IT Consult

QuorumLabs Wins THINKstrategies’ Cloud Computing Business Value Award

matt — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 22:31:43 +0000

QuorumLabs Wins THINKstrategies’ Cloud Computing Business Value Award

THINKstrategies announced today that QuorumLabs has been named the latest winner of THINKstrategies’ Cloud Computing Business Value (CCBV) Awards program, which is aimed at promoting the measurable business benefits being delivered by today’s cloud computing solutions. The CCBV Awards program was launched in 2010 to recognize Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) providers delivering tangible business benefits to specific user organizations. These benefits include lower costs, faster deployment times, greater profitability, etc. The CCBV Award program builds on the success of THINKstrategies’ Best of SaaS Showplace (BoSS) Awards program which was initiated in 2009.

QuorumLabs develops innovative technologies and products that provide high availability and instant recovery of critical business systems for small to mid-sized companies. QuorumLabs’ turnkey solutions allow businesses to routinely and automatically test their recovery plan and recover failed systems with a single click.

Click here to read about the measurable business benefits that earned QuorumLabs the latest CCBV Award.

For more information regarding the CCBV Awards or to apply for an award, go to www.cloudshowplace.com.

ITConsult, Sportingbet.com.au and Centrebet.com.au, our newest relationship

matt — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 02:50:08 +0000

Among Australia’s leading online gaming houses Sportingbet.com.au and Centrebet.com.au are coming together in a new merger. The amalgamation is no doubt a challenge at the best of times but the smart people at the gaming houses have made it alot easier by utilising Dell KACE systems management and depolyment appliances. The KACE project was designed and implemented this month by The IT Consultancy Group in consultation with Sportingbet.com.au inhouse Darwin staff.

Through KACE Sportingbet.com.au can now track, update and manage systems securely faster and easier than ever.

Take a look at our KACE page or contact us to find out more about KACE and why The IT Consultancy Group has been chosen to perform dozens of implentations to manage over 22,000 nodes.

About Dell KACE:

Dell KACE Appliances make efficient computer management and server management a reality by providing a low cost alternative to computer management software using an appliance-based architecture. Simply plug the appliance into your network, give it an IP address and you are ready to begin managing all your desktops, laptops and servers. Unlike traditional computer management software, KACE Appliances typically deploy in one day. And because the appliances are fully integrated and pre-configured, there are no hardware or software pre-requisites, no professional service fees and no hidden costs. It’s all in the appliance!

Dell KACE 1000 provides an appliance-based approach to systems management, to create time for systems administration professionals, while saving money for their companies. Dell KACE Systems Management Appliances are available as both physical and virtual appliances.

Dell KACE k2000 provides an appliance-based approach to OS deployment, to create time for systems management professionals, while saving money for their companies. Dell KACE appliances are available as both physical and virtual appliances.

CRN Fast50

matt — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 02:24:40 +0000

CRN magazine announced the third annual CRN Fast50, the No. 1 Australian IT industry awards and industry list honouring the 50 best resellers in the country. The Fast50 recognises those resellers who have shown themselves to be the best at understanding their customers’ businesses, aligning those businesses with the latest and best technologies and doing it faster and more efficiently than the rest of the pack.
The IT Consultancy Group is pleased to announce that we have been placed third in the most recent CRN listing, and would like to take the opportunity to thank our valued clients that help us achieve this milestone.

To view the full CRN Fast50 list take a look here.

IN PICTURES: ARN Roundtable – Technology Stacks and Partner Profitability

matt — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 04:09:46 +0000

With the consolidation that has happened in the last few years, there are vendors in the market now capable of offering end-to-end product “stacks” to the customer. Matthew Sainsbury, a group of vendors and their partners which includes The IT Consultancy Group sat down to discuss the ramifications of these stacks, and how the reseller can benefit from them.

ARN recently sat down with a group of channel partners to discuss the emergeance of vendors building one-stop-shop technology stacks, and the benefits and challenges that those bring to the reseller and its profitability. Sponsored by Dell and Intel.

Viwe all the pictures at ARN online.

10 Issues with the Cloud

matt — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 00:20:54 +0000

After compling our list of reasons to take the leap and outsource your business IT needs we have complied a list of what we believe is the 10 most relevant issues with cloud computing. As the cloud buzz word continues to be thrown around it is impoprtant for organisations to take a step back, breathe and take an objective look into the often hidden dangers associated with this nost recent technology.

We believe that the cloud most definately has a place in todays IT landscape, but should be used when right… not just to been seen to be keeping up.

You can check out our 10 Issues with the Cloud list here and let us know what you think.

10 good reasons to outsource with IT Consult.

matt — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 04:55:40 +0000

Take a look at our 2 page list containing 10 good reasons to outsource your business it with IT Consult. The list points out very valid points that you may not have thought of yet. So if your on the fence about whether or not to outsource check this out, it will make you aware of the wide spectrum of advantages (hopefully). We list advantages ranging from economies of scale to the realisation of a competitive edge through technology.

Check out 10 good reasons to outsource IT.

Virtual Appliances Are Coming

matt — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 02:25:10 +0000

A new virtualization specification, the Open Virtualization Format (OVF), was ratified this month, and lays the foundation for a fundamental change in how enterprises deploy and manage software. It allows ISVs to deliver applications that can be installed with a single click, even applications that span multiple separate server installs and have complex configurations. This development has ramifications on how users recover applications, clone golden images, and ensure license compliance. OVF can be a sea change for IT but will require wide adoption by ISVs, toolkits aimed at enterprise administrators (not just ISVs), and a big push by customers. Several ISVs are promoting this appliance delivery methodology, including Oracle and SAP. Will you? And should you?

Take a look at VMware’s paper written for IT Infrastructure & Operations Professionals.

VMware – Virtualisation brief

matt — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 02:22:49 +0000

The term “cloud computing” has turned into nothing but industry hyperbole. Server virtualization leader VMware has a compelling vision and a set of products that could help clarify all of the confusion. The company‟s building block approach can help organizations derive real short and long-term value from the cloud. If VMware can build industry support for its effort while working with other virtualization players, it could find itself at the very foundation of a future cloud computing boom.

Check out the whitepaper for information on infrastructure virtualisation.

Citrix Xendesktop

matt — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 02:21:14 +0000

Today’s workplace is changing fast. Workforces are being liberated from their desks and mobilized with new kinds of end-user devices to allow for unprecedented flexibility and greater productivity. What’s more, employees and contractors increasingly fulfill their assignments outside the office on devices they own—and they expect their devices to be able to quickly and easily access the corporate applications and data they need to do their jobs.

View the full whitepaper for more information on bringing virtual desktops to your environment.

NetApp’s Unified Storage Architecture

matt — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 23:28:16 +0000

This paper from the NetApp team was published in October 2008 but still makes for interesting reading and gives a solid introduction and a good insight into the value brought by the NetApp Data Ontap approach still used by the organisation today.

The traditional model for enterprise storage requires a different storage system for each storage function. One storage architecture might be deployed for primary network-attached storage (NAS), another for storage area networks (SANs), with additional platforms for secondary storage, archive, and compliance. Because of the obvious complexity and cost of such an approach, many vendors in the storage industr have begun to talk about “unified” storage, co-opting the term from NetApp, which pioneered a unified storage architecture years ago. The solutions these vendors offer typically include the ability to accommodate both NAS and SAN protocols, but do so by combining NAS and SAN components with different architectures, management infrastructures, backup requirements, and so on, and rarely offer the scalability and performance necessary in today’s enterprise environments.

Check the whitepaper here.