30/01/2012 8:00:00 AM
Written by Ross Daniels-Comcity

Choosing a Cloud Provider

There is no doubt about it, cloud computing boasts many strengths and offers
extensive business benefits; increasing business mobility, speed and efficiency
while reducing unnecessary costs and time wasted. Having said that, cloud is
not without its challenges, this means IT and businesses need to work even more
closely together to ensure cloud adoption is not counter-productive. Selecting
the correct cloud computing provider will be key to the success of bringing the
cloud to your business. Essentially not all cloud providers are created equal
therefore there are several considerations you should review before committing
to one.

For most businesses the financial advantages are obvious, but their major 
concerns are around availability of the cloud service and security of their data.  
Businesses need to ensure their provider can address both of these adequately. 
Ask the provider for details on:

Location: Where is their cloud services located?  Are their distributed data 
centers located in Australia or overseas?  If they have overseas datacenters,
those locations are subject to that countries IP and privacy laws - are those
laws adequate to protect you and your customers?

Physical Security: Is it in a secure, world class data centre or stored in the
back room of their office?  Many providers will tell you it's "distributed" or "in 
the cloud", but ask for data centre locations and provider names so you can
verify them. Major Datacenters will have 24/7 security onsite, backup power 
generators, and extensive cooling, fireproofing and protection.

Data Security: Does the provider have adequate protection, using firewalls,
intrusion protection, leading anti-spam and virus protection, and is it regularly
audited? How does your provider regulate access to their own employees? Do they have 
a process in place to protect you should one of their own employees become disgruntled?

Disaster Recovery:  Your chosen provider should have their own DR plan. 
Although it's likely to be complex and you may not need all the details, find
out what their estimated time to recovery is. Assess them and their staff - do 
they have the capability to meet that timeline?

End to End Capability: Can your cloud provider provide desktop level support? 
Or will you find yourself in a situation where the cloud provider says their
systems are fine and your traditional IT provider says all the computers
are working fine - meanwhile your business is down! 

Service Level Agreements: Every business that buys any service from a cloud 
service provider must either accept a standard service level agreement (SLA) from 
the provider or negotiate such an agreement. You should not commit mission-critical
systems to the cloud without negotiating an SLA that suits your needs and wants.

Networking Knowledge:  If your network has issues, such as slow connections 
or dropouts, will your provider point the finger at the ISP, or will they have the 
skills and ability to assist you in troubleshooting the problem?

Integration and Application Support: Does the service provider offer migration 
and application-level support? Is the provided application support SLA acceptable?
Will application updates be applied in a timely manner? How quickly does a vendor
return your calls? How easy is it to migrate your data onto the service? Conversely, 
you need to ask how easy it is to retrieve your data in the event you wish to switch
service providers.

Support Responsiveness: Every provider will claim to provide the fastest! But 
how can you be sure? Ask about "guaranteed response times" and make sure 
they have a 24/7 support system. Is the support centre located in your time 
zone, and can the provider come onsite to your business if required?

The choice of cloud provider is as much a business as a technology decision. It
is clear there are risks, costs and benefits in moving to the cloud. A cloud provider
is also a business partner, not just a technology vendor. You need a dedicated
collaborator who is prepared to develop a deep understanding of your business 
needs, one who sees cloud's possibilities for achieving high performance and
performance and links them with a tailored practicality that suits your business
You want to address your current IT issues but also create a focused, strategic
roadmap for your organisations future goals.

18/01/2012 12:00:00 AM
Written by Comcity

Which Type of Cloud is Right for my Company?

There is no escaping it, practically every business is moving to the cloud or at least thinking 
about it. Contrary to popular opinion Cloud is actually not something new; it has been around
in many forms since computing was pioneered.  Mainframes, moved to mini-mainframes,
followed by software developing as a service (such as the original Hotmail), followed by the
development of application service providers - all of these are "Cloud" solutions. 

So why all the fuss lately?  Previously, cloud deployment was slow, hard to maintain and
limited in scope. It was not cheap either due to the costs of storage and
internet connections alone, not to mention the specialised workforce required
to maintain it. Today however all the factors have aligned to truly allow for
cost effective, efficient cloud services - the price of storage and bandwidth
continues to drop rapidly, and enterprise level enabling technology (such as
virtualisation) have become more mainstream.

Although cloud computing is claiming to be a transformative means of managing IT,
much of the terminology has left organisations baffled as to which cloud
solution is better for their needs. Basically Cloud is a clever terminology which
allows for us to grasp the concept easily, but the spectrum of services and
solutions which 'cloud' now describes is vast. Therefore, the principal
question that you need to ask is 'which type of cloud is right for my
company?' To help you begin to evaluate this, let us examine some of the
features and functions of the Cloud options available to your business.

Public Cloud: Is characterised as being available to clients
from a third party service provider via the internet. Essentially all
infrastructure is hosted at the vendor's premises. The customer has no
visibility over the location of the cloud computing infrastructure and the
computing infrastructure is shared between organizations. Public cloud services
allow SMBs access to applications they normally could not afford because they
work well for hosted applications. Being public, the solution is usually easily
accessible via a browser from multiple devices enabling easy (yet still secure)
access. It is usually cheaper, quicker to deploy than a private cloud and it
has some of the largest and most trusted brands in the world flying its flag.
Gmail and Hotmail utilise the public cloud.

Private Cloud: Infrastructure is dedicated solely to individual
clients and is not shared with other organisations, therefore it is more costly
than public cloud solutions. Often used by large multi-site organisations, private
cloud may be externally hosted or hosted on-premise at a head office and thus it
is considered more secure. This is largely due to the fact that there is no multi-
tenancy involvement in the private cloud - meaning that you do not share space with
other businesses - thus there is higher control over security and who has
access to what information. Also better efficiency and credibility can be
achieved via a private cloud due to the basic fact that it is a company's
private infrastructure. Another advantage of the private cloud is that
upgrades, backups and maintenance are handled for you by your provider. It is
worth noting that a private cloud will not benefit every organisation, larger
businesses such as a banks are large enough to run their own networks and
high-grade IT Infrastructure.

Hybrid Cloud: A hybrid cloud is a composition of elements of
the private cloud and the public cloud.  Organisations host particular
critical, secure applications in private clouds or on premise, then the less
important applications are hosted in the public cloud.  This approach is
being seen more and more, with many organisations opting to send backup 
data to the cloud rather than tape, or host their email in the cloud. Typically 
your organisation already uses a spam filtering in the cloud, with a local mail
server - this could be defined as a Hybrid email solution. Ideally, the hybrid
approach allows a business to take advantage of the scalability and
cost-effectiveness that a public cloud computing environment offers without
exposing mission-critical applications and data to third-party vulnerabilities.

Each cloud solution boast many strengths and weaknesses, the key for any organisation
is striking the right balance between price, security and flexibility. Different service and
deployment models can be adopted to match the requirements of different types
of workloads from across your organisation. Choosing the right path or service
is about asking questions. Why do you want to take your business to the cloud?
What security and compliance issues need to be addressed? How important is data
security and control for your business? How fast is your content growing? How
much storage capacity will you need over the next few years? What type of data
do your users access, and how often do they access it?

Ultimately, the decision to go with the private, public or hybrid cloud depends on your
company. Answering critical questions around internal performance capabilities,
personnel requirements and costs will help narrow down the type of cloud
service model that meets your needs for quality of service, reliability, scalability,
data management and security. Whichever model you choose, the next hurdle is
implementation; it is crucial to not only choose an experienced, reliable
service provider but also one who is prepared to work hard to develop a deep understanding
of your business and its needs. Our next blog will concentrate on
considerations to evaluate when choosing a Cloud Provider; we will cover the
important questions you should ask yourself before selecting a Cloud Provider.

4/01/2012 9:00:00 AM
Written by Comcity

Happy 2012 – it’s going to be a big one!

Wow, what an eventful year 2011 was for the Tech World; from processors to tablets, from PCs to laptops, IT products and services once again leaped into the next generation of mobility. This was an awesome year packed full of new product offerings, with the likes of the iPad2, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, Lenovo IdeaPads, Office 365 and so much more being added to our IT wish list.

Another prominent feature of 2011 was the continued hype surrounding the biggest buzzword 'cloud'. However despite much cloud computing publicity, many Australian businesses have been slow to respond, querying many elements; what exactly is cloud? How safe is it? Is it easy to change our systems over? Where is my data actually stored and what risk does that pose?  No wonder people are confused with every device, product or service that touches the internet being publicised as 'cloud ready', 'cloud capable', or 'a cloud service' claiming to save companies bundles and increase their profits three fold without any real explanation as to how or why!  

 Nevertheless 'the cloud' is here to stay, in view of that Comcity aims to make sure you understand it! Cloud services are fast becoming the simplest, most effective solution to business IT needs and it is expected that eventually all businesses will have some (if not all) of their IT requirements based on could services. The key is understanding what the cloud means to your business, and then finding a partner that can work with your needs to develop a suitable cloud solution. The benefits are remarkable; ranging from lower costs to higher speed, agility and scalability, all enabled by flexible access to applications and processing power on a pay-per-use basis. Cloud computing means your IT costs are much lower than running the systems in your own office, as it eliminates the overheads of buying computer hardware and hiring IT staff to look after things.

One thing is for sure - this year, 2012, you'll be hearing more about cloud and any new trends that develop!  Comcity will be running a regular blog series over the coming months to keep you informed and up to date.  We will also commence sending out a regular Comcity Newsletter with helpful guidelines, Top Tips for 2012, IT news, business tech talk, strategies on understanding the Cloud and testimonials from our various clients on how IT and cloud computing has increased their business value.

To subscribe to our newsletter please click here. Comcity also want to encourage feedback on any topics you would like to see included or anything we can explain or discuss, just email us on feedback@comcity.com.au . We'll keep you guys in the 'Cloud' loop, don't worry! Stay tuned for regular updates.

1/12/2011 1:00:00 PM
Written by Comcity

Mobile Device Security - A Growing Issue Today

Gone are the days when our various PINs and passwords were simply written on a post-it note and stored securely in our wallets or bags. As technology advances and the world becomes flatter, mobile devices now play a dominate role in every enterprise, as a result increased security of mobile devices has become essential.

Developments in IT and communications are rapid with ground-breaking mobile devices such as the Apple iPad, Windows Mobile or the new kid on the block; the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet appearing on the market at an astounding rate. The benefits for users convenience and productivity are obvious for today's 'hot-desk' work environments with busy executives ducking in and out of the office, checking emails on the fly and logging into the corporate network from remote locations. However with these big benefits come big security risks, therefore security and data protection has become an increasingly dominant focus for IT departments.  

9/09/2011 8:30:00 AM
Written by Comcity Marketing

Is Symantec Endpoint Protection 12.1 Right For You?

9/08/2011 8:00:00 AM
Written by Comcity Marketing

Cost Savings with Citrix Desktop Virtualization!

There are many cost savings with Desktop Virtualization Citrix. In today's society, many people are looking for new ways to save money or spend less of it. One way that many people can save money with desktop virtualization is by means of lower operational expenses. For example, it is much cheaper to manage several people using desktop virtualization than it is if these same people had their own PCs.

One of the biggest way to save money by using desktop virtualization is by providing an easy way for multiple users to share a single disk image. This method provides a consumer with more choices while spending less money. The more a consumer virtualizes, the more complex their environment can become which can become quite expensive. Therefore, by providing a consumer with more flexibility and choices, it helps them to reduce their cost and save a ton of money.

Many companies today are realizing that a transition is taking place from the PC Era to the Cloud Era. Therefore, they are using more virtualization products which gives them the freedom to access their corporate desktops, applications and data from any device or location. Desktop Virtualization allows many companies to host user applications securely in the data center which is cost effective.

In conclusion, many companies are realizing the big savings with Desktop Virtualization Citrix and they are quickly investing in this product.

17/02/2012 9:00:00 AM
Written by Comcity

New Report Lists Comcity in the Top 25 Managed Service Providers

Nine Lives Media
Names Comcity In their Top 25 MSPmentor AANZ Edition.

Comcity has been placed on Nine Lives Media's prestigious MSPmentor 25 AANZ Edition, a first-ever list identifying the top 25 managed service providers (MSPs) across Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

Jason Reading, Comcity CEO, "Comcity aims to build long-term relationships with our valued clients by being responsive, relevant and by consistently delivering value. We have grown immensely both internally and externally so we are are delighted to be recognized and named on this exclusive list by such a reputable source as Nine Lives Media."

The MSPmentor 25 AANZ Edition is based on data from MSPmentor's global survey, conducted October-December 2011.
The MSPmentor 50 AANZ Edition recognizes top managed service providers based on a range of metrics, including annual managed services revenue growth, revenue per employee, managed services offered and customer devices managed.

"Nine Lives Media and MSPmentor congratulate Comcity for its impressive position in Australia" said Amy Katz, president of Nine Lives Media. "We've seen a new wave of managed services adoption across Asia, Australia and New Zealand. And our MSPmentor 25 AANZ Edition recognizes those market leaders."

MSPmentor, produced by Nine Lives Media, is the ultimate guide to managed services. MSPmentor features the industry's top-ranked blog, research, Channel Expert Hour Webcasts and FastChat videos. It is the number one online media destination for managed service providers in the world. All of the honorees can be found by visiting http://www.mspmentor.net/mspmentor-25-top-msps-in-asia-australia-new-zealand-a-to-z/

"MSPs on this year's AANZ 25 list lifted their annual recurring revenues a healthy 40 percent to US$102 million, a strong showing," said Joe Panettieri, editorial director of Nine Lives Media. "Those 25 MSPs are now managing 137,000 desktop and mobile devices for customers, up nearly 40 percent from 2010."

13/02/2012 8:00:00 AM
Written by Comcity

Comcity Partners with MailGuard to Provide Premium Mail Security Solutions

Comcity is pleased to announce our partnership with Australia's leading provider of mail security
solutions; MailGuard.
This our partnership means that we are able to add significant value to our Cloud Email Security service at no extra cost to our clients.
Email now comprises of the vast majority of business communications. With employees 
constantly sending, receiving and forwarding emails and attachments email security has become a vital factor which every
business must take into consideration.

Comcity Cloud Email Services now provides a comprehensive range of Cloud based solutions
addressing security, compliance and real-time risk intelligence. In linking with MailGuard the 
Comcity Cloud Email Security now successfully eliminates 99.999% of spam and is updated 
in real time to be completely responsive to new threats.

Thanks to our partnership with MailGuard, at no additional cost, the Cloud Email
Security service now includes a complete email continuity service.  This means
that even in the event of an email server outage, our clients will have access to
recent inbound and outbound email via a web browser and be able to continue
sending and receiving emails - this reduces the risk of lost opportunities due
to not having email available.

Other additional services are now also available, such as:

• A complete cloud based email archiving solution - giving the ability to archive
  all inbound and outbound emails and access them online
• An advanced image monitoring service on all inbound and outbound emails
• Web security services that protect your network even as your users browse.

If you have any questions about this new partnership or for more information or pricing on any of these additional services please contact us at any time on 1300 787 767.

6/02/2012 11:00:00 AM
Written by Comcity

NEW PROFESSIONAL SERVICES MANAGER FOR COMCITY

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Bianca Pickett as Comcity's new Professional Services Manager. Bianca's new role will involve the monitoring, coordination and management for Comcity's Projects Team and Software Development Department. Bianca brings a wealth of industry experience and expertise to Comcity. Bianca worked with Microsoft for 7 years in a variety of different roles before joining OBS/Nintex to manage their Service Delivery, Projects and HR Departments, assisting their business in growing from 40 to over 150 employees.

Jason Reading, CEO, commented; "We are very happy to welcome Bianca to Comcity, her recruitment has significantly strengthened our team. Her skills, knowledge and experience will certainly enhance our internal operations, service offering and delivery."

The Comcity team would like to welcome Bianca on board!

8/09/2011 8:00:00 AM
Written by Comcity

Comcity Offering Free Assessments on the Benefits of Citrix Xenapp 6.5

3/08/2011 12:00:00 AM
Written by Comcity

Microsoft Small Business partner of the Year 2011 Finalist!

Comcity is excited to be announced as a finalist in the 2011 Microsoft Australia partner awards. Named in the Small Business Partner of the Year category for the 3rd time strengthens our status as a leading Microsoft Partner. Our nomination comes from delivering Enterprise Scale Microsoft to Small and Medium business clients in both Sydney and Melbourne.

1/08/2011 9:00:00 AM
Written by Comcity

Comcity achieves Microsoft Cloud Accelerate Partner Status

Here at Comcity, we're proud to have been made a Microsoft Cloud Accelerate Partner. The accreditation comes in recognition of our work providing solutions around the Microsoft online services such as Microsoft Office 365 and BPOS to our customers.

The exclusive Microsoft Cloud Accelerate Partner programme was established in 2010 and has been designed to support, recognize and reward high performing companies who have a proven track record of delivering Microsoft Microsoft Cloudto their customers.

If you're interested in more information on how cloud based solutions such as Office 365 could benefit your business, why not give us a call?