1. Better decision making with integrated, end-to-end business intelligence ( BI )

2. Improved performance from both IT and human assets

3. Improved security

4. Increased developer productivity

5. Lower overall costs

Organizations are increasingly looking for ways to lower their IT infrastructure and IT management costs while improving employee access to the right information enabling them to make strong decisions at the right time. Through the efficient use of business intelligence solutions based on SQL Server features such as Analysis Services, data mining, Integration Services, Notification Services, and Reporting Services, decision makers can unlock the business secrets that might enable their success. By using SQL Server together with tools such as Microsoft Office Business Scorecard Manager, your customers can gain a broad view of their opportunities, enabling them to understand their challenges better, effectively shape solutions, and quickly act on their objectives. As you know, decision-making happens across all levels of an organization, and empowering employees with powerful business intelligence solutions can help them make a greater impact on the bottom line.

SQL Server 2005 provides the power and the tools demanded by today’s strategic decision makers at a fraction of the cost of the competition. Because SQL Server’s reputation for having the industry’s lowest costs is well known, many organizations have considered moving away from Oracle. However, for many years, SQL Server, while extremely powerful, could not match Oracle’s scalability. Many customers felt they had little alternative but to remain with Oracle—that is until now.
SQL Server 2005 has reached feature parity with Oracle, even in high-end capabilities, while retaining the lowest costs in the industry. It has become the preferred solution for customers deploying business intelligence applications on the Microsoft Windows platform. It includes numerous features, such as enhanced BI, security, and scalability capabilities, that are expensive add-ons for Oracle customers. Microsoft has been able to match Oracle technology while providing the best value for the mid-sized organization.

Because databases are typically critical and costly IT assets, they often serve as a focal point for efforts to cut costs and improve efficiency. Oracle has long held the reputation of being the most powerful database available, but it also has a well-earned reputation for being extremely expensive. Beyond the obvious cost savings, the tight integration between SQL Server 2005 and Visual Studio 2005 embodies and advances the trend towards data-driven application development. More and more Web sites, for example, dynamically present content based on a variety of factors such as user interests. This new world of development demands a fundamental alteration in how database administrators and developers interact with databases and with each other.

So SQL Server is the right alternative to Oracle not just for the obvious reasons of cost and high-end capabilities but because it is the embodiment of a new development paradigm that will enable the creation of substantially more powerful applications with less time, effort, and cost.

The demands of an always-on work environment that spans geographies and time zones is ever-increasing the pressures on IT departments to provide rich, connected capabilities across the infrastructure, while protecting both the environment and its confidential data from intrusion and disruption. The infrastructure optimization process helps organizations transform their IT infrastructures into strategic assets, reducing system complexity and providing greater operational flexibility. As a result, IT managers are able to:

Control costs:
Reduce hardware, utility, and space expenses for data-center operations
Reduce application compatibility testing for major deployments
Reduce training expenses and free up costly IT personnel forhigher-value use
Increase system uniformity, to avoid conflicts and accelerateproblem resolution
Prevent security breaches and subsequent clean-up efforts
Reduce remote site visits in branch operations

Improve service levels:
Reduce service interruptions from security breaches
Maintain a robust disaster recovery process, to avoid service interruptions and speed recovery
Avoid desktop configuration conflicts and accelerate help-desk resolution
Quarantine out-of-compliance remote systems and legacy line-of-business (LOB) applications

Drive agility:
Increase flexibility and ability to adapt to changing business conditions
Rapidly provision new capabilities
Dynamically assign resources to demanding workloads in near real time
Employ zero-touch self-provisioning and automatic configuration
Streamline and accelerate software deployment

The vision of infrastructure optimization is to help customers realize the value of their investments in IT infrastructure, to make the IT infrastructure a strategic asset that supports agility within their organizations, and ultimately to help customers create an infrastructure for a people-ready business.

For more information about how your business can benefit from the infrastructure optimization process, contact Digital Reach!

Coming in the second half of 2008, Windows Small Business Server (Windows SBS) 2008 represents the next-generation integrated server solution for small businesses (up to 75 users or network devices). Part of the Windows Essential Server Solutions family, Windows SBS 2008 offers a targeted combination of technologies and management capabilities for your small-business. Streamlined installation and management functions can improve your operational efficiency, while helping you grow your business capacity at a cost-effective price and a manageable pace.

Slated for general availability later this year, Windows Essential Server Solutions are much easier for small and midsize companies to implement and manage than separate products. In response to customer and partner feedback, Windows Essential Server Solutions provide flexible pricing and licensing that offer substantial cost savings over purchasing individual products like those included in the solutions. Examples of licensing improvements over the current Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 product include these:

• Customers will be able to purchase single client access licenses (CALs), so they will pay only for the exact number of employees using the product.
 
• Customers can cost-effectively purchase a mix of Standard or Premium CALs, as appropriate to the technologies that individual employees are using.
 
• CALs now apply to other copies of Windows Server, SQL Server or Exchange Server on the network, eliminating the need to purchase additional CALs.

Also, Small Business Server 2008 Premium Edition includes additional Windows Server 2008 Standard technologies with SQL Server 2008 Standard Edition for Small Business, making it an ideal platform for critical business applications.

Designed for small businesses, Windows Small Business Server 2008 is an affordable, integrated server solution that helps you protect your business data, increase productivity and present a more professional image to customers – giving you the tools you need to help grow your business capacity. More Small Business IT Solutions

Source: Citrix - Enterprise Management Associates

This EMA white paper provides a prescriptive and practical guide for IT decision-makers who are interested in learning more about desktop virtualization, how and whether it applies to their organization, and what they need to do next to take advantage of the extraordinary benefits this technology can provide. This paper provides a non-technical introduction, and explains the major benefits to business and IT, including: greater productivity; better, faster, cheaper management and support; improved security and compliance; balance of control and usability; high availability; improved performance; extreme workforce mobility; and maximized resource utilization.

Three Key Phases to Implementing Desktop Virtualization
by EMA

Core Security Technologies today announced that it has been chosen by the Data Protection Summit as a Best of Show awards winner for 2008 in the category of Most Innovative Data Protection Technology for CORE IMPACT, the most comprehensive product for performing enterprise security assurance testing.

The second annual Best of Show awards is the premier opportunity for industry recognition of innovative technology and how it is being used in the marketplace. Winning companies were judged by a panel of industry experts who evaluated each nomination according to the following criteria:

Distinctiveness of the application, technology or product
Central use of data protection as a solution
Technical and business significance

“The Data Protection Summit Innovation Award for Technology recognizes a company whose products and services have raised the bar for data protection,” said Jay Kramer, vice president of worldwide marketing, iStor Networks, and chairperson of the Data Protection Summit Awards Committee. “The Data Protection Summit is proud to recognize CORE IMPACT from Core Security Technologies as a solution that encompasses data protection innovation and makes a real difference in the marketplace today.”

Core Security Technologies, based in Boston, Mass., is the leading provider of enterprise security assurance testing software. Its product, CORE IMPACT, gives organizations visibility into critical information security weaknesses across network systems, end-user systems and web applications. By pinpointing exploitable vulnerabilities, IMPACT enables customers to regularly evaluate the effectiveness of their defensive infrastructure and end-user security policies. The product generates clear, actionable test reports that detail proven vulnerabilities, possible fixes and other information valuable to improving an organization’s overall security posture.

“Companies are losing the battle when it comes to protecting critical data assets, since they are often unable to view their information security from the perspective of attackers,” said Fred Pinkett, vice president of product management at Core Security Technologies. “Many businesses are now addressing this problem by using penetration testing products such as CORE IMPACT to evaluate their ability to detect, prevent and respond to security threats. We are pleased to receive this honor from the Data Protection Summit, and we are glad it recognizes our innovation as a step forward in enterprise information security.”

The Best of Show winners were honored during a special ceremony at the Data Protection Summit on Wednesday,
March 12.

Contact Digital Reach to discuss your CORE IMPACT implementation.

Cisco has announced the “end-of-life” for Cisco PIX Security related products and has encouraged the migration to Cisco ASA 5500.  Businesses face a growing number of network security challenges due to many different dynamics in the industry.

The number and sophistication of attacks is increasing, with threats such as botnets and the exploitation of multiple vulnerabilities in many of today’s Web services, applications, and back-end systems. Increasing collaboration with business partners and customers requires more security at what was the Internet edge and new forms of secure remote access to critical business data. Many advanced technologies, such as unified communications and wireless, are being adopted as mission-critical infrastructure and require new forms of security to protect them. Finally, regulations pertaining to business governance and privacy are affecting businesses more than ever and forcing them to change their business practices and increase their overall level of information security.

On January 28, 2008, Cisco announced the end-of-sale and end-of life dates for Cisco PIX Security Appliances, software, accessories, and licenses. The last day for purchasing Cisco PIX Security Appliance platforms/bundles will be July 28, 2008 and the last day to purchase accessories and licenses will be January 27, 2009. It is important to note that Cisco will continue to support Cisco PIX Security Appliance customers through July 27, 2013.

Cisco PIX Security Appliance customers are encouraged to migrate to Cisco ASA 5500 Series Adaptive Security Appliances. In addition to providing the same robust firewall and IPsec VPN capabilities as Cisco PIX Security Appliances, the Cisco ASA 5500 Series offers significantly better performance and scalability, SSL VPN support, advanced Unified Communications (voice/video) security, and a modular design that allows you to add features such as intrusion prevention (IPS), antivirus, antispam, antiphishing, and URL filtering. Migration to the Cisco ASA 5500 Series is straightforward, because consistent management and monitoring interfaces allow you to take advantage of your knowledge and investment in Cisco PIX Security Appliances.

The Cisco ASA 5500 delivers many benefits, including the following:

• Assists businesses meet compliance and regulatory requirements like HIPAA, PCI and many more.
• Delivers secure mobility services to improve access to SSL VPN technologies.
• Overall cost to maintain one or more security services is lowered.
• Gives customeres the ability to take advantage of training and operational experience from Cisco PIX Security Appliances.
• Secures unified communications with end-to-end encrypted voice and video communication with greater capacity and scalability.

Why Migrate to Cisco ASA 5500? 

Better Performance. Stronger Security. Increased Scalability. Protection from application-layer threats.

Digital Reach PIX to ASA Migration Services

Finjan Inc. reports that attackers infected at least 10,000 trusted web sites with malware last month using the Random.JS Trojan toolkit.  Random.JS is an exceptionally sneaky Trojan that infects the targeted machine and sends data from the machine back to the attackers controlling it via the Internet.  The information that is stolen includes documents, passwords, surfing habits and other forms of compromising information.

“Random.JS uses varying methods to remain undetected and keep spreading,” he said. “It is able to break antivirus signatures and store malware on legitimate sites.” The Random.JS toolkit is a piece of JavaScript code that morphs every time it is accessed, Ben-Itzhak said. As a result, it’s nearly impossible to detect with traditional signature-based anti-malware products.

The Random.JS attack is performed by dynamic embedding of scripts into a Web page, he said. It provides a random filename that can only be accessed once and is done in such a selective manner that when a user receives an infected page once, it will not be referenced again on further requests. This method prevents detection of the malware in later forensic analyses.

The list of attack toolkits includes MPack, NeoSploit, IcePack, WebAttacker, WebAttacker2 and MultiExploit, along with newer toolkits like Random.JS, vipcrypt, makemelaugh and dycrypt.

Security vendors warn of the rising use of attack toolkits in recent months.

Are your systems protected?  Let Digital Reach assess your network security strategy.

Managed IT Services deliver a comprehensive, integrated package to help businesses proactively manage and monitor their Information Technology - networks, servers, desktops, security, backup, recovery, etc. But what if you already have an IT department and don’t need that all-encompassing level of service? That is where Fractional Outsourcing or Fractional IT Services comes into the picture. 

Fractional Outsourcing allows a company to create their own service plan and to select the level of IT services that fit their needs.  Often times this approach is implemented to compliment an in-house IT staff’s needs and requirements.  By integrating specialized skill-sets into your existing IT infrastructure you get to maximize your staff’s efficiency and expertise while advancing your technology. 

How do I know if Fractional Outsourcing is right for me? 

A good place to start is if you recognize any of these common challenges:

When you identify an area of your business related to technology that is diverting focus from strategic initiatives and core competencies - it might be time to re-evaluate your information technology structure.  A “stretched-too-thin” IT department will drain your resources trying to isolate, identify and solve Information Technology challenges.  When you rely on your IT staff to “wear all the hats” you are asking them to develop “on-the-fly” expertise and opening up your business to gaps in performance, efficiency and security.

What if you need to upgrade network devices, servers or desktops but you don’t have the time, expertise or personnel to facilitate the transition?  With Fractional Outsourcing your staff will get the support they need to accomplish the migration and you will get the peace of mind and confidence in knowing the migration was a success.

Maybe you have a training issue? You have terrific personnel but you don’t have the time to keep them up to date on new technologies.  Again, with Fractional Outsourcing you get the support you, and your staff, need.

To learn more about Digital Reach’s Fractional Outsourcing services, click here!

Too often, network designers confront an unenviable choice: they can prepare for a chaotic and uncertain future by purchasing expensive products that support advanced features or they can purchase affordable products that lack the features needed to deliver robust and future-ready solutions.

A great infrastructure creates a valuable asset. With strategy and implementation from Digital Reach and product solutions from Extreme Networks you can build and keep design equity by creating a network to address future needs within your current budget constraints.

By combining operational versatility and integrity with advanced automation and ease of use features, network managers can prepare for tomorrow’s demanding network edge requirements.  And, they can do all this without paying a premium for unnecessary speeds and without the cross-platform compatibility issues that often plague competitive alternatives.

To learn more about Digital Reach and how we an leverage the products of Extreme Networks to enhance your network infrastructure, contact us today.