Hyper-V has helped AcXess fill that much needed virtualization gap with an improvised and more competent functionality and reduced data center and hardware costs.
According to Tom Elowson, President and Cofounder, AcXess, “Hyper-V has made all the difference. It is amazing to think we have grown our business 300 percent over the last few years with Hyper-V. ”
Migrating its entire virtualized environment from VMware to Hyper-V has helped Miele & Cie, an appliance manufacturer shrink its server space by more than 50 percent and improve productivity.
To add to the new flexible and energy-efficient data center, Miele has also ‘saved an estimated 35 percent in licensing costs by going with a Microsoft virtualization solution’.
Value Journal, a monthly news journal from Redington Value Distribution, intends to update the channel on the latest vendor news and Redington Value’s Channel Initiatives.
Key stories from the July Edition:
• Dell Technologies Accelerates HCI Portfolio Growth; Simplifies Path To Vmware-Based Clouds.
• Huawei Releases 3GPP R14-Based Commercial NB-IoT Solution.
• Leading The Software-defined Future - Sayantan Dev, Vice President, VCG, Redington Value.
• Avaya Brings Enterprise-Level Communication Capabilities To SMBs.
• Symantec Introduces Cloud-Based Network Security Solution With Web Isolation.
• Veritas Announces New Data Protection And Governance Offerings For Microsoft 365 Solution.
• Red Hat Unveils Next-Generation Process Automation Offering.
• Vmware Delivers Network Functions Virtualization Platform For 5G And Multi-Cloud Telco Networks
• Fujitsu Enhances Cloud Services Portfolio.
• Trend Micro Launches Managed Detection And Response Service.
• Cyberark Presents New Privileged Access Security As A Service Offering.
• Nutanix Introduces New Velocity Partner Program.
Value Journal, a monthly news journal from Redington Value Distribution, intends to update the channel on the latest vendor news and Redington Value’s Channel Initiatives.
Key stories from the November Edition:
• Dell EMC Introduces All-Flash Storage Systems
• Huawei introduces 'Boundless Computing' strategy to drive DX
• Being Solutions-Centric - Kunal Singh, General Manager -
Server, Storage and Networking Head - Value Distribution
• Microsoft Ignites Digital Transformation
• Fortinet: 50% of ME IT Decision-Makers Believe Cybersecurity is not a Top Priority
• AWS to Open Data Centers in the Middle East by 2019
• Splunk brings Machine Learning to Mainstream with New Solutions at.conf2017
• Veritas Announces Veritas Cloud Storage
• Oracle Introduces AI-Powered Intelligent Bots to its Mobile Cloud Offering
• SonicWall unveils new Wireless, Mobile, and Wired Network Security Products
• Fidelis Introduces Integrated Security Platform for ADR
• Red Hat Debuts Versatile SDS for Cloud-Native Applications
2015 Modern Infrastructure Award Winners: Tools and services making a differe...Leigh Ryan
The Modern Infrastructure Impact Awards recognize the top cloud and data center products and technologies making a difference for IT shops.
The award-winning tools and services in essential areas of technology that Modern Infrastructure covers help run enterprise businesses with efficiency and insight -- whether used inside the data center or out.
Business success increasingly depends on
the ability to apply new and innovative
business models and supporting IT solutions
more quickly than one's competitors can. In
short, it requires an agile enterprise. Recent
advancements in cloud computing can provide
an enterprise with the essential capabilities it
needs to become an agile enterprise
Value Journal, a monthly news journal from Redington Value Distribution, intends to update the channel on the latest vendor news and Redington Value’s Channel Initiatives.
Key stories from the August Edition:
•AWS Announces General Availability of AWS IoT SiteWise
•Dell Technologies Explores VMware Spin-Off
•HPE To Drive Edge-to-Cloud Strategy With Acquisition Of Silver Peak
•Oracle Announces Oracle Dedicated Region Cloud@Customer
•Fortinet Acquires Cloud Security and Networking Innovator OPAQ Networks
•Nexthink Launches Experience Platform
•Nutanix Sheds Light On Smart City Development Expectations
•Palo Alto Networks Launches World’s First ML-Powered NGFW
•57% of UAE IT Heads See Challenge In Gaining Holistic Network Visibility: VMware
•Mimecast Acquires MessageControl
•Cybersecurity Top Priority In COVID-19 Recovery: CrowdStrike Report
•Cohesity Launches Consumption-Based Subscription Pricing for MSP Partner
•Kaspersky’s New VPN Secure Connection Ensures User Privacy
•Veeam Announces New Competencies To EMEA ProPartner Program
•82% of UAE Remote Workers Have Gained Cybersecurity Awareness: Trend Micro
•Imperva Unveils Cloud Data Security Solution
Migrating its entire virtualized environment from VMware to Hyper-V has helped Miele & Cie, an appliance manufacturer shrink its server space by more than 50 percent and improve productivity.
To add to the new flexible and energy-efficient data center, Miele has also ‘saved an estimated 35 percent in licensing costs by going with a Microsoft virtualization solution’.
Value Journal, a monthly news journal from Redington Value Distribution, intends to update the channel on the latest vendor news and Redington Value’s Channel Initiatives.
Key stories from the July Edition:
• Dell Technologies Accelerates HCI Portfolio Growth; Simplifies Path To Vmware-Based Clouds.
• Huawei Releases 3GPP R14-Based Commercial NB-IoT Solution.
• Leading The Software-defined Future - Sayantan Dev, Vice President, VCG, Redington Value.
• Avaya Brings Enterprise-Level Communication Capabilities To SMBs.
• Symantec Introduces Cloud-Based Network Security Solution With Web Isolation.
• Veritas Announces New Data Protection And Governance Offerings For Microsoft 365 Solution.
• Red Hat Unveils Next-Generation Process Automation Offering.
• Vmware Delivers Network Functions Virtualization Platform For 5G And Multi-Cloud Telco Networks
• Fujitsu Enhances Cloud Services Portfolio.
• Trend Micro Launches Managed Detection And Response Service.
• Cyberark Presents New Privileged Access Security As A Service Offering.
• Nutanix Introduces New Velocity Partner Program.
Value Journal, a monthly news journal from Redington Value Distribution, intends to update the channel on the latest vendor news and Redington Value’s Channel Initiatives.
Key stories from the November Edition:
• Dell EMC Introduces All-Flash Storage Systems
• Huawei introduces 'Boundless Computing' strategy to drive DX
• Being Solutions-Centric - Kunal Singh, General Manager -
Server, Storage and Networking Head - Value Distribution
• Microsoft Ignites Digital Transformation
• Fortinet: 50% of ME IT Decision-Makers Believe Cybersecurity is not a Top Priority
• AWS to Open Data Centers in the Middle East by 2019
• Splunk brings Machine Learning to Mainstream with New Solutions at.conf2017
• Veritas Announces Veritas Cloud Storage
• Oracle Introduces AI-Powered Intelligent Bots to its Mobile Cloud Offering
• SonicWall unveils new Wireless, Mobile, and Wired Network Security Products
• Fidelis Introduces Integrated Security Platform for ADR
• Red Hat Debuts Versatile SDS for Cloud-Native Applications
2015 Modern Infrastructure Award Winners: Tools and services making a differe...Leigh Ryan
The Modern Infrastructure Impact Awards recognize the top cloud and data center products and technologies making a difference for IT shops.
The award-winning tools and services in essential areas of technology that Modern Infrastructure covers help run enterprise businesses with efficiency and insight -- whether used inside the data center or out.
Business success increasingly depends on
the ability to apply new and innovative
business models and supporting IT solutions
more quickly than one's competitors can. In
short, it requires an agile enterprise. Recent
advancements in cloud computing can provide
an enterprise with the essential capabilities it
needs to become an agile enterprise
Value Journal, a monthly news journal from Redington Value Distribution, intends to update the channel on the latest vendor news and Redington Value’s Channel Initiatives.
Key stories from the August Edition:
•AWS Announces General Availability of AWS IoT SiteWise
•Dell Technologies Explores VMware Spin-Off
•HPE To Drive Edge-to-Cloud Strategy With Acquisition Of Silver Peak
•Oracle Announces Oracle Dedicated Region Cloud@Customer
•Fortinet Acquires Cloud Security and Networking Innovator OPAQ Networks
•Nexthink Launches Experience Platform
•Nutanix Sheds Light On Smart City Development Expectations
•Palo Alto Networks Launches World’s First ML-Powered NGFW
•57% of UAE IT Heads See Challenge In Gaining Holistic Network Visibility: VMware
•Mimecast Acquires MessageControl
•Cybersecurity Top Priority In COVID-19 Recovery: CrowdStrike Report
•Cohesity Launches Consumption-Based Subscription Pricing for MSP Partner
•Kaspersky’s New VPN Secure Connection Ensures User Privacy
•Veeam Announces New Competencies To EMEA ProPartner Program
•82% of UAE Remote Workers Have Gained Cybersecurity Awareness: Trend Micro
•Imperva Unveils Cloud Data Security Solution
Value Journal, a monthly news journal from Redington Value Distribution, intends to update the channel on the latest vendor news and Redington Value’s Channel Initiatives.
Key stories from the August Edition:
• Microsoft Announces Channel Updates at Inspire 2018
• Dell to return to public markets in $22bn tracking stock buy out
• Clearing the clouds - Hishamul Hasheel, VP - Software and Security, Redington Value
• Fortinet introduces machine learning capabilities to its FortiWeb Web Application Firewall
• Aruba introduces Software-Defined Branch solution
• Veeam, Nutanix deliver solution for the hyperavailable enterprise cloud
• Malwarebytes introduces Malwarebytes for iOS
• Micro Focus announces File Governance Suite
• Cisco announces new cloud native broadband router
• Oracle study: 93% of people would trust orders from a robot at work
• Splunk closes acquisition of VictorOps
• Reasons to consider Barracuda for your SD-WAN Solution
• Join the stress-free data protection revolution
9 Cloud Success Stories - Microsoft AzureEuro IT Group
Euro IT Group has broad experience in working with public (SaaS, IaaS, PaaS), private or Hybrid cloud based environments. We have a deep understanding of the most significant cloud architectures, from Microsoft and Amazon to Google or Rackspace and a variety of adjacent systems that we have applied in real life projects.
VMware: Innovate and Thrive in the Mobile-Cloud EraVMware
Journey to IT as a Service
Deliver new products and services faster. Get closer to customers. Make increasingly mobile workers more productive. The pressure on your business to innovate has never been greater. But is your existing IT infrastructure capable of advancing your business goals?
As we enter the mobile-cloud era, your IT model must be able to accommodate more users, more applications, and more data. According to IDC, delivering the third platform for IT growth and innovation1—beyond mainframes and client-server—requires investment in cloud computing, social, mobile, and big-data technologies. It also means making fundamental changes to your IT operations to enable self-service access to information and applications—anytime, anywhere, on any device.
Dell Boomi HIMSS 2017 Demo: Solve Health IT Interoperability ChallengesDellBoomi
There is a growing realization that to succeed today and going forward, the stakes to remain competitive are directly related to the ability to be a digital business. In a survey by MIT’s Sloan Management Review of 450 companies around the world, 78% said that near-term digital transformation is essential to their long-term survival. Why is this considered such a critical objective? Basically, it all revolves around agility – being able to adapt and change more quickly, in order to be competitive and successful in a dynamic, globalized economy.
Integration within enterprises has come a long
way from just providing technology infrastructure,
to being able to deliver real business value. As
industries mature and organizations are looking at
all possible ways of reducing the gap between
business and IT, one of the most important shifts
that we see is the strategic positioning of the
integration infrastructure from purely joining the
dots to a complete business service delivery
infrastructure.
Microsoft Unified Communications - Network Considerations for Microsoft ODS D...Microsoft Private Cloud
Enterprises that are adopting unified communications (UC) platforms such as Microsoft Office Communication Server (OCS) must carefully consider and plan how UC will affect their LAN and WAN infrastructures, as well as how their networks may either hinder or improve the
performance of a UC solution. Everything from bandwidth considerations, to firewall topology, to end-user habits and experiences must be taken into consideration. If done correctly, enterprises can realize great productivity gains with new levels of collaboration, both internally and with external parties. Reduction of WAN and LAN infrastructure, built to maximum capacity in support of past IP telephony or voice/data convergence efforts, can also reduce costs and lessen management complexity in the long run.
Value Journal, a monthly news journal from Redington Value Distribution, intends to update the channel on the latest vendor news and Redington Value’s Channel Initiatives.
Key stories from the August Edition:
• Microsoft Announces Channel Updates at Inspire 2018
• Dell to return to public markets in $22bn tracking stock buy out
• Clearing the clouds - Hishamul Hasheel, VP - Software and Security, Redington Value
• Fortinet introduces machine learning capabilities to its FortiWeb Web Application Firewall
• Aruba introduces Software-Defined Branch solution
• Veeam, Nutanix deliver solution for the hyperavailable enterprise cloud
• Malwarebytes introduces Malwarebytes for iOS
• Micro Focus announces File Governance Suite
• Cisco announces new cloud native broadband router
• Oracle study: 93% of people would trust orders from a robot at work
• Splunk closes acquisition of VictorOps
• Reasons to consider Barracuda for your SD-WAN Solution
• Join the stress-free data protection revolution
9 Cloud Success Stories - Microsoft AzureEuro IT Group
Euro IT Group has broad experience in working with public (SaaS, IaaS, PaaS), private or Hybrid cloud based environments. We have a deep understanding of the most significant cloud architectures, from Microsoft and Amazon to Google or Rackspace and a variety of adjacent systems that we have applied in real life projects.
VMware: Innovate and Thrive in the Mobile-Cloud EraVMware
Journey to IT as a Service
Deliver new products and services faster. Get closer to customers. Make increasingly mobile workers more productive. The pressure on your business to innovate has never been greater. But is your existing IT infrastructure capable of advancing your business goals?
As we enter the mobile-cloud era, your IT model must be able to accommodate more users, more applications, and more data. According to IDC, delivering the third platform for IT growth and innovation1—beyond mainframes and client-server—requires investment in cloud computing, social, mobile, and big-data technologies. It also means making fundamental changes to your IT operations to enable self-service access to information and applications—anytime, anywhere, on any device.
Dell Boomi HIMSS 2017 Demo: Solve Health IT Interoperability ChallengesDellBoomi
There is a growing realization that to succeed today and going forward, the stakes to remain competitive are directly related to the ability to be a digital business. In a survey by MIT’s Sloan Management Review of 450 companies around the world, 78% said that near-term digital transformation is essential to their long-term survival. Why is this considered such a critical objective? Basically, it all revolves around agility – being able to adapt and change more quickly, in order to be competitive and successful in a dynamic, globalized economy.
Integration within enterprises has come a long
way from just providing technology infrastructure,
to being able to deliver real business value. As
industries mature and organizations are looking at
all possible ways of reducing the gap between
business and IT, one of the most important shifts
that we see is the strategic positioning of the
integration infrastructure from purely joining the
dots to a complete business service delivery
infrastructure.
Microsoft Unified Communications - Network Considerations for Microsoft ODS D...Microsoft Private Cloud
Enterprises that are adopting unified communications (UC) platforms such as Microsoft Office Communication Server (OCS) must carefully consider and plan how UC will affect their LAN and WAN infrastructures, as well as how their networks may either hinder or improve the
performance of a UC solution. Everything from bandwidth considerations, to firewall topology, to end-user habits and experiences must be taken into consideration. If done correctly, enterprises can realize great productivity gains with new levels of collaboration, both internally and with external parties. Reduction of WAN and LAN infrastructure, built to maximum capacity in support of past IP telephony or voice/data convergence efforts, can also reduce costs and lessen management complexity in the long run.
"The Future of Selling" white paper by Brian Fetherstonhaugh, Chairman & CEO of OgilvyOne Worldwide, provides recommendations on how marketers can maximize sales using social media and features best-in-class examples from companies that are winning in the Social Selling space. It is based on a a four month research project conducted in the US, UK, Brazil and China and has been informed by interviews with over 30 sales experts.
Cloud computing case studies with ProfitBricks IaaSProfitBricks
ProfitBricks cloud computing case study with one cloud user in the USA (Cloud Pharmaceuticals) and one in Germany (DriveNow). Cloud case studies include cloud use cases and cloud architecture overviews presented at Cloud Expo Santa Clara.
Cloud professionals are highly paid! Enroll for IIHT’s Engineering Programme in Cloud Computing and learn all about Cloud Computing Environment and Platforms, Managing Virtualized Environment using Microsoft Hyper V, Vmware vSphere, Citrix XenServer, Citrix XenApp, Citrix XenDesktop, Configuring and Deploying a Private Cloud using Microsoft System Center, Monitoring and Operating a Private Cloud using Microsoft System Center and much more.
Value Journal, a monthly news journal from Redington Value Distribution, intends to update the channel on the latest vendor news and Redington Value’s Channel Initiatives.
YASH Cloud Advisory services will help envision your cloud adoption and outline an appropriate strategy and roadmap on how the opportunities and/or transformation can be realized.
2011.10.19 - Cloud Partner Day - Reseller BreakoutClub Alliances
Deck de présentation sur les annonces Cloud IBM du 12 octobre, préparé à l'occasion du "Cloud Partner Day" organisé par IBM à la Gaude. Présentation exploitée dans le cadre d'un atelier pour les Cloud Builders et Cloud Services Solution Providers.
Microsoft Azure is one such Cloud platform that offers scalability, reliability, and secure cloud services. TechAhead, a top Azure consulting services provider, provides on-demand features that are user friendly and ensure ideal hosting collaboration systems for migrating on-premise infrastructure.
There are many misconceptions surrounding Cloud Computing and what it has to offer.
Tell apart the facts from the myths with Cloud Computing Myth Busters and develop a deeper understanding of the Cloud.
Download Myth Busters >>
Let's dive deeper into the world of ODC! Ricardo Alves (OutSystems) will join us to tell all about the new Data Fabric. After that, Sezen de Bruijn (OutSystems) will get into the details on how to best design a sturdy architecture within ODC.
Key Trends Shaping the Future of Infrastructure.pdfCheryl Hung
Keynote at DIGIT West Expo, Glasgow on 29 May 2024.
Cheryl Hung, ochery.com
Sr Director, Infrastructure Ecosystem, Arm.
The key trends across hardware, cloud and open-source; exploring how these areas are likely to mature and develop over the short and long-term, and then considering how organisations can position themselves to adapt and thrive.
The Art of the Pitch: WordPress Relationships and SalesLaura Byrne
Clients don’t know what they don’t know. What web solutions are right for them? How does WordPress come into the picture? How do you make sure you understand scope and timeline? What do you do if sometime changes?
All these questions and more will be explored as we talk about matching clients’ needs with what your agency offers without pulling teeth or pulling your hair out. Practical tips, and strategies for successful relationship building that leads to closing the deal.
"Impact of front-end architecture on development cost", Viktor TurskyiFwdays
I have heard many times that architecture is not important for the front-end. Also, many times I have seen how developers implement features on the front-end just following the standard rules for a framework and think that this is enough to successfully launch the project, and then the project fails. How to prevent this and what approach to choose? I have launched dozens of complex projects and during the talk we will analyze which approaches have worked for me and which have not.
Search and Society: Reimagining Information Access for Radical FuturesBhaskar Mitra
The field of Information retrieval (IR) is currently undergoing a transformative shift, at least partly due to the emerging applications of generative AI to information access. In this talk, we will deliberate on the sociotechnical implications of generative AI for information access. We will argue that there is both a critical necessity and an exciting opportunity for the IR community to re-center our research agendas on societal needs while dismantling the artificial separation between the work on fairness, accountability, transparency, and ethics in IR and the rest of IR research. Instead of adopting a reactionary strategy of trying to mitigate potential social harms from emerging technologies, the community should aim to proactively set the research agenda for the kinds of systems we should build inspired by diverse explicitly stated sociotechnical imaginaries. The sociotechnical imaginaries that underpin the design and development of information access technologies needs to be explicitly articulated, and we need to develop theories of change in context of these diverse perspectives. Our guiding future imaginaries must be informed by other academic fields, such as democratic theory and critical theory, and should be co-developed with social science scholars, legal scholars, civil rights and social justice activists, and artists, among others.
State of ICS and IoT Cyber Threat Landscape Report 2024 previewPrayukth K V
The IoT and OT threat landscape report has been prepared by the Threat Research Team at Sectrio using data from Sectrio, cyber threat intelligence farming facilities spread across over 85 cities around the world. In addition, Sectrio also runs AI-based advanced threat and payload engagement facilities that serve as sinks to attract and engage sophisticated threat actors, and newer malware including new variants and latent threats that are at an earlier stage of development.
The latest edition of the OT/ICS and IoT security Threat Landscape Report 2024 also covers:
State of global ICS asset and network exposure
Sectoral targets and attacks as well as the cost of ransom
Global APT activity, AI usage, actor and tactic profiles, and implications
Rise in volumes of AI-powered cyberattacks
Major cyber events in 2024
Malware and malicious payload trends
Cyberattack types and targets
Vulnerability exploit attempts on CVEs
Attacks on counties – USA
Expansion of bot farms – how, where, and why
In-depth analysis of the cyber threat landscape across North America, South America, Europe, APAC, and the Middle East
Why are attacks on smart factories rising?
Cyber risk predictions
Axis of attacks – Europe
Systemic attacks in the Middle East
Download the full report from here:
https://sectrio.com/resources/ot-threat-landscape-reports/sectrio-releases-ot-ics-and-iot-security-threat-landscape-report-2024/
DevOps and Testing slides at DASA ConnectKari Kakkonen
My and Rik Marselis slides at 30.5.2024 DASA Connect conference. We discuss about what is testing, then what is agile testing and finally what is Testing in DevOps. Finally we had lovely workshop with the participants trying to find out different ways to think about quality and testing in different parts of the DevOps infinity loop.
UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series, part 3DianaGray10
Welcome to UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series part 3. In this session, we will cover desktop automation along with UI automation.
Topics covered:
UI automation Introduction,
UI automation Sample
Desktop automation flow
Pradeep Chinnala, Senior Consultant Automation Developer @WonderBotz and UiPath MVP
Deepak Rai, Automation Practice Lead, Boundaryless Group and UiPath MVP
Software Delivery At the Speed of AI: Inflectra Invests In AI-Powered QualityInflectra
In this insightful webinar, Inflectra explores how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming software development and testing. Discover how AI-powered tools are revolutionizing every stage of the software development lifecycle (SDLC), from design and prototyping to testing, deployment, and monitoring.
Learn about:
• The Future of Testing: How AI is shifting testing towards verification, analysis, and higher-level skills, while reducing repetitive tasks.
• Test Automation: How AI-powered test case generation, optimization, and self-healing tests are making testing more efficient and effective.
• Visual Testing: Explore the emerging capabilities of AI in visual testing and how it's set to revolutionize UI verification.
• Inflectra's AI Solutions: See demonstrations of Inflectra's cutting-edge AI tools like the ChatGPT plugin and Azure Open AI platform, designed to streamline your testing process.
Whether you're a developer, tester, or QA professional, this webinar will give you valuable insights into how AI is shaping the future of software delivery.
LF Energy Webinar: Electrical Grid Modelling and Simulation Through PowSyBl -...DanBrown980551
Do you want to learn how to model and simulate an electrical network from scratch in under an hour?
Then welcome to this PowSyBl workshop, hosted by Rte, the French Transmission System Operator (TSO)!
During the webinar, you will discover the PowSyBl ecosystem as well as handle and study an electrical network through an interactive Python notebook.
PowSyBl is an open source project hosted by LF Energy, which offers a comprehensive set of features for electrical grid modelling and simulation. Among other advanced features, PowSyBl provides:
- A fully editable and extendable library for grid component modelling;
- Visualization tools to display your network;
- Grid simulation tools, such as power flows, security analyses (with or without remedial actions) and sensitivity analyses;
The framework is mostly written in Java, with a Python binding so that Python developers can access PowSyBl functionalities as well.
What you will learn during the webinar:
- For beginners: discover PowSyBl's functionalities through a quick general presentation and the notebook, without needing any expert coding skills;
- For advanced developers: master the skills to efficiently apply PowSyBl functionalities to your real-world scenarios.
PHP Frameworks: I want to break free (IPC Berlin 2024)Ralf Eggert
In this presentation, we examine the challenges and limitations of relying too heavily on PHP frameworks in web development. We discuss the history of PHP and its frameworks to understand how this dependence has evolved. The focus will be on providing concrete tips and strategies to reduce reliance on these frameworks, based on real-world examples and practical considerations. The goal is to equip developers with the skills and knowledge to create more flexible and future-proof web applications. We'll explore the importance of maintaining autonomy in a rapidly changing tech landscape and how to make informed decisions in PHP development.
This talk is aimed at encouraging a more independent approach to using PHP frameworks, moving towards a more flexible and future-proof approach to PHP development.
Transcript: Selling digital books in 2024: Insights from industry leaders - T...BookNet Canada
The publishing industry has been selling digital audiobooks and ebooks for over a decade and has found its groove. What’s changed? What has stayed the same? Where do we go from here? Join a group of leading sales peers from across the industry for a conversation about the lessons learned since the popularization of digital books, best practices, digital book supply chain management, and more.
Link to video recording: https://bnctechforum.ca/sessions/selling-digital-books-in-2024-insights-from-industry-leaders/
Presented by BookNet Canada on May 28, 2024, with support from the Department of Canadian Heritage.
GraphRAG is All You need? LLM & Knowledge GraphGuy Korland
Guy Korland, CEO and Co-founder of FalkorDB, will review two articles on the integration of language models with knowledge graphs.
1. Unifying Large Language Models and Knowledge Graphs: A Roadmap.
https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.08302
2. Microsoft Research's GraphRAG paper and a review paper on various uses of knowledge graphs:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/blog/graphrag-unlocking-llm-discovery-on-narrative-private-data/
Designing Great Products: The Power of Design and Leadership by Chief Designe...
AcXess saves U.S.$5 million in hardware with Hyper V
1. Microsoft Virtualization: Data Center to DesktopCustomer Solution Case Study00Cloud Services Provider Uses Virtualization to Save Millions in Hardware Costs<br />OverviewCountry or Region: United StatesIndustry: Information technologyCustomer ProfileBased in Boca Raton, Florida, AcXess is a cloud services provider offering a high-performance, virtualized environment for customers’ demo, proof-of-concept (POC), and training needs. The company employs 20 people. Business SituationTo expand its business and differentiate from competitors, AcXess had to choose the right virtualization solution to provide cost-effective, on-demand access to customers’ hosted demos, POC labs, and training sessions.SolutionThe company built up its virtualized environment with a virtualization solution based on Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise with Hyper-V.BenefitsSaved U.S.$5 million in hardwareReduced data-center costsIncreased performance and capacityImproved management capabilitiesIncreased competitive advantage“There is no doubt that Microsoft is a leader in cloud services. It is amazing to think we have grown our business 300 percent over the last few years with Hyper-V.”Tom Elowson, President and Cofounder, AcXess AcXess is a cloud services provider that offers customers secure, high-performance, online environments to run demos, proof-of-concept labs, and training sessions. To meet customers’ requirements for responsive, on-demand sessions for their users, AcXess needed a virtualized environment to quickly provision and decommission virtual machines. It chose a Microsoft Virtualization solution over VMware and saved U.S.$500,000 in annual license and maintenance costs. Subsequently, AcXess upgraded to the Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise operating system, including Hyper-V virtualization technology. Since then, the company has doubled the number of users year over year and grown its business 300 percent, while saving $5 million in hardware costs. <br />Situation<br />AcXess has built its business around the promise and power of virtualization technologies, operating in a specialized market where customers value a dynamic, high-performance, and customizable virtual machine environment above all else. Technology companies such as Microsoft and Citrix rely on AcXess to provide on-demand demos, proof-of-concept (POC) labs, and training sessions in virtualized environments for thousands of their employees, partners, and customers. AcXess leases space to host its customers’ virtual machines at a Savvis data center in Atlanta, Georgia that is certified to the Statement on Auditing Standards No. 70 (SAS 70) auditing standard for service organizations. <br />Technology companies value AcXess cloud services because they save the time and money required to provision in-house demo, POC, and training environments. By subscribing to AcX Live Cloud Services including Demos On-Demand for automated, real-time software demonstrations, Labs On-Demand for integration and consulting projects, and Training On-Demand, AcXess customers can enjoy the benefits of a predictable monthly payment schedule based on usage. AcXess then takes care of all infrastructure management through its proprietary virtual workspace management platform called V-Works. <br />“We are not a typical ‘rack and stack’ data center,” says Tom Elowson, President and Cofounder of AcXess. “We serve up large, complex enterprise-level software for demo, sales, and training purposes in highly dynamic circumstances. Today, we are 98 percent virtualized. We have more than 10,000 registered professional users, and every month we provision more than 5,000 enterprise-class demos on virtual machines created on demand, or restored from a customized saved state. In the process, we move more than 20 terabytes of data from our virtualized storage solution to live production servers and back. These virtual machine instances are used for a short period of time as needed, and then are either deleted or resaved in their new state.” <br />AcXess didn’t get to this level of business by installing and maintaining physical servers to host its customers’ solutions. Rather, the story of its development roughly parallels the evolution of virtualization technologies. Although the company began by offering traditional disaster recovery services, Elowson and Cofounder and Chief Technology Officer Helge Solberg wanted to differentiate their company by building a sophisticated, cloud services architecture for high-performance, customized virtual machine management. Early on, they had to make a strategic decision that would have long-term ramifications for the success of their endeavor: choosing the right virtualization solution for their business. <br />5403852023745“The business driver for deploying virtualization technologies came down to cost.” BuTom Elowson, President and Cofounder, AcXess siness driver for deploying virtualization technologies came down to cost.” 00“The business driver for deploying virtualization technologies came down to cost.” BuTom Elowson, President and Cofounder, AcXess siness driver for deploying virtualization technologies came down to cost.” “The business driver for deploying virtualization technologies came down to cost,” says Elowson. “We could never accommodate the fluctuating demand and offer the reliable and dynamic services that we do today by using the old paradigm of physical hardware. Virtualization would enable us to offer enterprise-class cloud services for our customers at a competitive price point. We could also reduce hardware costs, data-center costs, and storage requirements, and increase agility. Virtualization is the very foundation of our business, so finding the right solution was one of the most important decisions that we had to make.” <br />Solution<br />In mid 2006, AcXess evaluated virtualization technologies from Microsoft, VMware, and Citrix before deploying Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 running on HP servers with Intel Virtualization Technology. AcXess chose a Microsoft Virtualization solution for several reasons: cost-effective pricing, interoperability with Windows-based technologies, a promising product evolution based on continued investment and innovation, and a large partner network. These reasons form the basis for a lasting relationship between the two companies.<br />“We chose a Mi5403854233545“We chose a Microsoft solution over VMware because it saved us approximately $500,000 a year in licensing and support costs.”Helge Solberg, Chief Technology Officer, AcXess00“We chose a Microsoft solution over VMware because it saved us approximately $500,000 a year in licensing and support costs.”Helge Solberg, Chief Technology Officer, AcXesscrosoft solution over VMware because it saved us approximately [U.S.]$500,000 a year in licensing and support costs,” says Solberg. “We liked the Microsoft option because it interoperated with our existing Windows-based environment and fit with our in-house developer talent. At the time, we were building our own virtual workspace management platform, V-Works, based on the ASP.NET web application framework that is part of the Microsoft .NET Framework. It made sense to align ourselves with virtualization technologies that would interoperate seamlessly with V-Works. Plus, we knew that with the next version of the Windows Server operating system, Microsoft would be offering its own hypervisor-based server virtualization technology.”<br />So in 2007, when Microsoft released a beta version of Windows Server 2008 Enterprise with Hyper-V virtualization technology, AcXess decided to take advantage of the scalability and performance offered by the new microkernel hypervisor. Then Microsoft deployed the release to the manufacturing version of the operating system in December 2007. Multicore support, which enables each virtual machine to access four logical processors, and enhanced 64-bit support added incentives for the move. “At the time, we had 25 servers in our data center running Virtual Server 2005, each capable of hosting up to 5 virtual machines,” says Solberg. “With the move to Windows Server 2008 and Hyper-V, we could increase that number up to 50 virtual machines per server in some instances.” <br />Integrated Management Tools<br />Also, AcXess was interested in Microsoft System Center data center products to supplement its own V-Works virtual server management platform. The company deployed System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2 to monitor the overall health of its physical and virtual environments at the data center in Atlanta, including servers and applications. Using System Center Operations Manager, AcXess administrators can take advantage of customized alerts so they can respond more quickly to issues should they arise. <br />AcXess is using System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 to gain a centralized view of the virtual environment, scalable to thousands of virtual machines. Administrators can use integrated tools for complete health monitoring and reporting. “The self-service portal within System Center Virtual Machine Manager is interesting to us, and we are looking at ways to integrate it with our V-Works platform to offer additional management capabilities to our customers,” says Solberg. <br />Finally, the company is testing System Center Data Protection Manager 2007, with plans to deploy it as the primary backup tool for virtual machines and databases. “Most of our virtual machines are for demo, lab, and training purposes, and they are re-created over and over from a master image for different users so we don’t need to back them up,” explains Solberg. “We do back up data on other servers that have a more operational function, and for that we were using scripts that we created in the past. System Center Data Protection Manager would a5403854233545“Today, we are 98 percent virtualized. We have more than 10,000 registered professional users, and every month we provision more than 5,000 enterprise-class demos on virtual machines.” Tom Elowson, President and Cofounder, AcXess We have been doubling the number of users year over year, but last fiscal year we tripled our number of users and labs run, increasing our capacity by 300 percent. That’s due to Hyper-V.” 00“Today, we are 98 percent virtualized. We have more than 10,000 registered professional users, and every month we provision more than 5,000 enterprise-class demos on virtual machines.” Tom Elowson, President and Cofounder, AcXess We have been doubling the number of users year over year, but last fiscal year we tripled our number of users and labs run, increasing our capacity by 300 percent. That’s due to Hyper-V.” utomate that whole process and make it more comprehensive.” <br />Scalability and Flexibility<br />When Microsoft released Windows Server 2008 R2 in 2009, AcXess upgraded all its servers to take advantage of increased performance to handle growing customer demand and higher levels of concurrent users. The latest version of Hyper-V supports up to 64 logical processors in the host processor pool. Not only could AcXess administrators increase the number of virtual machines per host but they also gained more flexibility in assigning CPU resources to each virtual machine. <br />“A big reason for moving to Windows Server 2008 R2 with Hyper-V was the ability to support a variety of guest operating systems including Windows Server 2008 x86 and x64 Edition, Windows Server 2003 R2 x86 and x64 Edition, Windows 7, and Windows Vista,” says Solberg. “This gives us maximum flexibility in hosting different systems for our customers.” <br />Extend Virtualization to Storage<br />As a purveyor of cloud-based services, AcXess faces sudden, unpredictable demands on disk space. The company felt an uneasy dependency on the availability, performance, and scalability of its storage hardware. The kind of equipment originally considered to handle its storage requirements was expensive and inflexible and represented a recurring cost factor that could jeopardize the company’s business plans. <br />“Because we are creating and deleting labs and training scenarios hundreds of times a day, we need a storage environment that’s responsive and integrates with our Microsoft-based services, but that wouldn’t generate recurring costs tied to our growth,” says Solberg.<br />AcXess turned to Microsoft Gold Certified ISV Partner DataCore Software for help. DataCore storage virtualization software takes advantage of much more economical hardware configurations to build out a dynamic, virtual storage infrastructure. It includes a Microsoft Management Console snap-in so AcXess administrators can control and monitor the storage portion of their infrastructure using the same System Center data center management tools that they employ for the rest of their virtualized environment.<br />“DataCore SANsymphony software proved to be the ideal solution,” says Solberg. “It runs on Windows Server, and offers great features such as high-speed caching, non-disruptive snapshots, and thin provisioning that we can use to dynamically allocate storage capacity.” These device-independent virtualization techniques substantially reduce the disk space required to run very large, concurrent workloads. <br />AcXess dedicated two servers running Windows Server 2008 R2 to SANsymphony, from which all storage is pooled and virtualized. The host servers running Hyper-V access virtual disks over a storage area network.<br />AcXess benefited from choosing a Microsoft Virtualization solution in another way: access to best-of-breed third-party software that ties into, and builds on top of, the Windows operating system. This benefit underscores the value of an interoperable, standardized environment that is divorced from the underlying hardware. <br />“We’ve always tried to keep things simple, and our decision to standardize on Windows and Hyper-V is a case in point,” says Elowson. “The fact that our operating system, our hypervisor, our data center management products, and our DataCore software all work together simplifies our environment so that we can focus on driving our services’ performance and reliability—the two biggest reasons our customers keep coming back.” <br />Benefits<br />The Microsoft Virtualization solution at AcXess touches almost every aspect of its business and is linked to the company’s consistent growth year over year, despite the recent economic downturn. Using Microsoft Virtualization, AcXess has saved money and built a competitive advantage, setting its company apart through highly responsive virtual machine services and high-performance application delivery. <br />Reduced Hardware and Data-Center Costs<br />With every iteration of its Microsoft Virtualization solution, AcXess has increased server consolidation to reduce hardware and data center costs at the Savvis facility. “Hyper-V has made all the difference,” says Elowson. “We have saved more than $5 million in the last three years in hardware costs alone compared to if we had to build our environment with physical servers. In that case, our yearly data center costs would be 10 times higher than what we are paying today.”<br />Increased Performance and Capacity Facilitates Growth<br />Since upgrading to Windows Server 2008 R2 and Hyper-V, AcXess has seen a significant increase in the performance and capacity of its cloud services. The company is running more complex software with better performance in labs with higher numbers of concurrent users.<br />“Last fiscal year we more than doubled our number of users while simultaneously having to triple core system capacity,” says Elowson. “There is no doubt that Microsoft is a leader in cloud services. It is amazing to think we have grown our business 300 percent over the last few years with Hyper-V. Over that period of time, we’ve seen an average 80 percent top-line revenue growth, year over year.”5403852023745“We built AcXess around the promise of virtualization and its potential in the data center…. Hyper-V and System Center products have been key success factors for our competitive advantage in cloud services.” Tom Elowson, President and Cofounder, AcXessay, we are 98 percalized. We have more than 10,000 registered professional users, and every month we provision more than 5,000 enterprise-class demos on virtual machines….”00“We built AcXess around the promise of virtualization and its potential in the data center…. Hyper-V and System Center products have been key success factors for our competitive advantage in cloud services.” Tom Elowson, President and Cofounder, AcXessay, we are 98 percalized. We have more than 10,000 registered professional users, and every month we provision more than 5,000 enterprise-class demos on virtual machines….” <br /> <br />Improved Management <br />Because the company’s Microsoft Virtualization solution includes integrated System Center data center management products, AcXess gained a consolidated environment that is easier to manage than a physical environment, reducing the need for new employees. <br />“Despite our growth, we have kept costs in line by avoiding an estimated 80 percent increase in number of employees, hiring only 2 additional people in the last year, instead of the 10 people we would have needed to manage a physical infrastructure,” says Elowson. “Using additional tools from System Center that interoperate with V-Works, our administrators are managing the environment better. Now they have a better overview of the total system’s health, progress, and history.” <br />Increased Competitive Advantage<br />According to Elowson, all the efficiencies and cost savings that AcXess has gained from its virtualization solution laid the groundwork for the company’s healthy competitive advantage. Not only can it pass on cost savings to its customers in the form of lower prices, but AcXess also can offer high levels of service and performance. <br />“Our customers are amazed at the performance that we can offer at our price point,” concludes Elowson. “We built AcXess around the promise of virtualization and its potential in the data center for reliable, high performance systems. Our success or failure hinged on our product decisions. Hyper-V and System Center products have been key success factors for our competitive advantage in cloud services.” <br />28575006286500Software and ServicesMicrosoft Server Product PortfolioWindows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager 2007Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2TechnologiesHyper-VMicrosoft ASP.NETMicrosoft .NET Framework 3.0HardwareServersHewlett Packard C7000 blade center & server infrastructure, Intel processorsHewlett Packard MSA storage Third-Party SoftwareSANsymphony PartnersDataCore Software 00Software and ServicesMicrosoft Server Product PortfolioWindows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager 2007Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2TechnologiesHyper-VMicrosoft ASP.NETMicrosoft .NET Framework 3.0HardwareServersHewlett Packard C7000 blade center & server infrastructure, Intel processorsHewlett Packard MSA storage Third-Party SoftwareSANsymphony PartnersDataCore Software 5549908255000This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.Document published March 201100This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.Document published March 20115403852056765For More InformationFor more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (877) 568-2495. Customers in the United States and Canada who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to:www.microsoft.comFor more information about DataCore Software products and services, call (954) 377-6000 or visit the website at: www.datacore.comFor more information about AcXess products and services, call (800) 680-1360 or visit the website at: www.acxess.com00For More InformationFor more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (877) 568-2495. Customers in the United States and Canada who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to:www.microsoft.comFor more information about DataCore Software products and services, call (954) 377-6000 or visit the website at: www.datacore.comFor more information about AcXess products and services, call (800) 680-1360 or visit the website at: www.acxess.comMicrosoft Virtualization<br />Microsoft virtualization is an end-to-end strategy that can profoundly affect nearly every aspect of the IT infrastructure management lifecycle. It can drive greater efficiencies, flexibility, and cost effectiveness throughout your organization. From accelerating application deployments; to ensuring systems, applications, and data are always available; to taking the hassle out of rebuilding and shutting down servers and desktops for testing and development; to reducing risk, slashing costs, and improving the agility of your entire environment—virtualization has the power to transform your infrastructure, from the data center to the desktop. <br />For more information about Microsoft virtualization solutions, go to: <br />www.microsoft.com/virtualization<br /> <br />