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Cloud Computing: Greener Solutions for Business Needs

by Van Murray on July 16, 2011

As cloud computing continues to gain scale and popularity, the positive environmental impact of utilizing cloud-based servers is becoming apparent.

Google recently announced plans to open a seawater-cooled data center.  Traditionally, server warehouses have been cooled by air conditioning, which use incredible amounts of energy to both power the servers and keep them cool enough to stay operational.  Google hopes to use tunnels to push cold seawater into the building, keeping their machines cooler with less energy.  The water will be returned to sea temperature before being released back into the ocean in order to minimize environmental impact.

Data centers are just like energy sources; their effectiveness and efficiency grows with scale.  Many businesses that use in-house servers waste energy by not making the switch to the cloud, as they have to spend money and energy keeping these servers cool.  Data centers realize economies of scale by using the same amount of energy to cool more computing power.

Environmental initiatives are becoming more and more important to consumers.  If your business is serious about going green, you may want to consider an eco-friendly switch to cloud computing.

Google Docs Android App

by Van Murray on July 16, 2011

Google Business Solutions just got even more versatile with the addition of an official Google Docs Android app.  Now you can create, edit, and share documents on the go straight from your Android smartphone.  The Android app takes advantage of all of the features of the web-based software, allowing fellow collaborators to see edits to documents instantly across platforms.

Additionally, the app can be used to view regular documents and PDFs.  Should you need to edit such a document on the go, any traditional document (such as a Word doc) can be converted to a Google Doc in seconds, where you can then edit instantly from your phone or later from a computer.  The app even allows the capability to take a picture of printed text and convert it into an editable Google Doc.

Finally, the Google Docs app is designed for real-time collaboration.  Any doc can be shared with any number in your contact list, making it easier than ever to collaborate and communicate with family, coworkers, and friends.

Google Apps for Business has never been more versatile, and Accent Plus is proud to offer these solutions.  For more information on how your business can use Google Apps to become more efficient and effective, please contact Accent Plus.

Read more about the Android Google Docs app here.

Google Message Security

by Van Murray on July 16, 2011

As previously discussed, Accent Plus is proud to offer Postini services as a part of its Google Apps for Business solutions.  We would like to highlight a few of Postini’s most important features, specifically, inbound and outbound email security.

Google Message Security automatically blocks spam, phising attempts, and viruses before they reach your inbox, creating security within a company and peace-of-mind for business owners and IT professionals alike.  A complex system analyzes incoming messages and removes offenders with low rates of false-positives.  Additionally, it requires no client-side installation, making for an easy and efficient implementation process.

Since Google handles over two billion emails per day, Postini can actively spot global threats and work to make sure that your company is not affected.  This removes the need for a paid IT staff to constantly update and monitor a security system.  A report is delivered regularly to administrators and users alerting them to quarantined and flagged messages, allowing an organization to quickly respond to attacks.

Postini can also regulate and secure outbound traffic, ensuring that legal and regulatory compliance is achieved and that valuable information stays within your company.  Emails can be encrypted to make sure that sensitive communications are not intercepted mid-transit.

All of these settings are extremely customizable, giving the administrator maximum flexibility in deciding what level of security is correct for his or her company.  This is merely one way that Google Apps delivers extraordinary value to businesses at a great price.

For more information on how cloud computing can make your business more effective, efficient and secure please contact Accent Plus.

World IPv6 Day and Google Apps for Business

by Van Murray on June 7, 2011

On June 8th, 2011 — World IPv6 Day (http://worldipv6day.org/) — major web companies, including Google, Facebook, Yahoo!, and Microsoft, will enable IPv6 on many of their websites for 24 hours to test how IPv6 performs in the real world.  That day, Google will be using IPv6 (http://worldipv6day.org/faq/index.html) for Google Apps, including Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs and Google Sites.

More than 99.9% of people shouldn’t have any problems during this industry-wide test, but your experience on June 8th will depend on your computer and network configuration.
- If you only have IPv4, you’ll simply use IPv4 as usual and not see any test-related problems.
- If your configuration is ready for IPv6, you’ll automatically use IPv6 and not see any test-related problems.
- In rare cases if you have IPv6 enabled but not configured properly, you may have connectivity issues with Google Apps and other test sites on June 8th.

If you’d like to start checking your organization’s IPv6 preparedness before June 8th, you can instruct your users to visit ipv6test.google.com from the devices where they access Google Apps, like primary work machines, tablet devices and home computers.  If you discover IPv6 connectivity problems, please let us know.

If you are having a major issue related to this from now until the end of June 8th, 2011 and need to contact us about IPv6, please submit your inquiry here:

Submit a Support Request

We will get back to you as soon as possible.

Amazon’s Cloud Failure A Company Issue, Not A Cloud Issue

by Van Murray on April 29, 2011

On April 21, Amazon Web Services, a major provider of cloud computing solutions to such companies as Foursquare, Reddit, and Netflix, experienced a significant issue in its East Coast data center that ultimately caused the center to shut down and rendered hundreds of companies helpless.  Advocates of cloud computing had been saying all along that such a catastrophe would be impossible due to the backups and redundancies both within data centers and between data centers.  Amazon themselves structured their centers with things called “availability zones” that were supposed to fail independently of one another, like crumple zones in cars.  The only way something like this was supposed to happen was if a natural disaster completely destroyed an entire data center  Yet, for over twenty four hours, some of the biggest names in technology were unable to receive traffic from web visitors.

While it will be some time before anyone completely understands what happened in northern Virginia yesterday and figures out how to stop it from happening again, there is no mistake that this was the worst possible scenario in cloud computing.  For the first time, we understood exactly what it would mean if a provider such as Google or Amazon were to experience significant distress for even as little as twenty four hours.  Amazon had promised its customers that they did not need backups in different regions due to their use of availability zones, leaving many businesses stranded when the entire eastern center went down.  It highlights the importance of backups and redundancies, not just within a data center, but even among cloud computing services.

Critics and pundits will no doubt frame this as a sky-is-falling indication that cloud computing cannot live up to its hype and promise. As Justin Santa Barbara points out, it is important to realize that this was a failure by a company, not by cloud computing as a technology. With appropriate safeguards and backups, cloud computing can be and is more reliable than traditional server solutions.  Let’s not forget, either, that this same thing can happen and has happened in traditional hosting providers.

Choosing a service provider is, ultimately, just as important as choosing a technology and scale.  Cloud computing offers incredible efficiency and scale as long as one is partnered with the right company, and some may rethink their relationship with Amazon after yesterday’s events.

Google Apps Updates: Powerful Editing, Multiple Email Accounts, Cloud Offerings

by Van Murray on April 28, 2011

 

Google Apps Updates: Powerful Editing, Multiple Email Accounts, Cloud Offerings

Google Apps has recently released exciting new updates for their platform to help businesses operate more effectively and efficiently.  The highlights include:

  • An update to the Comments feature in Google Docs

The commenting feature in Google Docs, already a powerful collaboration tool for businesses, has been updated to reflect the discussion-style setting of an editorial board or meeting.  Comments can now be edited, commented on by others, or deleted to reflect progress in the discussion.  Additionally, Google Docs comments now integrate with email, alerting you when a concern has been edited, updated, or resolved.

  • Sending from another email in Gmail

Have you ever wanted to send a personal email from a personal account without logging out of your work email?  Gmail has recently added the feature to choose what address an email is sent out from right from the Compose screen. This feature has long been in demand from the multi-tasking professional preventing multiple log-ins and outs throughout the day.

  • Advanced data filtering in Google Spreadsheets

A common criticism of the Google Docs platform has been Spreadsheet’s inability to keep pace with Microsoft Excel’s advanced data filtering and analysis software.  However, this gap is quickly narrowing.  One can now filter and sort many rows at once by multiple categories, and when combined with Doc’s collaborative editing and access-anywhere features, Spreadsheets becomes an extremely powerful tool.  Learn more here.

  • Google Cloud Connect for Microsoft Office

The relationship between Google and Microsoft products has certainly been ineffective and inefficient for years, but appears to be progressing. If you just can’t break that tie to Excel, Google can still help your business operate more efficiently.  Google Cloud Connect adds collaborative editing, revision histories, and automatic cloud sync to Microsoft Office documents, giving users still chained to traditional office applications the chance to experience life in the cloud.


With such great tools already released and more, such as an official Google Docs app, on the way, there has never been a better time than now to make the jump to cloud computing.  Contact us for more information on how we can help your business become more productive and efficient.

Powerful North Carolina Tornadoes Hurt Businesses, Others Stay Nimble With Cloud

by Van Murray on April 27, 2011

On April 16, a violent storm system ravaged 20 North Carolina counties, destroying homes, knocking over power lines, and causing North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue to declare a state of emergency in several areas.  While it pales in comparison to the loss of life and property suffered by some families, many businesses suffered severe setbacks and a severe loss of productivity due to technical issues created by the storm.

Power outages were one of the more significant effects from the onslaught of tornadoes. Electricity was lost in the city of Raleigh, home to the North Carolina state capitol as well as many major banks and firms. As servers and data centers shut down, many businesses saw their operations slow to a halt.

One Raleigh-based marketing firm, Three Ships Media, was able to overcome these potentially crippling effects with the power of cloud computing. While their office was spared from damage, their electricity was disabled with no timeline for when it might be restored. With more questions than answers, founder and CEO Zach Clayton was stretched to formulate a plan to continue work under the conditions.

After some time, a solution was reached; the entire company would temporarily relocate to a nearby university library to work remotely. Armed with cell phones and laptops, employees marched into the library amidst college students and professors to continue business as usual.  Since the company uses the Google Apps cloud for the much of their content production and file-sharing, little besides hardware was needed from the office. Employees downloaded work and documents and were able to maintain a typical operating day in an entirely foreign environment.

Electricity was restored that afternoon, and the team moved back into their home office, yet clients would have never known they were gone. Work had continued in the morning from a remote location without a hitch.  As Monty Cook, Vice President of Audience Development, noted, “If we had been bound by a traditional server setup we would not have been nearly as effective, efficient and responsive to client needs. Our agility and nimbleness was on display, in part, because of cloud computing solutions like Google Docs, Central Desktop and Salesforce.com … plus a good wireless connection”.

Through the agility and flexibility of cloud computing, Three Ships Media was able to rapidly adjust their work environment and plans, communicate this change with their employees, and meet at a remote location to continue work without suffering any downtime or loss in productivity.

While we are proud to share a success story of how cloud computing helped a business overcome a difficult situation, our thoughts and prayers are with those who experienced loss and are still suffering.

Accent Plus now offers Boost eLearning

by Van Murray on April 27, 2011

Accent Plus is proud to announce that it has recently been named a Boost eLearning Authorized Reseller.  With Boost’s products, Accent Plus has never been better equipped to help clients effectively implement Google Apps into their core business practices.  Accent is now prepared to provide the training needed to make sure that every employee in your organization experiences a smooth transition to cloud computing.  Additionally, Boost is the only Google Enterprise Partner who provides end-user training on Google Search and the Google Search Appliance.

For more information on how your business can use Google Apps to increase productivity and efficiency, please contact us.

Advantages of Cloud Hosting for Your Business

by Van Murray on March 16, 2011

Cloud HostingBusiness of all sizes are increasingly seeing the advantages of cloud hosting for their websites and data storage versus traditional dedicated or shared servers.  Cloud hosting, though still rapidly growing and improving, already offers distinct advantages over traditional options.  Each business is created differently, with individual needs and pain points; however, the ability to customize to specific organizational needs is one of the key advantages offered by the cloud.  When compared across criteria of fundamental importance to businesses, such as reliability, price, efficiency, ease of use, and scalability, the answer becomes clear that for most users, cloud hosting is the best complete solution.

Each of the factors mentioned above is a primary consideration for most businesses; but with so many other day-to-day tasks consuming time, the last thing a business owner wants to worry about is the reliability of servers.  Traditional solutions have been set up to include several sites or databases on a dedicated server, which leaves them susceptible to costly downtime and problems.  Although most enterprise solutions have been able to create efficient data archetypes, the reality is that any system that doesn’t feature full-proof backup will experience some unwelcome downtime.  Conversely, cloud hosting is built on a framework that is able to automate load balancing and instant traffic routing when websites experience huge traffic increases or server problems, ensuring negligible downtime.  Cloud solutions almost unilaterally offer guaranteed uptime of more than 99.9%, with some providing a 100% guarantee.

In addition to ease of use and reliability, cloud hosting provides companies with more individualized options to match their data and storage goals to their business objectives.  Traditional solutions are dependent on expensive hardware that is often shared with other companies, owned by their hosting service, and difficult to scale.  Cloud hosting bypasses this myriad of problems through its ability to create scalable options without expensive incremental hardware costs.  The ability to scale comes at a price for companies, though, as newer cloud technology can be more expensive on a monthly basis.  For companies that expect growth and don’t want to invest in permanent in-house or shared servers, though, this interim price increase proves negligible in the long-term.

If your company is frustrated with the IT, scalability, and ease of use constraints that come with a dedicated server system, cloud hosting could be the perfect solution for your needs.  Accent Plus specializes in matching businesses with the best hosting plans for their needs and provides initial advice and set-up, as well as ongoing support for any help you may need.  Contact Accent Plus today to find out more about the specifics of how a cloud hosting solution can help your businesses.

Stability and Security in Cloud Computing

by Van Murray on March 14, 2011

The speculation over security on cloud hosted solutions, as with past innovative and unfamiliar technologies, is generally unwarranted given cloud computing’s ability to centralize and manage data more securely than past hosted solutions. Perhaps the most significant driver of cloud security misperception is the cloud providers themselves. While cloud solutions have the capability to provide unmatched security, poorly administered or stripped-down solutions can leave data vulnerable. Well-managed cloud hosting solutions, though, with their immense security and reliability merits, will become the paradigm for exactly how your hosted solution should function, safely and low maintenance.

A great differentiator for cloud computing is its ability to scale and meet the security needs of individual organizations. Whether an organization prioritizes cost-effective data storage or powerful encryption and protection capabilities, a custom cloud solution can be tailored to the model. Cloud hosting’s ability to maintain such tight control over data is due to its centralization of data under the attentively constructed parameters of trusted cloud vendors. Traditional IT security was primarily an in-house responsibility, leaving a company’s most secure data at the subjection of each member of its IT department. Reputable cloud providers can leverage scale of data to create multiple data centers, backup and recovery systems, and several digital security layers of protection as standard procedure to protect your data.

While the benefits of onboarding a cloud-based solution are well-grounded, each organization must take the time to evaluate individual needs. Very large companies, such as those in the Fortune 100, still may want to take every precaution necessary and maintain internal servers backed by a well-staffed and capable IT department. Most companies, though, need IT personnel to focus on fixing everyday problems rather than broad infrastructure architecture and mitigating security risks. For these businesses, both large and small, the right cloud solution could greatly enhance security and return technical manpower to areas where it is most-needed.

The most important element to remember is, while remarkably capable, cloud computing’s intricacy and high level of scalability make it important to select a provider with caution. All cloud providers are not created equal, but the right fit between a business and a cloud hosted solution can provide remarkable peace of mind and functionality. If you think your business could be a good fit for a cloud hosted solution, contacting Accent Plus is a great way to start the process. An evaluation of your current system and future needs can go a long way to optimizing your business and capitalizing on this exciting new innovation.

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