automated DR testing, which can be easily customized to accommodate an organization’s unique network environment, ensuring that, in the event of a disaster of any kind, a company can be fully operational in the cloud. 

The new DR service also supports incremental failback, allowing companies to continue to run their systems in the cloud, while Zetta Disaster Recovery manages sequential failback in the background. As a result, final switchover from cloud to local operations can happen painlessly – in minutes. 

Enterprise-Grade DR Solution at an Affordable Price

Zetta Disaster Recovery is a cost-effective option for companies that cannot afford to invest in a secondary DR site but who require rapid failover with truly dynamic scalability and rapid throughput rates. Zetta Disaster Recovery bundles network and VPN configuration, and DR testing and planning, eliminating the need for companies to engage outside professional service firms to perform these functions.

Optimized for Complex IT Environments

Zetta Disaster Recovery has been architected with the needs of larger enterprises in mind: to rapidly protect very large data sets and complex IT environments using fewer system resources and in less time than alternative options. Key features of Zetta Disaster Recovery include:

• Comprehensive support for end-to-end DR including backup, failover and failback
• Failback flexibility with support for incremental failbacks
• High-performing IO, CPU and RAM resources to support workload demands of SME organizations
• Pre-provisioned virtual VPN and firewall to ensure that an organization’s workers have on-demand access to applications running in the Zetta Cloud
• Power-on DR testing to validate that systems and applications will be operational in event of disaster

All protected data is encrypted via SSL in flight to and via AES at rest in the Zetta Cloud. For additional security, options for secure VPN connectivity to the recovered environment in the Zetta Cloud include Point to Site, Site to Site and IP takeover.

Source: CloudStrategyMag

Ensono Announces New Client Advisory Board

Ensono™ has announced its new Client Advisory Board, emphasizing the company’s commitment to working collaboratively with its clients to deliver progressive IT solutions to help them operate their infrastructure for today and optimize it for tomorrow.

The Board provides a platform for Ensono clients to impact a number of strategic issues including the development of services and solutions, areas of expansion and market transformation. With insight into Ensono’s business strategy and direction, as well as product and technology roadmaps, members offer their opinion and expertise to optimize future offerings.

“It is rare to work with a company that not only values our feedback, but actively seeks it out in order to better serve its clients and help us progress our business initiatives,” said Chuck Musciano, chief information officer, Osmose Utility Services. “We chose to become part of Ensono’s Client Advisory Board because we not only believe in the services Ensono offers, but because this collaborative approach underscores that client relationships are a top priority.”

Ensono’s Client Advisory Board is comprised of a unique cross section of industries Ensono serves such as telecommunications and financial services, as well as a range of services it offers, including mainframe and cloud. Companies such as Acxiom, CCCIS, Dun & Bradstreet, Exelon, Hub Group, Inc., Osmose Utility Services, RR Donnelley, Sonoco, and Windstream Corporation participate on the Board.

The Board meets quarterly, which enables Ensono to provide valuable company and service updates in real time, continuing to advance the company’s mission to serve as an innovative hybrid IT services provider.

“We formed the Client Advisory Board to continue our longstanding practice of becoming a seamless extension of our clients’ IT teams,” said Brian Klingbeil, chief operating officer for Ensono. “We are thrilled clients actively participate and contribute in meetings and we look forward to continuing to solicit feedback so we can continue to help our clients do what they do best.” 

“Ensono is already a trusted partner for our business technology team,” said Ben Chan, chief information officer, Global Business Technology, for Sonoco. “Being able to be directly involved in Ensono’s process is further proof of their commitment to working side-by-side with us.”

Source: CloudStrategyMag

Accelerite Concert IoT SCEP Now Available On Microsoft Azure Cloud

Accelerite has announced Accelerite’s Concert IoT Service Creation and Enrichment Platform (SCEP) can now be deployed on the Microsoft Azure cloud. 

In addition to accelerating time to market by simplifying coding, Concert IoT enables rapid development of service-oriented IoT applications (SOIAs). SOIAs are applications designed and delivered via APIs via a platform as a service (PaaS) model. Accelerite Concert IoT:

• Facilitates efficient integration of third-party web services APIs into a Concert IoT SOIA to enrich the new platform’s capabilities and enable the evolution of powerful new IoT application ecosystems.
• Enables partners to quickly monetize the data and insight generated from the IoT application to generate additional revenue streams. Customers benefit from richer apps and services and device vendors benefit from monetizing both the app and the data.

For example, a large scale farming operation may initially deploy IoT sensors to reduce water consumption and improve crop yields. Once that data is collected, it would be of great value to partners seeking to offer additional solutions, such as fertilizer or seeds customized to a targeted locale. Concert IoT provides the API management, payments and partner settlements needed to create and monetize a growing, revenue-generating IoT application ecosystem.

“Concert IoT will greatly accelerate the creation of innovative apps and rich new, vertically-focused IoT platforms built on Microsoft’s Azure public and private cloud implementations,” said Dean Hamilton, general manager of the Service Creation Business Unit at Accelerite. “These new platforms will empower IoT vendors across a wide spectrum of consumer and enterprise vertical markets to create their own IoT application partner ecosystems to continually deliver additional value.”

In addition, for compute and storage requirements, Concert IoT leverages Microsoft Azure’s IoT Hub for secure device on-boarding and device data ingestion, Stream Analytics for real time filtering and event detection, and HDInsight and Cortana AI for analytics and machine learning using the data.

“Accelerite’s support for Microsoft Azure environments within its Concert IoT service enabling platform offers value to the expanding community of Azure users and partners. Concert IoT is meant to serve as an enabling layer that rides “on-top” of the expanding set of IoT features Microsoft can now deliver via the Azure IoT suite,” said Brian Partridge, vice president, 451 Research. “The API management and monetization services that Concert IoT brings to Azure environments will be crucial to unlocking value for developers and service providers as the IoT industry matures.  Microsoft’s incumbency across all vertical industries and the growing market share of Azure in cloud services made it a natural target for prioritized support from Accelerite.”

Source: CloudStrategyMag

Changing the customer conversation with predictive data analysis
[unable to retrieve full-text content]From integrated big data platforms to location-based mobile apps to real-time package tracking, the ability to explore, segment and predict customer behavior is a rapidly expanding frontier.
Source: InfoWorld Big Data

A high-tech shirt made for speed

Race cars are packed with sensors that constantly send back telemetry data to pit row here. In IndyCar’s number 10 team, the driver is also monitored thanks to a high-tech shirt.

A SHIRT BUILT FOR SPEED

The shirt is based on a fabric called Hitoe, it’s Japanese for single layer, and was developed by engineers at NTT Data, which sponsors the team, and Toray Industries.

In Hitoe, the nanofibers in the shirt are coated with an electro-conductive polymer, so the fabric itself is the sensor. For IndyCar, pieces of Hitoe fabric were attached to the fire resistant shirt that all drivers have to wear by regulation. And the result was this shirt for driver Tony Kanaan.

“The amazing thing about this shirt, it tells me my heart rate, it tells me the stress on my muscles with some of the sensors that I have underneath my forearms, my biceps and my core, which is very unique.”

Data from the shirt feeds into the car’s telemetry system and is sent to pit row for realtime analysis. What the team discovers can help Kanaan compete.

Brian Welling
Support Engineer for 10 car
“We can tell the heart rate realtime, we can tell muscle fatigue on the arms so if he is gripping the steering wheel too hard, and if that is the case we can say let off the steering wheel a bit on the straight away.”

If he grips less where he doesn’t need it, Kanaan can retain strength for the end of the race — giving him an edge at the end of the race.

“We’re learning about the whole atmosphere of this shirt. We’re starting to learn about the fatigure level, when you’re going through a corner, the drivers knew it but we didn’t, they hold their breath a lot, all the way through the corner, you can learn to relax just a little bit more.”

Its use in IndyCar is but one application for Hitoe. A shirt using the fabric is already on sale in Japan and finding use in industry.

“A high-tech, high-tower construction worker, sensor worker, who is hundreds of feet in the air and what they are going through.”

Kanaan sees much greater uses for the shirt too, way beyond IndyCar.

“we’re working on this thing to help other people in hospitals. You can track it with your phone, so you can send patients home with the shirt and they don’t have to suffer through being depressed in a hospital. You’re still ill, but you are being monitored by wearing the shirt and a doctor can have an app or alarm on a phone that can tell if you’re in trouble or not.”

The shirt isn’t available in the U.S. yet, but will be soon.

Source: InfoWorld Big Data

ClearDB Joins Google Cloud Platform Technology Partner Program

ClearDB has announced it has been named a Google Cloud Platform Technology Partner, providing a fully-managed database service that improves MySQL database performance, availability, and ease of control.

The collaboration between Google Cloud Platform and ClearDB enables organizations to benefit from accelerated application development via rapid deployment of database assets, highly available MySQL that avoids application disruptions and a pay-as-you-go model that eliminates the need for organizations to procure and maintain costly infrastructure.

To help customers get the most out of Google Cloud Platform services, Google works closely with companies such as ClearDB, that deliver best in class fully managed database services on top of Google Cloud Platform.

“The combination of ClearDB and Google Cloud Platform can free users from the overhead of managing infrastructure, provisioning servers and configuring networks,” said Jason Stamper, an analyst with 451 Research.  “ClearDB on Google Cloud Platform can allow users to focus on business innovation and growth.”

ClearDB is cloud agnostic and is the only vendor offering MySQL database-as-a-service (DBaaS) to three cloud providers. The company offers My SQL users a quick and efficient means to rapidly deploy highly available database assets in the cloud. ClearDB’s DBaaS is built on top of native MySQL, no code changes are required, thus simplifying deployment while ensuring high availability with sub-second automatic failover capabilities via high-availability routers.

“With database assets playing a vital role in achieving business success in today’s always-on, data-driven economy, the ability to accelerate database-powered application development, ensure ‘always-on’ availability and provide fully-managed database services is essential,” said Allen Holmes, ClearDB vice president of marketing and platform alliances. “ClearDB is committed to expanding its DBaaS offering to all major cloud providers and we are excited to add Google Cloud to our existing lineup of Microsoft Azure and Amazon EC2 offerings.”

Designed to work on major public clouds and to support private cloud and on-premises operations, ClearDB’s nonstop Data Services Platform extends ClearDB’s MySQL DBaaS offering and automates the provisioning and management process with an intuitive services framework that accelerates performance and guarantees high availability in any cloud marketplace, including Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Heroku, AppFog, SoftLayer and IBM Bluemix – all while reducing database license footprint and related infrastructure costs. 

Source: CloudStrategyMag