The term "managed hosting" describes the provision of a ready to use IT stack including hardware and infrastructure software for the deployment of applications. Providers house the infrastructure in central data centres accessed by customers over the internet. In the past this has usually been on the basis of hardware servers dedicated to individual customers, however the increasing use of virtualisation has allowed managed hosting providers to reduce costs by sharing infrastructure between customers, creating the earliest versions of what the industry now refers to as compute clouds. Computing platforms provisioned and managed by specialists provide higher service levels, greater ease of secure access and more manageable costs than many organisations are able to achieve internally. ...
15/06/2009 | Quocirca_-_Managed_Hosting_in_Europe_-_June_2009.pdf | VIEW
The fact that the majority of businesses use Microsoft Office as their main user productivity tool is in part testament to the strength of the relationship Microsoft has with the IT sales channel. For years Microsoft products have been sold exclusively via the channel, and in return for the reassurance that it will not pursue their customers directly the channel has stuck with Microsoft. ...
19/01/2009 | Google goes down a new channel.pdf | VIEW
On the face of it, datacentre consolidation and rationalisation may not sound like a prime hunting ground for new business. After all, the whole reason for carrying out the process is to discover under-used hardware assets and either squeeze more out of them, or get rid of them entirely. ...
31/07/2008 | Opportunities to minimise.pdf | VIEW
Small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) face many of the same challenges as large enterprises when it comes to IT management. They have increasingly complex systems that they rely on to drive their businesses and gain competitive advantage. Operating and maintaining a complex IT infrastructure requires the necessary skills and investment but getting the right staff at an affordable price can be a problem. So, IT management can then become a bottleneck diverting attention from core business activities. Finding ways around this can give SMBs a competitive edge leaving them free to focus on new business opportunities. ...
22/06/2007 | IT_Management_for_SMBs.pdf | VIEW
Predictions of the death of software are over-stated and the reality is that all businesses are becoming ever more reliant on it. What is changing are the number of options available for how the software applications that businesses rely on are managed, delivered and paid for. Many independent software vendors (ISVs) are recognising the benefits of offering software as a service (SaaS) as an alternative for their customers and once the teething problems have been overcome there are a number of long term benefits for both parties ...
11/04/2007 | Quocirca_-_On-premise_to_On-demand_-_a_guide_-_April_2007.pdf | VIEW
Many technology sales cycles get bogged down in the IT department. Whilst it is unlikely that a sale will get anywhere without buy in from IT management, their approval is no guarantee of final success. Getting to “yes” requires accessing and influencing other key decision makers especially those in the finance department. And along the way, there are plenty of others who can say “no” ...
20/04/2006 | IT_Investment_Decision_Making.pdf | VIEW
Increasingly, small and mid-sized businesses (SMB) are becoming more reliant on their IT infrastructure. This is not just because it is used to drive important internal applications, but because the majority of SMBs now use IT to automate interaction with external organisations. This means that an IT failure does not just affect SMBs, but also the businesses with which they interact on a regular basis. ...
28/01/2008 | When a crisis hits, how safe is your IT.pdf | VIEW
The fact that most SMBs are investing in ever more complex IT infrastructure is an opportunity for resellers in its own right, but if IT fails to deliver the relationship between reseller and customer can turn sour. Any resellers wanting to build good long term customer relationships needs to make sure the infrastructure and applications they sell are well managed. To this end it is necessary to also make sure their customers have good management tools in place or better still provide the services to do it all for them. ...
22/10/2007 | SMBs should look to VARs for IT management.pdf | VIEW
This presentation was given at the Trend Micro European partner summit in March 2008. It looks at the new opportunities that IT security provides resellers and integrators and also at what threats there to their current business. ...
12/03/2008 | Quocirca for Trend Micro conf Mar 12 2008.pdf | VIEW
This presentation is based on Quocirca's report of the same name and was first given at IBM Partner Worldin London on 17th May 2007. It advises ISVs on the benefits of the software as a service model and, if, when and how to make the move. ...
17/05/2007 | Quocirca-IBM PowerNet slides for May 17th - FINAL.pdf | VIEW
