The two technology giants already compete to win contracts from private businesses as well as state and local governments. Such customers hope to cut costs by switching to Web-based software from programs installed on their own computers.
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Now Google and Microsoft are vying to take over the job of providing email to the General Services Administration, the U.S. agency that oversees government procurement and manages federal property.
Besides the contract's size —some 15,000 employee email accounts—the bidding is being closely watched because the GSA often helps shape how other agencies acquire new technology. "The GSA is in a unique position as an influencer," says Curt Kolcun, vice president of Microsoft's public-sector business.
In what vendors consider a key step, the GSA on Thursday certified that Google's email and word-processing service, known as Google Apps, meets security requirements to qualify for use by the agency, a GSA spokeswoman said.
Microsoft says it is close to obtaining the same certification for a Web-based version of Exchange, a widely used program for managing email that most organizations run on their own server systems.
]]>Deep Dives by Topic: Virtualization
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If you have the hardware, VDI (virtual desktop infrastructure) can deliver a thin client experience similar to that of a desktop PC, but challenges remain
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Dramatic cost and agility benefits make server virtualization an essential part of any data center. Here's how to plan, deploy, and maintain a sound virtual infrastructure
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Use server virtualization to duplicate resources and create failover capabilities at a cost far below that of conventional solutions - without compromising reliability
About 10ZiG Technology
10ZiG Technology (www.10zig.com), formerly BOSaNOVA, Inc., is a privately held company headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. The company is principally engaged in the design and development of thin clients, security solutions, and network appliances. The company’s solutions include a highly refined user interface, remote management software, and performance optimization. The company’s products are sold through a worldwide network of IBM and CITRIX Business Partners. Industry affiliations include membership in IBM's PartnerWorld for Developers, Citrix Global Alliance Partner Program, VMware Partner Program, Parallels Partner Program and the Microsoft Partner Program. For more information, visit www.10zig.com.
CONTACT:
Jennifer Phillips
Marketing Director
10ZiG Technology
Phone: 866-865-5250 x350
Email: Jenniferp@10zig.com
Is corporate computing better off when end users have powerful Windows machines or relatively powerless thin clients? The answer is Yes. For the past couple years, computer makers have offered technology that lets users choose what kind of client they see when they boot up, but the vendors did a terrible job of selling this versatile concept. Now, however, things are starting to change. Microclient technology, which turns wide-open PCs into locked-down terminals, works well. One more thing: It is nearly free.
So just what is a microclient? It is a mix of hardware and software that turns any computer into a tightly managed Web appliance with a small collection of applications. So it is pretty secure. It is also quick. On a typical computer (whether laptop or desktop), a microclient can boot up in something like 15 seconds and it runs as lightning fast. The applications built into microclients provide Web browsing, cloud email, instant messaging, Internet telephony, and virtual desktop computing (as defined by Citrix Systems, Microsoft, or VMware). To keep the environment stable, predictable, and secure, the microclients don't let users change applications. Any changes in microclients come from their creators, their computer vendor resellers, and, in the future, very possibly software and services providers who want to add special features that tie microclients to, for instance, ERP applications suites.
Microclients are still new, evolving, and changing shape. For now, as a first approximation, you might want to think of a microclient as an iPad without the Apple Apps Store . . . but with a keyboard and a mouse and a Skype phone.
Currently, computer makers (and at least one supplier of motherboards sold via retail as well as industry channels, Asus) favor microclients based on the Splashtop family of products from DeviceVM. But there is also an alternative called Hyperspace.
Hyperspace was developed by Phoenix Technologies. In June, Hewlett-Packard bought Hyperspace for $12 million, but if has not integrated Hyperspace into its product line. HP still offers Splashtop derivatives on its various products.
Both microclient systems are built on Linux and both are aimed at users of machines that run Windows when they are not in the microclient environment.
Splashtop has setup and configuration software that requires Windows (XP or later). Users make adjustments to their Splashtop setup while it is dormant. There are some configuration options available within Splashtop, but some tasks, such as password management, are done from outside, as if Splashtop is an application, not a complete operating environment. So even though users are running Linux when they boot to Splashtop, the package isn't yet available for Ubuntu or any of the other client-oriented Linux distros. (Once set up via Windows, Splashtop can be run on a machine that multi-boots into Windows, MacOS, Linux and Solaris.)
Hyperspace is also tied to Windows, perhaps even more closely than Splashtop. During installation, Hyperspace depends on Microsoft's partition management software to rope off part of the target computer's boot drive for its use. Like Splashtop, even though it also is written to share a system with Windows, it can probably be set up to work on a multi-boot system.
One distinction between Hyperspace and Splashtop is the use of virtualization in Hyperspace to allow a computer with hardware virtualization support to boot Windows at the same time Hyperspace starts up. The two operating systems can be alive simultaneously and uses can flip back and forth between them. By contrast, a user running Splashtop must shut down that environment to go to Windows. However, by using Windows hibernation along with Splashtop the transition can be accomplished without having to close Windows applications. It is not clear whether this distinction will make much different to ordinary business users, who might well see no point in bouncing between big Windows and small Linux.
For IT managers who just want their end users' machines to come to their servers using secure, consistent thin clients, Splashtop technology is a pretty good place to start. This is particularly true for companies whose end users are mobile. Microclient technology is very widely available for portable computers ranging in power from the lightest 10-inch netbooks up to portable workstations with the heft to run CAD applications, financial simulations or video editing packages. Any current or recent desktop machine can be equipped with microclient technology, with versions of Hyperspace being built from scratch for aftermarket installation. Splashtop, by contrast, really needs some hardware support and it's not clear whether it can run in machines that were built without it in mind; it seems as if it would need some BIOS support that has to be baked in to a computer right from the start.
Rest of Article -- The Four Hundred--Mad Dog 21/21: Microclients: Thin Enough? Rich Enough?
]]>Wyse said that its PocketCloud allowed end users to access Windows PCs, Remote Desktop Services and virtualised desktop infrastructures using the Microsoft RDP protocol. PocketCloud integrates seamlessly into an already-established VMware View host environment, included integrated enterprise-level security claimed Wyse.
Wyse PocketCloud enables users to remotely run their PC desktop or virtual desktop from a large variety of hosts, including VMware View, Microsoft Windows 7 Pro, Enterprise & Ultimate, Windows XP Pro, Windows Vista Business and Remote Desktop Services in all Windows Server products.
The beta has got the thumbs-up from users. "I've been using Wyse PocketCloud with my Motorola Droid and couldn't be more satisfied," according to Wesley Baker, virtualisation architect with Jewelry Television. "Like many of us in the IT industry, I'm on call almost all the time. Having Wyse PocketCloud on my phone means that I don't have to carry around a heavy laptop or scramble to find a hot spot. Wyse PocketCloud makes remote access very simple and ties into our VMware View implementation perfectly."
]]>Mark Johnston, general manager for General Dynamics Itronix operations, said, "Core computing is moving from the end-user to secure centralized servers. Enabling that transition, the Tadpole line of ultra-thin clients, with enterprise class features and capabilities, allow IT teams to work on server-based capabilities and business process efficiencies, while saving costs on IT security, administration, help-desk and other expenses."
Ultra-thin clients look like a typical PC and act like one when connected to a server. But, unlike a PC, Tadpole ultra-thin clients are free of hard drives, memory, operating system or application software, virtually immunizing the units against viruses and security issues associated with lost or stolen computers. Other features include:
'Instant-on' access to customized user environments from any thin client on networks including 3G, LAN or WAN;
Simple plug-and-play set up or replacement for one, or one thousand ultra-thin clients;
Fifty-percent less power consumption than a PC, a 'green' computing alternative;
High-resolution, daylight-viewable displays; and
Integrated VPN.
Highlights of the four new Tadpole ultra-thin clients include:
Tadpole M1000, a three-pound device designed for distributed, highly mobile users and general purpose computing;
Tadpole M1500 high-performance notebook with a 15-inch LCD screen that supports high-definition multimedia, 3-D imaging and video and all of the features of the
M1000;
Tadpole Pulsar, a wireless desktop unit configured for complex operations including dual displays, optical networking, high-definition multimedia, 3-D video and imaging; and
Tadpole Pulsar Premium, a wireless desktop unit for general-purpose computing.
Representing General Dynamics Itronix's continuing investment in enhancing computing capability, the Tadpole ultra-thin clients enable enhanced information sharing, security and agility for users in virtually any organization that relies on information technology.
Two customers successfully using Tadpole ultra-thin clients sum up their experiences this way:
Derby College, in Derby, UK, recently renovated a 170-year-old building into a 'state of the art' academic campus. Jacqui Garton, who leads the college's IT efforts, said, "We evaluated multiple computing solutions for the new campus and decided on the Tadpole ultra-thin client. The Tadpole devices enabled IT cost reductions with improved information security, computing availability and accessibility for our students and staff."
Dany Briard, director of Information Technology for the Cascade Tissue Division, sums up the company's experience by saying, "Ultra-thin client computers improve company productivity and efficiency as users can pull a Tadpole device off a storage shelf, enter their identification card and connect to the company network instantly."
Tadpole is a product line of General Dynamics Itronix, a leading developer of wireless, rugged computing solutions for mobile workers, offering a full range of field computing systems including laptops, ultra mobile notebook PCs and tablet PCs. General Dynamics Itronix is part of General Dynamics C4 Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD). Additional information is available at www.gdc4s.com/tadpole.
General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., employs approximately 91,200 people worldwide. The company is a market leader in business aviation; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and information systems and technologies. More information about General Dynamics is available online at www.gd.com.
Tadpole is a registered trademark of General Dynamics Itronix Corporation.
SOURCE General Dynamics C4 Systems
RELATED LINKS
http://www.gdc4s.com
O'Sullivan told us in an interview that Cisco is negotiating with two out of the major three desktop virtualization providers--Wyse, VMware, and Citrix--to ship the device with virtual desktop software ready to run. (It's safe to guess that VMware is one of those two, given Cisco's close relationship with the company.)
That would allow the Cius to act as a "thin client"--a stripped down PC that acts as a window on a virtual computer in a remote data center. Put a Cius into its dock with a landline handset connected to a monitor, keyboard and mouse, and it could load your virtual Mac or Windows desktop and act just like a traditional PC as well as a desk phone. "If your company's running desktop virtualization, this will be the only device you need on your desktop," says O'Sullivan.
]]>Created: July 11, 2008 | Other | Members: 290 Independent networking group for professionals involved in all types of thinclient and related technology. Jobs, RFPs, discussions and general news and trend comments. thinclient.org which is independent news and resource site for all types of thin client software and thinclient technology.
]]>CitrixCloud.net is a cloud based demo system running Citrix XenApp 6 and Citrix XenServer. Not only is this a great live demo environment to show off our Citrix Recievers, it's also a great way for us to learn more about using Citrix solutions in the cloud.
So go out and check out CitrixCloud.net CDN. Get a behind the scenes look at the setup, learn some tips about how we configure the demo apps, and let us know what else you would like to know about what we are learning about using Citrix solutions in the cloud. We plan to update the content regularly, so bookmark it and check in regularly.
]]>Friday, June 25, 2010
Contributed By:
Bozidar Spirovski
Security and privacy in cloud computing are hot topics, and everyone has a take on it. Cloud computing providers deliver their levels of security and privacy by their internal policies and procedures, but the rigidity of these policies are strongly influenced by government regulations.
If the country within which a cloud computing provider resides or is registered has lax provisions on privacy, do not expect wonders in the protection of your hosted data - especially since such lax provisions may even be created to allow government agencies to gain access to hosted data.
Forrester research felt the pulse of things by investigating the regulatory frameworks of countries throughout the world. Here is a brief of the results of this research
Country-specific regulations governing privacy and data protection vary greatly. To help you grasp this issue at a high level, Forrester created a privacy heat map that denotes the degree of legal strictness across a range of nations.
You can investigate the map here. To be very sincere, i would like my data to be either in Germany or Argentina.
Oh, and USA just got a proverbial slap on the face by being classified in the same category with Colombia, Paraguay and Russian Federation.
The esteemed senators and congressmen in the USA should think hard about moving up the ladder of privacy and data protection if they don't want to be soon classified in the same category as China.
In the crazy world of commerce, few businesses are as predictably unpredictable as retail apparel. In this industry, retailers need to understand their customers intimately and make available clothing that matches the fashion of the time every time. Failure to do so is not only a blow to the brand but might severely impact the business’ profitability and future viability as excess inventory will have to be sold at scrap value. Nowhere is creativity and innovation more closely intertwined than in the fickle world of fashion.
Such was the challenge for PEPPO Fashions Group, an apparel distributor in Thailand, which manages labels such as Guess, Guess Baby/Kids, Guess Accessory Stores, Mango, Marciano and Castro. It has 12 standalone retail outlets and presence in 50 department store consignments in the country.
Operational nightmare
According to Palakorn Khisalang, IT Manager for the Group, department stores constantly refresh their layouts, and require tenants like PEPPO to move within the building several times a year.
“It’s a time-consuming and costly exercise for us to re-architect our IT network after each move,” Khisalang says. “Moreover, department stores often run promotional bazaars at central locations, making it difficult for our staff to conduct customer transactions away from their regular in-store counter. This in turn causes discrepancies between the actual transactions conducted and the receipts that were generated.”
As the Group expands, managing the IT operations based on a distributed architecture introduced significant network latency and became prohibitively challenging for a small team. This has a negative impact on the efficient collection of accurate sales data and thus hindered management’s running crucial sales analysis.
“Our staff needed to be able to get real time updates on stock availability from our back-end warehouses and head office in Bangkok. Although we had moved from a manual system to bar-coding, we still needed a solution that would allow the staff to register inventory while on the move, instead of having to return to a central computer terminal to enter data,” Khisalang explains.
Re-architecting IT around the business process
The company evaluated a number of solutions including deploying GPS and ISDN to ensure access to a single repository of data containing retail sales, inventory at the warehouse, and in-transit movement of goods. Each proposal failed on either cost or effectiveness.
One solution that appeared viable, however, was to introduce wireless technology at the retail sites and at the warehouses. The plan is for retail outlets to be equipped with thin client laptops and sales operators with wireless PDAs. This would allow staff to easily move around within the store, and between stores as well.
A centralized delivery mechanism for all applications was also deemed critical for the overall solution to work. The company evaluated a number of technologies and chose the Presentation Server from Citrix.
The Citrix Presentation Server centralizes the delivery of all the client applications the staff need — such as Microsoft Excel to run sales projections — without having to physically install these applications onto each device. The staff in turn can access multiple applications from any location.
“We enlisted the help of a Citrix Solution Advisor to implement the Citrix Presentation Server 4, with Microsoft Windows Server 2003 running on two HP ProLiant servers in the firm’s data center in Bangkok,” says Khisalang.
At the warehouses, the company used SYMBOL handheld devices to conduct inventory checks online via Citrix, with security over the network provided using a VPN combined with a two-factor authentication procedure comprising an RSA SecurID token and password.
Citrix was used to optimize inventory management process. As the access infrastructure foundation, Citrix Presentation Server provides staff with real-time access to a proprietary ERP solution called “PEPPOS” that is customized for retail management via PCs and wirelessly over PDAs. As goods move in and out of the warehouses, the bar code attached to each item is scanned, allowing the staff to track inventory movement. Previously, they had to walk to a LAN terminal to manually enter the data.
The new wireless solution resulted in a more efficient model for keeping track of inventory back at the warehouses, with front-line sales staff now having online access to the most updated information from virtually any machine in a secure manner.
“All of these factors played a strong part in our decision to deploy the Citrix solution to enable a mobile and wireless enterprise, and we believe that this innovative application of technology has enabled us to build a highly adaptable retail model,” adds Khisalang.
Part of the initial requirement in the choice of technology was the concern of user training. With only four members in the IT team, PEPPO needed a solution that would require minimal training for everyone involved in the use of the new mobile devices. PEPPO put considerable effort in identifying the right combination of hardware and software to effectively mobilize its staff and ensure safe and efficient access to company information.
PEPPO, however, still faces a number of business process and technical challenges to realize the full potential of wireless technology across the entire operations. From a business perspective, enabling a wireless IT infrastructure isn’t immediately possible across all of its locations because of constraints imposed by department stores. Even where possible, it can sometimes take a few months to finalize negotiation with the management.
Benefits gained through centralized delivery model
By centralizing application delivery and management on Citrix servers, and providing virtualized application access on PDAs, PEPPO is able to more easily handle department store counter relocations and periodic sales from central bazaars without having to reinstall point of sale terminals and other equipment, which saves time and money. At the same time, productivity for retail staff has improved because they no longer need to walk to and from fixed terminals to capture the data. Similar productivity improvements have also been observed at warehouses using real-time inventory tracking.
Centralized management has enabled PEPPO to keep IT headcount at four people, despite a significant increase in the number of stores and IT users. What used to take two weeks to install or upgrade software company-wide now takes only one hour.
“With the Citrix Presentation Server solution, we have been able to provide approximately 340 staff at 50 different locations throughout Thailand with secure remote access to critical business applications wirelessly via a 128 kbps ISDN connection from PDAs over a 802.11b/g WLAN interface,” beams Khisalang. These applications include Microsoft Office 2003, Oracle Database 10g, and PEPPOS.
Low-bandwidth printing has also been critical to business productivity at both the back-end and retail fronts. Accountants can remotely print the day’s transactions from the head office. Warehouse assistants can now generate delivery notes, invoices, consignment notes and price tags wirelessly as well. “We can now literally link data to a retail outlet anywhere in Thailand or the world overnight, unencumbered by the typical technology hurdles that other companies face,” adds Khisalang.
Surprisingly, the new solution has resulted in a significant downgrade in the bandwidth requirements of PEPPO. The company uses a 128 Kbps connection at each location back to the Citrix Servers at head office. Conventional technology would have necessitated a 512 Kbps or 1MB bandwidth demand. PEPPO estimates that it was able to save up to ,600 in bandwidth costs per location alone.
“I recently attended a retail conference in Bangkok, where the focus was on how IT can be used as an enabler for retail enterprises. Some of the technologies mentioned were the ones PEPPO have used several years ago. Many have yet to integrate these with wireless technology. I think companies in the retail industry stand to benefit from these technologies,” concludes Khisalang. ” Now that we have found the right formula to enable a mobile enterprise, we will continue to establish wireless infrastructure in our new stores as we expand our presence in Thailand.”
]]>Analysis of the software giant's Azure cloud computing platform.
Microsoft's official release last week of its cloud computing platform, Azure, gives developers the option to build applications in the cloud via Microsoft's data centers, rather than in a company's server. Giving customers this sort of flexibility in IT and software development is important to customers looking for ways to reduce costs, bandwidth demands and management responsibilities. Flexibility in delivery models is also Microsoft's key differentiator over cloud giant Google.
Cloud computing has become a key piece of an enterprise's IT strategy, typically used in a hybrid (cloud plus on-premise) model of computing that offers customers the best of both worlds: the ability to keep their data on-premise, while leveraging the cloud's accelerated software development speeds and lower costs by eliminating the need to invest in ongoing on-premise hardware and software. A common example of hybrid is being able to develop applications and test them in the cloud before releasing them onto internal networks.
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Alpharetta, Georgia, June 14, 2010 - Automation Control Products is proud to announce the recent signing of new partners - AutomaTech, Control Dynamics, Industrial Network Systems and McNaughton-McKay - to its nationwide distributor sales channel. These companies' commitment to their customers and their understanding of rapidly changing technology make each one of them a great fit with ACP's ThinManager and its focus on building the most robust industrial software platform for the modern plant floor.
In addition to selling ACP's Thin Client management software ThinManager, each of these distributors will also be selling ThinManager Ready hardware from ACP's existing hardware partners.
AutomaTech - AutomaTech has been providing automation and information solutions for more than 15 years for process and manufacturing facilities in the Northeast United States. In those fifteen years they have helped hundreds of companies with their industry-best People, Products and Partners. Visit them at http://www.automatech.com
Control Dynamics, Inc. - Control Dynamics has been the exclusive sales representative for Emerson Process Management (formerly Fisher-Rosemount and Fisher Controls), in the state of Virginia for the last 50 years. With more than 40 employees representing hundreds of years of experience in the process control industry, they stand ready to serve. Visit them at http://www.control-dynamics.com/.
Industrial Network Systems -INS has spent years providing their manufacturing and industrial clients with best-in-class solutions to improve their overall business performance. By recognizing their clients have individual needs they have successfully applied over 3,500 software, hardware and training solutions that were focused on collecting, coordinating and synchronizing plant information throughout the entire enterprise. Visit INS at http://www.ins3.com
McNaughton-McKay - For the last 100 years McNaughton-McKay has provided its customers with unsurpassed service and built one of the larger employee-owned companies in the U.S. McNaughton-McKay focuses on helping customers reach their sourcing and procurement goals through a variety of services and solutions. They combine extensive inventory, strong technical support capabilities, and operational excellence that helps their customers support their day to day operations. Visit McNaughton-McKay athttp://www.mc-mc.com
About ACP - With close to 35,000 seats of its ThinManager product deployed since 1999, ACP has become the number one provider of thin client management software for manufacturing customers who need maximum flexibility and demand uncompromised reliability. More information on these and other distributors is available online at www.thinmanager.com/ACPSales or by calling ACP directly at 678-990-0945.
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